University of Wisconsin–Madison secured $100 million in private gift commitments for a new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, scheduled to launch July 1, 2026. The private funding comes through the Catalyst Collective, which includes alumni, corporate partners, and business leaders. UW System’s Board of Regents approved the new academic division last December, and the college will incorporate existing UW degree programs in computer sciences, data science, statistics, library science, and information science. It will be the first new academic division at UW–Madison in more than 40 years. Donors listed in the commitments include Andy Konwinski (Laude, Databricks, Perplexity AI), John Morgridge (former Cisco CEO), Scott Cook (Intuit cofounder), and Epic, among others. The mix suggests the college is being positioned for both research and workforce-aligned program growth. For research universities, the milestone is a clear signal that philanthropy is increasingly shaping AI capacity-building through dedicated governance structures and consolidated program portfolios.