**The Google News Initiative (GNI) is a global program that supports the digital transformation of the news industry. Since its launch in 2018, GNI has invested over $300 million in partnerships, training, and technology to help news organizations adapt to the challenges of the digital age.**
**One of the key areas of focus for GNI is innovation. The program supports a range of initiatives that are helping news organizations explore new ways to engage with audiences, create new revenue streams, and improve their storytelling.**
**Here are a few examples of how GNI is driving innovation in the digital news ecosystem:**
* **The GNI Innovation Challenge is a global competition that awards grants to news organizations that are developing innovative digital journalism projects. In 2021, the challenge awarded $3 million in grants to 20 projects from around the world.**
* **The GNI Startups Lab is a program that provides mentorship and support to early-stage news startups. The program has helped over 50 startups launch and grow their businesses.**
* **The GNI Media Lab is a research and development facility that explores new technologies and trends that could impact the future of journalism. The lab has developed a number of tools and resources that help news organizations innovate, including the **[**Perspective API**](https://research.withgoogle.com/products/perspective-api/), which helps publishers moderate user comments and the **[**Submarine**](https://github.com/google-research/submarine)**, an open-source platform for training and deploying machine learning models.**
**GNI’s commitment to innovation is helping to drive the digital transformation of the news industry. By supporting new ideas and technologies, GNI is helping news organizations reach new audiences, create new revenue streams, and improve their storytelling.**
**In addition to supporting innovation, GNI also provides training and resources to help news organizations adapt to the digital age. The program offers a variety of online and in-person training courses on topics such as digital journalism, data journalism, and audience engagement.**
**GNI also provides a number of resources to help news organizations navigate the digital landscape. These resources include the **[**Google News Initiative Playbook**](https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/playbook)**, a comprehensive guide to digital transformation for news organizations, and the **[**Google News Lab**](https://newslab.withgoogle.com)**, a website that provides news and insights about the digital news ecosystem.**
**GNI is a valuable resource for news organizations of all sizes. The program provides a range of support services that can help news organizations adapt to the digital age and thrive in the future.**.
