Tech Companies Back Federal Government’s COVID-19 Response Initiatives

Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google and other technology companies are reaching out to the federal government to help with coronavirus pandemic response efforts, FedScoop reported Monday.

Amazon, for instance, offered $20M in cloud computing resources to speed up diagnostic research and development to help the government track and mitigate COVID-19.

“[O]ne area where we have heard an urgent need is in the research and development of diagnostics, which consist of rapid, accurate detection and testing of COVID-19,” said Teresa Carlson, vice president of worldwide public sector at Amazon Web Services and a 2020 Wash100 award winner. “Better diagnostics will help accelerate treatment and containment, and in time, shorten the course of this epidemic.”

Yext and Smartsheet are also offering free services to support the government’s COVID-19 response initiatives.

“This is unprecedented and so the response from the tech sector has been unprecedented,” Nick Sinai, a senior adviser at venture capital firm Insight Partners, told the publication. “Tech CEOs are stepping up and offering pro-bono products, services, and support – they want to do anything they can to help.”