Google is committing to donate more than $800 million to support businesses, organizations and healthcare workers as part of its coronavirus response — most of it in the form of free advertising.
The tech company said it will give the World Health Organization and global government agencies a total of $250 million in ad grants — up from the $25 million it announced a few weeks ago — to share information on how to battle the spread of the virus, CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post on Friday.
Another $340 million in Google ad credits will be available to small and medium–sized businesses whose accounts have been active over the past year, Pichai said, with an additional $20 million earmarked for announcements on relief funds and support for small businesses.
Google is one of several tech companies putting some of their vast financial and technical resources toward trying to combat the global pandemic. Apple (AAPL) on Friday released a website and an iOS app that allows users to screen themselves for coronavirus symptoms, days after announcing that it would donate more than 10 million respirator masks across the US and Europe.