San francisco: In a bold push to support the next generation of tech talent, Cloudflare Inc announced its plan to hire 1,111 interns in 2026 and offer one year of free developer tools to students across United States (US) universities-a move designed to counter a shrinking job market for young professionals in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Cloudflare’s chief executive officer, Matthew Prince, stated, “We founded Cloudflare during a financial crisis and doubled our intern numbers during the pandemic. Now, when getting a job out of school has never been harder, we are leaning in and offering a training ground for the next generation.” Prince emphasized the company’s belief in the potential of young professionals to harness AI’s capabilities, viewing them as key to unlocking the technology’s full potential.
As AI continues to automate entry-level roles, the job outlook for new graduates is tightening. A Stanford study reports up to a 13 percent decline in employment for 22- to 25-year-olds in roles most exposed to AI, such as software engineering. Meanwhile, tech internships have dropped 30 percent since 2023, according to Handshake.
Cloudflare’s ‘Intern-et’ initiative aims to reverse that trend. The company will place interns across global hubs-including Austin, San Francisco, New York, Bengaluru, Lisbon, and London-providing mentorship, leadership access, and real-world impact on products used by millions.
In addition, all US students with a .edu email can now get one year of free access to Cloudflare Workers, its serverless development platform, allowing them to deploy and experiment without upfront costs.
Cloudflare is also expanding support for startups. Beginning in 2026, early-stage builders will be able to co-work in Cloudflare offices on select days. The company has already provided US$370 million in credits to over 4,000 startups, helping them scale while saving on infrastructure. (US$1=RM4.18)
These initiatives mark Cloudflare’s most ambitious investment yet in early-career talent-building a future of the Internet that is more open, more diverse, and more hands-on.