Over the past few years, people have experienced an accelerated change in how they work, learn, and live – millions of businesses and their workers have used technology to find new customers and grow. In a 2021 survey, 78% of small businesses said that digital tool adoption during the pandemic created more opportunities for their businesses, and more than 80% of Black- and Latino-owned small businesses reported that they use digital tools as a key part of their operations. To help our economy weather changes, we’ve provided capital, training, and resources to small businesses.

Increasing access to capital:

• To help underrepresented small businesses gain access to critical capital, Google committed $191 million to the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) to establish the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and OFN’s Tech Grant Program supported by Google.org, as well as OFN's Grant Program. The funds allowed OFN to deliver low-interest loans and grants to over 60 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which in turn provided loans to more than 130,000 underrepresented businesses in the U.S.

Training small businesses on digital skills:

• We’ve helped more than 9 million Americans grow their skills, careers, and businesses through Grow with Google digital skills trainings. A network of 9,000 partner organizations – including America’s SBDC, Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC), SCORE, the Small Business Digital Alliance (SBDA), and many others – helps to extend the reach to more small business owners.

Providing resources for underrepresented businesses:

• The Grow with Google Digital Coaches program provides free digital skills training and hands-on coaching to diverse small businesses. Digital Coaches are local experts who use their firsthand experience as entrepreneurs to help small business owners in their communities use digital tools to thrive. More than 160,000 small business owners have been trained by a local Digital Coach, thanks to support from partners like the U.S. Black Chambers Inc. (USBC), U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and many others.

Helping underrepresented startup founders thrive:

• The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund and Latino Founders Fund provide promising entrepreneurs with capital, community, and support to grow their businesses. Recipients of our first $20 million in funding in the U.S. have gone on to raise 13X that amount – over $140 million in follow-on funding after Google’s investment.

If startups succeed, communities and economies succeed. Google for Startups is working to connect startup founders with people, products, and best practices to help their businesses thrive and grow. Here are a few of the programs aimed at supporting founders from underrepresented groups:

• The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund and Latino Founders Fund provide selected U.S. founders with up to $100,000 in non-dilutive capital along with Google Cloud credits and hands-on support to help their startup grow. The first $15 million in awards to Black founders and community support facilitated by Goodie Nation have already created a halo effect, helping founders to raise over $140 million in venture capital since 2020. In 2022, we announced the first 50 recipients of the Latino Founders Fund.

• Programs like Black Founders Exchange, hosted by American Underground and Google for Startups, and Google for Startups Founders Academy, are helping to build systems of mentorship and networking for underrepresented founders.

• Google for Startups Accelerators, like Black Founders, Latino Founders and Women Founders, provide access to Google’s people, networks, and advanced technology to help founders solve technical challenges specific to their businesses.

• To create greater economic opportunity for the Latino community, Google for Startups partnered with Visible Hands to run a 20-week fellowship program, VHLX, providing company-building services and $10K in non-dilutive capital to early-stage Latino founders across the U.S.

• To support the military-affiliated community, Google for Startups teamed up with organizations including Bunker Labs to scale their impact to new cities across the U.S. and offer one-on-one mentorship from Google advisors to Veterans looking to start their own business.

It’s estimated that half of the U.S. workforce will need to reskill by 2025, and workers of color are disproportionately impacted by the skills gap. We’re working to help people advance their careers by making digital skills accessible to everyone. To date, we have helped nearly 170,000 Americans get a new job and increase their income through digital skills training.

Providing digital skills tools and training to American workers:

• We’ve helped more than 9 million Americans grow their skills, careers, and businesses through Grow with Google digital skills trainings and Google.org grants. A network of 9,000 organizations – including 4-H, American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), Goodwill Industries International Inc., National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), Hiring Our Heroes, and many others – helps to extend training to more workers in the U.S. so they can find economic opportunity.

Helping people develop job-ready skills to jump-start careers in fast-growing fields:

• Google Career Certificates are flexible online training programs that help people develop job-ready skills in the fields of data analytics, digital marketing and e-commerce, IT support, project management, and user experience (UX) design. These Certificate courses are developed and taught by Google employees and can be completed in three to six months part-time. After completing the program, graduates gain access to career resources and are able to connect with over 150 top employers. More than 100,000 people have graduated in the U.S. from the program, and 75% of graduates report a positive career outcome within six months of completion, such as a new job, promotion, or raise.

