AI + the Future of Work Winner
About Anna
Anna Cejudo Mercado co-founded Founderz in 2020 with a mission to democratise access to high-quality AI education, making it accessible to everyone regardless of age, gender, background or technical skills. A serial entrepreneur and mother of three, she built Founderz into Europe's leading online business school for AI, and leads its large-scale free initiatives to ensure that the transition to an AI-powered economy does not leave women and underserved communities behind.
The focus of her work
Founderz co-creates certified, market-relevant online programmes with global AI experts and partners including Microsoft, KPMG and Freepik, delivered through a proprietary AI-powered learning platform. At the core are Founderz Fellows: AI-powered personal mentors available around the clock, offering real-time feedback, role-play, learning plans and step-by-step support via chat and voice. The AI Skills 4 Women programme provides free AI training globally, reaching women across 13 languages. Founderz also co-created the ERIA Chair on Responsible AI and Employability with Microsoft and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Europe's first university chair focused on ethics and responsible AI in the workplace.
Impact
300,000+ learners trained from 50+ countries and 1,400+ companies in five years
57,000+ women trained through the AI Skills 4 Women programme in 2025 alone, across 13 languages
15,000 Founderz Fellow interactions handled daily
Completion rate 2.46 times the industry average
Free, open-source Responsible AI Toolkit published for educators and companies globally
Responsible AI in practice
Responsible AI is embedded in what Founderz teaches and how it teaches. All training programmes include modules on responsible AI and ethics. Founderz Fellows are built on retrieval-augmented generation using verified instructor content, so they do not produce hallucinated responses and do not replicate instructor personalities. The systems provide consistent, bias-aware guidance while maintaining a clear boundary between AI and human expertise. The ERIA Chair and the open-source Responsible AI Toolkit extend this commitment beyond the platform and into the broader ecosystem.
Vision for the future
For Anna, it is AI that makes education more human, not less, and ensures no one is left behind in the transition to an AI-powered economy. Everyone deserves the right tools to own their future.
The 2026/27 She Shapes AI Global Awards Call for Applications opens on 8 October 2026. If you or someone you know is driving positive impact through AI, we want to hear from you. Visit sheshapes.ai/awards to learn more and sign up to our newsletter to stay informed.
