Amazon Web Services is investing $20 million into research and development for point-of-care COVID-19 diagnostic tools, the company announced March 20.
Through the AWS Diagnostic Development initiative, research institutions and private companies using the cloud platform to support their coronavirus-related research workloads will be eligible to receive AWS credits and technical support to advance their work.
The initiative launched with participation from 35 research institutions, startups and businesses around the world. Though the initial focus is on developing diagnostic tools to prevent and treat COVID-19, it may be expended to include other infectious diseases in the future.
"The world needs more and more private sector innovation to combat this pandemic. Amazon's commitments and participation are very welcome, particularly since the lack of significant next-generation diagnostic tools remains a large gap in most health systems. A platform to link research, digital capabilities and new products to customers globally is an exciting venture," Steve Davis, a member of the World Health Organization's Digital Health Technical Advisory Group and of the AWS initiative's technical advisory group, said in the announcement.