Top Technology Companies Join Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Prize Foundation To Lend Support to Ukraine's Refugees

Some of the world's leading technology firms and organizations introduced the Tech For Refugees initiative, including Spotify, Flexport.org, and Airbnb.org, in collaboration with the Breakthrough Prize Foundation founded by Yuri Milner and his wife, Julia Milner. The initiative will assist partners in supporting refugee relief and humanitarian programs in Ukraine and throughout the world. 

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation has made an initial pledge of $100 million, the majority of which will go toward assisting citizens leaving Ukraine as a first step toward expanding the effort to other states. The 61-year-old Yuri Milner is a philanthropist, information technology investor, and venture capitalist. He is a dual Israeli and Russian citizen, resides in California, and is widely known for founding the Breakthrough Prize, designed to promote and support scientific innovation.

Yuri Milner is also a business mogul and is the founder of DST Global. Some of his notable investments are in Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Xiaomi, Alibaba, Airbnb, Flipkart, Spotify, and Byju's. Yuri Milner and his wife, Julia Milner, chose to start the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and Breakthrough Junior Challenge as part of their Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge is a movement in which the world's top humanitarians have pledged to contribute a large portion of their money to charity throughout their lives or in their wills.

Tech For Refugees has committed one hundred million dollars so far to support existing humanitarian organizations and fund emerging programs that give much-needed aid to refugees. This project welcomes new technology partners and innovative ideas for solutions to solve the worldwide refugee problem. Tech For Refugees was inspired by the GoFundMe campaign for Ukrainian refugees, launched by celebrities Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, which has generated roughly $35 million for Ukraine's refugees suffering from the devastating conflict. Around $5.4 million of that came from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and DST Global. 

The UN Refugee Agency has reported that the number of individuals compelled to leave their homes has risen to more than 83 million globally, with at least 25 million of these refugees seeking safety in other nations. Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, more than 4.8 million people, majorly women, and children have been forced to evacuate Ukraine, making it Europe's most significant migration since World War II. Many refugees are now in desperate need of food, accommodation, and other essentials while dealing with the mental and physical pressure of war, and the loss and disappearance of loved ones.

Efforts of Spotify, Airbnb, and Flexport 

Tech For Refugees collaborator Spotify is an online music streaming platform with more than 178 million premium subscribers. It is helping the Ukrainian refugees by providing free services through Spotify Premium. It will also launch a multi-year initiative to leverage the power of music and audio to aid in the rehabilitation of children traumatized by violence.  

Airbnb.org is a non-profit organization committed to providing emergency accommodation to individuals in crises throughout the world. Airbnb.org works independently but uses Airbnb Inc.'s technology, services, and other facilities for free to carry out its humanitarian goals. It is providing free, short-term lodging to up to one million Ukrainian refugees. 

Flexport.org is the extended footprint of Flexport, a digital freight company. Flexport.org was founded to optimize logistics for environmental and social impact, collaborating with trusted international relief workers and charitable organizations to deliver humanitarian assistance wherever required and assisting institutions in meeting their strategic priorities with the utmost ease and reduced costs. Flexport.org delivers emergency medical equipment, hospital beds, and other crucial help using the company's logistics infrastructure and relationships with reputable international charity groups.