Gates Foundation Pledges $1B to Close Global AI Equity Gap

The Gates Foundation has announced plans to spend at least $1 billion over the next two years expanding access to artificial intelligence and AI-enabled tools for communities that have historically been left behind by new technology. The commitment coincides with the release of the foundation’s 10th annual Goalkeepers Report, which argues AI could narrow gaps between rich and poor nations, but only if built deliberately with underserved populations in mind.

Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, argued in the report that market forces alone would likely direct the most capable AI tools toward wealthier users first, warning that without intervention the technology risks deepening existing inequalities rather than reducing them.

The report highlights three priorities for action: adapting AI tools to work across the world’s languages, given that over 90% of training data for early large language models came from English sources; building tools using data and expertise from the specific communities they aim to serve; and investing in training so doctors, farmers, teachers and developers can evaluate and adapt AI systems locally.

Funding will be distributed across education and healthcare, with smaller shares directed toward agriculture and digital infrastructure, including datasets in underrepresented languages. Gates called on governments and technology companies to measure AI’s success by its benefit to those with the most to gain, not only its most profitable users.