Cloudflare to Hire 1,111 Interns in 2026, Offers Free Tools to Students Amid AI Disruption

Cloudflare, the global connectivity cloud company, has announced an ambitious plan to hire 1,111 interns in 2026, marking its largest internship programme to date. The move comes at a time when AI is reshaping the job market and entry-level opportunities for young graduates are shrinking.

According to a Stanford study, employment for 22–25-year-olds in AI-exposed roles like software engineering has declined by up to 13% since late 2022, while internship postings in tech have dropped 30% since 2023. Cloudflare says its program aims to give students hands-on experience and a pathway into the industry.

Interns will work in Cloudflare hubs across Austin, San Francisco, New York, Bengaluru, Lisbon, and London, contributing directly to projects that impact millions of internet users. The company is also offering one year of free access to Cloudflare Workers, its serverless development platform, to U.S. students with a valid .edu email address.

"Now, when getting a job out of school has never been harder, we’re leaning in and offering a training ground for the next generation. And while many companies see AI as a way to replace jobs, we see this next generation as a way to bring the best uses of AI into Cloudflare. There’s a lot we can learn from interns who grew up building with AI as a first class tool,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare.

Cloudflare also continues to support startups, having provided $370 million in credits to more than 4,000 early-stage companies over the past year.