Intel pledges $50 million in an initiative to fight the coronavirus (aka Covid-19) through a fund designed to accelerate access to technology at the point of patient care, speeding scientific research and ensuring online learning access for students.
The funds involves an additional fund for requests where access to Intel expertise and resources can have immediate impact, and come in addition to a prior announcement of $10 million in donation to local communities. Around $40 million will fund Response and Readiness and Online Learning initiatives. The Response and readiness initiative provides funding for advances in diagnosis, treatment and vaccine development, while the Online Learning initiative supports education-focused nonprofit organisations and partners provide students without access to technology with devices and online learning resources.
The remaining $10 million go to an innovation fund supporting requests from external partners and employee-led relief projects. For example, Intel is working with the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, to deploy Intel client and server solutions to help achieve faster and less expensive coronavirus testing and genome sequencing. In the UK, Intel has joined forces with Dyson and medical consultancy firm TTP to supply FPGAs for CoVent, a new ventilator designed response to the request for help by the British government.
"The world faces an enormous challenge in fighting Covid-19. Intel is committed to accelerating access to technology that can combat the current pandemic and enable new technology and scientific discovery that better prepares society for future crises," CEO Bob Swan says. "We hope that by sharing our expertise, resources and technology, we can help to accelerate work that saves lives and expands access to critical services around the world during this challenging time.”
Go Intel Commits $50 Million With Pandemic Response Technology Initiative
