Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have donated $25 million through their foundation to a philanthropic effort organized by Bill Gates to explore new coronavirus treatments.
The Gates Foundation donated $50 million last week to what it’s calling the “COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.” The initiative brings together life sciences companies to collaborate on the development of new vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments for COVID-19.
“The Therapeutics Accelerator will enable researchers to quickly determine whether or not existing drugs have a potential benefit against COVID-19,” Chan and Zuckerberg said in a press release. “We hope these coordinated efforts will help stop the spread of COVID-19 as well as provide shared, reusable strategies to respond to future pandemics.”
The two donations are the largest from tech billionaires since the coronavirus outbreak. Wellcome and Mastercard are supporting the effort as well.
The goal of the initiative is to either develop a new drug or adapt an existing treatment that it could help distribute alongside partnering pharmaceutical companies.
The 15 companies participating in the project kicked off the effort by sharing their proprietary libraries of molecular compounds that have some history of being tested with COVID-19.
The lineup includes big names in biotech such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
On the heels of the latest Apple Event, Verizon launches nationwide 5G service. Ronan Dunne, Verizon Consumer Group CEO, joined Cheddar to discuss the launch and offerings that customers can expect from the service.
Online used car dealer, Shift, is set to go public through a SPAC. George Arison, Shift co-CEO, joined Cheddar to discuss its future and the unforeseen rise of car purchases amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Apple unveiled four new iPhones equipped with technology for use with faster new 5G wireless networks.
Disney is reorganizing its business units to focus even more on streaming. Its Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus services have more than 100 million subscribers.
Facebook says it is banning posts that deny or distort the Holocaust and will start directing people to authoritative sources if they search for information about the Nazi genocide.
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) joined Cheddar to discuss how Congress and the judiciary should approach big tech monopolies. Buck was clear that the Democrats and Republicans, however, disagree on just how to go about shrinking the tech giants.
Brian Elliott, Slack VP and head of Future Forum, joined Cheddar to discuss the findings of a survey that finds people adapting to remote work amid the pandemic and probably beyond.
Singer Ricky Martin and music engineer, Michael Seaberg, joined Cheddar to discuss the launch of a new digital entertainment company. The company is focusing on "orbital audio" technology that enhances the listening experience.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Waymo is allowing the general public to hitch a ride in its driverless autonomous vehicles in Phoenix.
