Eric Schmidt, the Chairman of Google, revealed that he is going to give $1 million to companies dedicated to finding solutions to worldwide problems by using technology, TechCrunch reported.
The report quoted what Schmidt told CBS in an interview to promote the book he co-wrote with Jared Cohen entitled The New Digital Age, "I think I should put my money where my mouth is. We identified a whole bunch of companies all over the world trying to solve oppressive censorship, empower individuals, and make these phones more useful."
Details about the donation will be revealed soon, with an announcement to be given on March 10 revealing the organizations or companies that will be the recipients of the grants, the report said.
Schmidt is not the sole technology billionaire to donate to charitable causes that promote innovation. Bill Gates, the Founder of Microsoft, has also donated a substantial amount from his charity towards online education. One of the recipients was the well-known lecture series on YouTube by the Khan Academy. Gates has also advocated for philanthropy that is more data-driven by pushing for "randomized control trials of charitable projects," the report said.
For his part, eBay Founder Pierre Omidyar, has also supported causes like The Sunlight Foundation, an open government group, and Kiva, a micro-financing firm. Through impact investing or supporting innovations that both do good and are profitable at the same time, Omidyar is disrupting the concept of traditional nonprofit philanthropy. An example is the investment made in d.light, a for-profit startup that provides the developing world with solar-powered light, the report said.
Various organizations and firms have also developed technology that aims to help battle corruption and oppression. One of these is Benetech which has come up with a program that utilizes statistical algorithms to prove that dictators likely committed murder and thereby help convict them, the report said.
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