Google on Friday announced an $US800 million pledge to support businesses and health organisations fighting the coronavirus. Part of that pledge includes donating “2-3 million face masks” to the CDC Foundation.
In a blog post, CEO Sunday Pichai announced that the company is working with supplier Magid Glove & Safety to ramp up production of the masks in the coming weeks.
The post also detailed the larger effort by Google to donate both cash and ads to help support small- and medium-sized businesses, health organisations, and academic institutions.
That fund includes $US250 million in ad grants to help the World Health Organisation and other government agencies provide information on combating COVID-19’s spread.
It will also include $US340 million in Google Ads credits to all small- and medium-sized businesses that have had active accounts over the past year. Those credits can be used at any point until the end of the year.
Meanwhile, $US20 million is being allocated in Google Cloud credits for researchers and academic institutions who are studying vaccines, therapies, and other data to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
This week, Business insider reported that Google was increasing its employee donation-matching program to up to $US10,000 a year. In a memo to staff this week, Pichai also urged employees to volunteer during the pandemic.
It’s the latest example of tech stepping in to help combat the spread of COVID-19. Apple just released a COVID-19 screening app backed by the CDC, while Alphabet’s Verily is ramping up its testing sites in California.
Source: Hugh Langley
