Codio has completed a $5 million strategic growth financing led by long-term investor Armada Investment while launching a new AI Literacy offering designed to help colleges prepare students for a workforce increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
The new offering reflects a broader shift in higher education from traditional digital literacy toward AI literacy across disciplines.
Codio’s framework teaches students not only how to use AI tools, but how to determine when AI is appropriate, evaluate the quality of its outputs, disclose its use when necessary, and retain responsibility for final decisions.
The curriculum is aligned with the U.S. Department of Labor’s AI Literacy framework and is organized around Codio’s “Notice, Test, Verify, Explain and Defend” methodology.
The approach emphasizes critical thinking and judgment rather than simply teaching students how to generate content or automate tasks with AI.
Codio believes those capabilities will become increasingly important as employers expect graduates to use artificial intelligence effectively while understanding its limitations and risks.
The curriculum is delivered through Codio’s learning experience platform, where students can work directly with leading AI models.
Faculty members maintain visibility into assignments, student progress, and AI interactions, giving instructors greater oversight over how the technology is being used.
Codio’s platform also integrates with learning management systems including Canvas, allowing colleges to incorporate AI-focused assignments into existing courses and instructional workflows.
The company sees this oversight as an important component of responsible AI education.
Rather than preventing students from using AI, Codio’s model is designed to make AI use visible, teach students how to evaluate results and preserve human accountability throughout the learning process.
The offering also expands Codio’s historical focus beyond computer science and technical education.
The company plans to help institutions teach AI literacy across a wider range of academic disciplines as artificial intelligence becomes a standard workplace capability in areas ranging from business and finance to healthcare, communications and other professional fields.
The University of Tampa will become an early adopter of the new program.
After redesigning its required digital literacy curriculum, the university plans to launch a required AI literacy course using Codio’s offering this fall.
The course is intended to give students across academic disciplines practical experience using and evaluating AI before they enter the workforce.
Codio plans to extend the platform further with an Applied AI for Business Schools offering.
That program is expected to combine foundational AI literacy with discipline-specific assignments and instructional tools that help faculty incorporate AI into existing business coursework.
The $5 million growth financing will support Codio as it expands these offerings and continues developing its learning platform.
Armada Investment led the financing and sees AI literacy as a foundational capability likely to become relevant to both graduates and the broader workforce.
Codio currently works with more than 150 universities and educational institutions worldwide and has helped more than 3 million learners develop technical skills.
Its platform focuses on hands-on education in real software environments rather than simulations or static coursework.
Students can work with technologies including cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity tools and AI systems in environments designed to resemble the professional workflows they may encounter after graduation.
Codio believes that practical model can help institutions address one of the central challenges created by widespread AI adoption: ensuring students learn to work with the technology without outsourcing the critical thinking and judgment that employers continue to require.
KEY QUOTES:
“This isn’t just a course about learning AI tools. It’s a course about building judgment. Students learn when AI adds value, how to verify its outputs, when to disclose its use and why they’re ultimately accountable for the results. Those are the skills employers and educators increasingly expect as AI becomes part of everyday work.”
Doug Hughes, CEO of Codio
“Students don’t just need to know how to use AI, they need to know how to evaluate it, improve their work without outsourcing their judgment, and recognize when human oversight matters most.”
“AI literacy is becoming a foundational skill for today’s workforce, and bringing it into the curriculum gives students the practical experience they’ll need long after they graduate.”
Jessica O’Brien, Coordinator for Spartan Studies Online Learning & Digital Literacy at the University of Tampa
“Every organization is trying to understand how AI will reshape the workforce, and that transformation starts with education.”
“We’re investing in Codio because we believe AI literacy, and especially the judgment to use AI responsibly, will become a foundational skill for every graduate entering the workforce, as well as the workforce at large.”
Daniel S. Aegerter, Chairman & Principal of Armada Investment