• To help more people access this flexible training, we’ve provided 100,000 need-based scholarships and additional job readiness support to workers through partners like Merit America, Per Scholas, NPower, Goodwill, Futuro Health, and Generation USA. We also created a $100 million Google Career Certificates Fund with Social Finance to provide services like job placement support and living stipends to support individuals’ Certificate training.

Helping underrepresented workers develop digital skills for today’s economy:

• We’re working with Google.org grantees and Grow with Google partners to bring more resources to underrepresented workers. For example, we worked with Hiring Our Heroes to create the Career Forward program, an initiative that provides veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses with the skills and career support they need to get high-paying in-demand jobs through no-cost access to Google Career Certificates. Additionally, our Black Women Lead program helps train Black women in digital skills with support from organizations like Dress for Success, The Links Inc., and the sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. We’ve also supported the Hispanic Federation to help upskill 10,000 individuals on digital and job readiness skills so far.

Helping people impacted by the justice system find opportunity:

• We created the Grow with Google Fund for Justice-Impacted Communities to enable organizations to teach digital skills to people who have been impacted by the justice system. In partnership with more than 65 organizations across the U.S. – including Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), Defy Ventures, The Fortune Society, The Ladies of Hope Ministries, and The Last Mile – we’re helping people impacted by the justice system develop skills so they can get a job or start a business.

Having access to the right information helps people make informed decisions to support healthier futures for themselves and their communities. Here’s how we’re bridging health information gaps across our products:

Making healthcare options more accessible on Search

• When people turn to Search to learn about Medicare or Medicaid, they’re now met upfront with an overview of eligibility and enrollment requirements. They also find a filter to help them locate healthcare providers nearby who may accept their insurance, alongside a filter for Medicare and Medicaid, and an option to view appointment availability.

Helpful mental health assessments built into search results

• Since people often turn to Google Search to research potential medical conditions, we’ve made it easier to access several clinically validated self-assessment tools in the U.S. in English and Spanish that appear when a user searches for information related to certain mental health conditions.

Helping viewers find reliable health sources on YouTube

• People are increasingly turning to YouTube for health information, so we’re making it easier to find reliable, authoritative content. Our YouTube Health team has rolled out features in a number of countries, including Japan, India, and Brazil, that highlight videos from sources like doctors, nurses, and mental health professionals. Information panels underneath videos will help people verify and provide context on the source.

More health and wellness insights for Fitbit users

• We’re making more of Fitbit’s Health Metrics Dashboard feature available without a subscription to people using Fitbit with compatible devices in countries where the feature is available. The dashboard helps people uncover changes and trends in breathing rate, skin temperature, blood oxygen, and more.

Helping people and communities adapt to rising temperatures

• When people search for information on extreme heat, they’ll see details on when a heat wave is predicted to start and end, tips on staying cool, and related health concerns to be aware of — all prominently displayed in Search results. To make sure the information is relevant and accurate, we’re working with the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN).

• We’ve expanded access to Tree Canopy, part of our Environmental Insights Explorer, which combines AI and aerial imagery so cities can understand their current tree coverage and better plan urban forestry initiatives to create cooler environments.

• Another strategy to support communities that may not have access to reliable air conditioning is developing infrastructure that keeps indoor temperatures cooler. By using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and Google’s aerial imagery, we’re mapping out the solar reflectivity of cities so urban planners and governments can expand the adoption of cool roofs in their cities and states.

Through collaborations with new and long-standing leaders in the health field we’re amplifying social health initiatives worldwide. Here’s how:

Helping underrepresented researchers address health disparities in their communities

• We launched the Google Health Equity Research Initiative to support communities that have been historically underserved by healthcare. This initiative, which was started by Fitbit in 2021, provides researchers with resources and technologies to advance their work – including Fitbit devices and services, Google Cloud credits, and Fitabase support and funding. Efforts by the 2023 awardees will impact LGBTQ+, Black, Latino, and Alaskan Natives communities, as well as underserved birthing parents and groups experiencing intimate partner violence.

YouTube Health and the Kaiser Family Foundation team up to help underrepresented health professionals create and amplify high-quality health videos.

