California State University invited Amazon, OpenAI and other technology firms to partner on an ambitious plan to become the nation’s largest "AI‑empowered" university, signaling wide institutional interest in vendor partnerships for instruction, advising, and campus services. At the same time, EDUCAUSE and vendor analyses show cash‑strapped campuses are turning to AI‑powered infrastructure to automate operations and scale services: 42% of IT respondents expect budget reductions this academic year. Administrators are evaluating off‑the‑shelf AI tools, cloud services, and vendor-hosted models to maintain service levels while managing headcount and costs. "AI‑powered campus infrastructure" refers to integrated software and cloud systems that use generative models and automation to support advising, tutoring, cybersecurity, and administrative workflows—tools that require governance, procurement controls, and privacy safeguards.