The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a private philanthropic organization based in Seattle, founded in 2000 by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. As one of the world’s largest private foundations, it provides grants and program-related investments to improve global health and development and to expand opportunities in education and economic mobility. The foundation operates through program areas including Global Health, Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, Gender Equality, and U.S. Programs, and also deploys mission-related capital via its Strategic Investment Fund.
Relevant to the chemical and process industries, the foundation funds and coordinates R&D at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and engineering. Focus areas include vaccines and biologics manufacturing, diagnostics, sanitation and water treatment technologies, agricultural inputs and crop science, and climate adaptation solutions suited to low-resource settings. It partners with universities, research institutes, companies, and nonprofits to translate research into scalable, affordable products and to strengthen manufacturing, supply chains, and regulatory pathways in emerging markets.