• Equitable access to quality information allows people to make smart decisions about their own health. That’s why YouTube Health and the Kaiser Family Foundation are partnering to launch THE-IQ, a new health equity program that will provide underrepresented communities with resources and support to create high-quality, informative YouTube videos that can help improve health outcomes for their communities.

A multiyear partnership with the World Health Organization makes it easier to find and share health information.

• From SOS alerts during the COVID-19 pandemic to the launch of additional Knowledge Panels on Google Search across a range of languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), Google’s multiyear collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) is providing credible health-related information to help billions of people around the world respond to emerging and future public health issues.

• Through our collaboration with WHO we’re also working to bridge the digital divide, particularly for under-resourced communities. That’s why we worked together to launch Open Health Stack, a suite of components to help developers build offline-capable, data-driven healthcare apps.

We’re working to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) models in medicine, healthcare, and research. Here’s how:

Using AI in the fight against breast cancer

• In 2021, Google Health and Northwestern Medicine partnered on a clinical research study to explore whether AI models can reduce the time to diagnosis during the screening process, making screenings easier and therefore less anxiety-provoking. This work is among the first prospective randomized controlled studies for AI in breast cancer screening.

Searching skin conditions with Google Lens

• A new Google Lens feature utilizes AI image recognition to enable people to take a photo of their skin concern (e.g., a rash or discoloration) and match it with relevant results to inform their search. This feature initially launched in the U.S. across all languages, and we hope to expand to more countries soon.

Med-PaLM 2: Google’s LLM fine-tuned for medical questions

• Med-PaLM 2 is a state-of-the-art large language model (LLM) from Google, fine-tuned for the medical domain. This model is the first to perform at “expert” level on medical licensing exam-style questions.

• The first version of this LLM, Med-PaLM, was peer-reviewed and published in Nature, making Google the first company to publish research detailing an advanced medical-question-answering AI model.

• Ongoing research and testing is helping evaluate bias, safety, and health equity limitations of LLMs in the medical domain to inform future generative AI solutions for health and well-being.

• We are working with Google Cloud customers to explore use cases and share feedback as we investigate safe, responsible, and meaningful ways to use this technology.

Partnering with startups using AI to improve healthcare

• The Google for Startups Growth Academy: AI for Health supports Europe-, the Middle East–, and Africa-based startups using AI solutions in the health and wellness industry. The three-month hybrid program offers a series of tailored workshops, mentorships, and close partnerships with Google and industry experts, helping founders grow their companies and drive the responsible development of AI solutions in health.

A scientific collaboration led to a breakthrough in understanding human genomics and genome sequencing:

• Engineers from Google Research teamed up with a consortium of 119 scientists from 60 institutions to release the first draft human pangenome reference in a Nature paper. This new human pangenome creates a new resource that better represents human genetic diversity and has the potential to help doctors find new ways to treat diseases and develop new therapeutics.

• Google Health partnered with PacBio, a developer of genome sequencing instruments, to create DeepConsensus. Through machine learning methods, DeepConsensus can read DNA code more accurately and could help doctors diagnose diseases, determine if people are at risk, and track how bodies respond to treatment.

Students from marginalized groups face major barriers to computer science education, including lack of exposure and lack of opportunity. To expand computer science (CS) education and help all students develop future skills, we partner directly with innovative organizations and support nonprofits through Google.org funding. Since 2013, we’ve given over $80 million to support innovative nonprofits around the world.

Code Next is a computer science education program that meets Black, Latinx, and Native high school students in their own communities with help from local nonprofits, research organizations, and schools. The program provides the skills and inspiration students need for successful careers in computer science–related fields. Of the recent 12th grade graduates, 91.5% of them were accepted to and are attending college or higher education programs. Of those graduates, 88.4% are majoring in a STEM field in college, with 58.1% specifically naming computer science or information systems as their major.

CS First is an introductory computer science curriculum designed for students in 4th to 8th grade that has helped over 60,000 teachers reach more than 2 million students in 100+ countries. CS First curriculum makes computer science learning effective and fun while leveling the computer science playing field.

Students watch easy-to-follow instructional videos related to their interests that introduce core CS concepts. Using a problem-solving approach, students create coding projects that align to various subject areas like sports, art, and game design, and showcase their creativity.

