The funding enables the organization to scale its CTDL xTRA tool to connect credentials, skills, and competencies at a scope and speed previously impossible
Washington, D.C., [June 9th, 2026] – Credential Engine, a nonprofit dedicated to making credential and skills data transparent, comparable, and actionable, today announced funding from Google.org, the company’s philanthropy to make transparent the full U.S. credential ecosystem at a speed and scale previously not possible through human-supported data entry. With additional support from Anthropic via Claude credits, these investments enable Credential Engine to expand its AI-enabled platform, CTDL xTRA, to continue building the infrastructure needed to make learning-to-work pathways more connected, interoperable, and AI-ready using the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL).
It’s hard to overstate the urgency of this work. Across education and workforce systems, critical data about credentials, skills, jobs, outcomes, and career pathways remains fragmented and difficult to use at scale. Digital platforms and AI tools are increasingly the first place learners, workers, and employers go to navigate education and career decisions. The lack of trusted, interoperable data limits mobility for learners and workers, constrains employers’ ability to identify and verify skills, and makes it harder for educators, technology providers, and policymakers to build connected pathways and make informed decisions.
“The credential ecosystem has never been fully transparent. We are grateful for Google and Anthropic’s support, which enables us to continue building the infrastructure to find, publish, and connect credential and skills data,” said Scott Cheney, CEO at Credential Engine. “Modern technology will enable us to do this in a fraction of the time that human data entry takes, thus making impactful progress toward more transparent, comparable, and actionable credential data than ever before.”
CTDL xTRA uses LLM-enabled extraction and transformation processes to identify, structure, and publish data from authoritative sources into CTDL, the comprehensive open standard for describing learning-to-work pathways. With this funding, Credential Engine will expand coverage of credentials, programs, courses, competencies, occupations, outcomes, transfer and pathways.
The result is credential and skills data that is structured, open, linked, interoperable, and durable (SOLID) and that can move seamlessly across education, workforce, and technology systems to support skills-based hiring, workforce planning, career navigation, and connected pathways for learners at every stage.
This work also supports the development of additional tools and services to help learners, workers, employers, and policymakers better understand opportunities and pathways. Credential Engine aims to accelerate the adoption of open, interoperable data standards among technology providers, state partners, and policymakers in the U.S. and internationally. The effort is intended to strengthen the underlying infrastructure that supports credential transparency, skills-based hiring, workforce planning, and more connected education and employment systems.
The work will begin in select U.S. states before scaling toward broader national and international adoption, creating a stronger shared foundation for how credential and skills information is published, connected, and used across the digital marketplace.
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About Credential Engine: Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to map the credentials, qualifications, and skills landscape with clear information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to discover and pursue the learning and career pathways that are best for them. Credential Engine provides a suite of web-based services that creates for the first time a centralized Credential Registry to house up-to-date information about all credentials, the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), a common description language to enable credential comparability, and a platform to support customized applications to search and retrieve information about credentials.
Contact: info@credentialengine.org