The story of 2020 is clearly COVID-19, and the phrase of the year will almost certainly be "social distancing." The entire world has been upended by the novel coronavirus, and while we"re all being socially distant, the common threat has also helped bring us together to fight the disease. People are donating compute cycles to make the fastest computer in the world, LinkedIn is giving away free tools to help essential businesses find employees, and Intel donated $2M to fight the virus, to name but a few.
This morning, Michael Dell joined the fight by donating $100M from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. As part of the donation, $20M is going to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator to identify treatments for the disease, and $80M is being earmarked for relief during this crisis, helping support the healthcare system, non-profits, education, and small businesses.
While money itself won"t be able to buy a cure, the more resources we throw at the problem, the better chances we have of finding a solution and a return to "normal."