The Google News Initiative (GNI) is deeply committed to supporting quality journalism from trusted sources and voices that reflect the diversity of the world we live in. Here are a few ways the GNI is working to make the news industry more diverse, innovative, and inclusive:

Supporting research to better understand challenges in the industry:

• GNI provides funding for research projects that help shed light on representation in the industry like a study from Media Diversity Australia, which revealed that over 76% of journalists on Australian screens were found to have an Anglo-Celtic background.

Developing tools and programs to help make journalism more inclusive:

• In 2021, GNI helped VideoOut to create the LGBTQ+ Language and Media Literacy Program, a tool that equips journalists with the knowledge to use LGBTQ+ vocabulary respectfully and accurately.

• The GNI Ad Transformation Lab is a program designed to support publishers serving underrepresented communities in their transition to digital. The program aims to help bridge the technology gap and improve advertising revenue for participating publications.

Providing economic support for organizations serving underrepresented communities:

• GNI Global News Equity Fund is a multimillion dollar commitment to provide non-dilutive cash awards up to $250,000 to news organizations owned by or serving underrepresented communities around the world.

• The GNI supports innovative organizations like Capital B, a Black-led, nonprofit local and national news organization that aims to combat misinformation and fill the basic information needs of Black residents in areas where they are underserved.

In 2020, we launched the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund, a global multi year commitment dedicated to spotlighting and growing Black creators and music on our platform, by giving them access to resources to help them thrive on YouTube. In our first two years, we welcomed 320 grantees hailing from the U.S, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, and Nigeria.

After an inclusivity audit of our own marketing revealed many areas to improve, we partnered with external inclusion experts to build a set of resources and principles to help us tell stories more equitably. To help accelerate progress in the industry at large, we’ve made our All In inclusive marketing toolkit available for everyone to use.

Each year, Google.org grants hundreds of millions of dollars to social enterprises and nonprofits around the globe to help stimulate innovative approaches to solving problems, and provide comprehensive support for underserved communities. For example, the Google.org Impact Challenge supports nonprofits and social enterprises working to make their community — and beyond — a better place. Every challenge invites ideas that tackle a specific problem or support a particular community. The best and boldest ideas are given a strategic package of funding, mentorship, and technical support.

By making our research, open source technology, and products accessible to nonprofits and civic entities, we help fuel their work and problem-solving efforts. Here are some ways we’ve accelerated our partners’ impact through our technology:

• Google’s flood forecasting efforts, in partnership with governments, have improved the granularity and lead time of flood alerts; however, some who lack access to the internet may not receive this timely information. Google.org worked with the Red Cross to build local networks that can get disaster alert information to people who wouldn’t otherwise receive smartphone alerts directly.

• In 2019, a team of Google.org Fellows used machine learning to help UpTogether (formerly known as Family Independence Initiative) make its data more useful in sharing with collaborators and impacting policy. Google.org has supported UpTogether in its mission to help families escape poverty since 2015.

• Since 2017, Google.org has supported Goodwill Industries International with grants and pro bono support to create their Digital Career Accelerator, improve their infrastructure, and analyze data to improve training programs and services for job seekers.

The Google.org Fellowship matches Google employees with nonprofits and civic entities for up to six months on full-time technical projects, with the aim of helping tackle some of the world’s toughest technical challenges. Here are a few ways our Fellows have been helpful in recent years:

Helping to build tools that aid with COVID-19 response efforts, for example:

• Global.health, a data repository designed to model the virus’s trajectory and track its variants
• The National Domestic Workers Alliance benefits tool, to distribute emergency cash funds to essential workers
• Crisis Contact Simulator, a tool that uses AI to simulate conversations with LGBTQ youth in crisis to help train counselors at The Trevor Project

Supporting organizations in the fight for social justice. Through Google.org grants and pro-bono fellowships, we are helping to:

• Scale the Center for Policing Equity’s National Justice Database
• Develop the first real-time, publicly accessible local jail data set alongside the Vera Institute of Justice
• Redesign Measures for Justice’s comparative performance data portal, which is being used to inform policies and advance reform
• Expand Code for America’s efforts to transform the process of automatically clearing criminal records