The frame · Digital public infrastructure
California's digital
public infrastructure
Every generation builds the shared systems the next one depends on — mail, highways, the power grid, broadband. AI now runs on one more: compute. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) treats compute the way California has always treated its foundations — as something the public owns and every Californian can reach. In California, that is CalCompute.
"Fostering research and innovation that benefits the public… by expanding access to computational resources."
— California Senate Bill 53 · Gov. Code § 11546.8
The idea
What is digital public infrastructure?
The shared digital systems a society builds and governs as public goods — open to everyone, run for access rather than profit.
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is the shared digital systems a society builds and governs as public goods, open to everyone rather than owned by a single company. It spans payment rails, identity systems, connectivity and, increasingly, the public computing power beneath artificial intelligence.
Some infrastructure is too basic to leave to whoever can afford to own it. A society builds it once, holds it in common and lets everyone stand on it — the postal network, the interstate highways, the power grid, public broadband. DPI applies that same principle to the digital foundations of modern life.
The framing is now international. The United Nations placed digital public infrastructure at the center of its Global Digital Compact, adopted in September 2024, as a foundation for inclusive and equitable digital development. India's public digital systems are the most-cited working example. The common thread is ownership: infrastructure that belongs to the public answers to the public.
AI is the newest layer that fits this description. It already touches your job application, your medical record, your child's classroom and the services your government delivers — and it runs on compute that sits almost entirely in private hands. Californians generate the data and live with the results, yet hold none of the machinery. DPI is the answer to that imbalance: build a public foundation so access does not depend on who owns the hardware.
The lineage
California has built the foundations before
Each was infrastructure the market would not open to everyone on its own — so the public built it. Compute is next in line.
Delivery to any address, one price
Roads open to everyone who travels
Internet where carriers won't build
Public compute for AI
Public AI — for peopleCalifornia's move
What is California's digital public infrastructure for AI?
Read the statute closely. It builds the public option for compute the way the earlier ones were built — deliberately, and in public.
California's digital public infrastructure for AI is CalCompute, a public cloud computing cluster established by Senate Bill 53 and codified at Government Code Section 11546.8. It is designed to expand access to computational resources so AI research and innovation can benefit the public.
On Sept. 29, 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 53, enacted as Chapter 138. Its CalCompute provisions are now California Government Code Section 11546.8. The statute establishes a consortium within the Government Operations Agency and charges it with developing a framework for the creation of CalCompute, a public cloud computing cluster — and directs the consortium to make reasonable efforts, to the extent possible, to establish CalCompute within the University of California.
The law names the purpose in public-good terms. CalCompute exists to advance artificial intelligence that is "safe, ethical, equitable, and sustainable" — by fostering research and innovation that benefits the public and by enabling equitable innovation through expanded access to computational resources. That is a definition of digital public infrastructure in everything but name.
Owned in common
The statute's object is "a public cloud computing cluster," with the consortium directed to make reasonable efforts, to the extent possible, to establish it within the University of California. Infrastructure held by the public, not rented from a vendor.
Governed in public
Fourteen members, fixed by law: eight appointed by the Secretary of Government Operations, three labor representatives appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and three public-interest representatives appointed by the Senate Rules Committee.
Built to a deadline
The consortium delivers its framework report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2027 and then dissolves. A defined task with a public deliverable — no permanent board and no mission creep.
That is what makes CalCompute infrastructure rather than a program: it is public in its ownership, its governance and its purpose, and it was built by the same democratic process that laid the foundations before it. California went from a vetoed provision to codified law inside a year. A statutory clock is now running toward the framework report — and this coalition is organizing to carry it the rest of the way.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Digital public infrastructure and California's CalCompute, answered.
What is digital public infrastructure (DPI)?
Digital public infrastructure is the shared digital systems a society builds and governs as public goods, open to everyone rather than owned by a single company. It includes payment rails, identity systems, connectivity and, increasingly, the public computing power beneath artificial intelligence.
What is California's digital public infrastructure for AI?
California’s digital public infrastructure for AI is CalCompute, a public cloud computing cluster established by Senate Bill 53 and codified at Government Code Section 11546.8. It is designed to expand access to computational resources so AI research and innovation can benefit the public.
Who governs CalCompute?
CalCompute is guided by a 14-member consortium within the California Government Operations Agency. Eight members are appointed by the Secretary of Government Operations, three by the Speaker of the Assembly and three by the Senate Rules Committee, including labor and public-interest representatives.
When will CalCompute's framework be delivered?
The consortium delivers a framework report for creating CalCompute to the California Legislature on or before January 1, 2027. The report covers infrastructure, cost, governance, use, workforce and partnerships, and the consortium dissolves once it is submitted.
Public infrastructure is built by the public
The roads, the grid and the broadband did not build themselves — people organized and demanded them. Compute is the next foundation. Read the full case for CalCompute, or join the volunteers on 10 UC campuses building it.