One of the wealthiest men in China, Jack Ma has donated 100 million yuan (roughly $14.4 million) to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus.
This was done through his Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic initiative started by the founder of Alibaba, the e-commerce behemoth.
The foundation has also set aside 40 million yuan for two Chinese government research organizations working on developing a cure for this deadly virus, which has killed over 130 people till date and is spreading rapidly across the world.
The foundation has also announced a 1 billion yuan fund to help hospitals purchase medical supplies in Wuhan, the epicenter of this deadly epidemic.
Apart from medical aid, the organization is also offering free AI computing power to research organizations that are looking for a cure to the virus.
However, Alibaba is not the only technology company of China that is offering support to treatment efforts towards the virus. A host of other companies such as Huawei – the smartphone maker headed by Ren Zhengfei, Tencent – the e-commerce company run by Ma Huateng, and Baidu – a search engine run by Robin Li have all contributed towards the efforts.
Also, philanthropists and entrepreneurs across the world are contributing generously towards the cause. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $10 million to help first responders in China and Africa. Meanwhile, LVHM, headed by French billionaire Francois Pinault has pledged $2.3 million towards relief efforts. Also, Chinese sportswear brand Anta Sports, headed by Ding Shizhong, has pledged 10 million yuan towards delivering medical supplies to healthcare workers.
CEO of Apple, Tim Cook took to Twitter to share that Apple will donate to the “groups on the ground helping support all those affected.”
As people in China and around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, we send our love and support to the many impacted by the Coronavirus. Apple will be donating to groups on the ground helping support all of those affected.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 25, 2020
We hope that all these efforts bear results soon and the spread of this fatal virus subsides.
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