• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechBusinessperson of the Year

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Will Buy an Artificial Intelligence Startup

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 23, 2017, 5:39 PM ET
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, and wife Priscilla Chan arrive on the red carpet during the 2nd annual Breakthrough Prize Award in Mountain View, California
Mark Zuckerberg (R), founder and CEO of Facebook, and wife Priscilla Chan arrive on the red carpet during the 2nd annual Breakthrough Prize Award in Mountain View, California November 9, 2014. REUTERS/Stephen Lam (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS) - RTR4DIFGPhotograph by Stephen Lam — Reuters

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is getting some help from artificial intelligence.

The philanthropic organization, founded by Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan in 2015, will buy Meta, a startup focusing on artificial intelligence and related data analytic technology in the healthcare industry.

The deal was disclosed in a Facebook post Monday by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative president of science Cornelia Bargmann and the organization’s CTO Brian Pinkerton. Terms of the deal were not revealed.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Meta specializes in using artificial intelligence technologies like natural language processing and machine learning to sift through millions of scientific and technology papers and identify which papers should presumably be most important to health-care professionals. Several companies like IBM (IBM) and its Watson business are betting that A.I. technologies can help cut through the noise of the thousands of research papers published each day and help busy doctors keep up to date of the latest health trends.

Meta CEO Sam Molyneux said in a blog post that by joining the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Meta team would now find it easier to work with academics and researchers than it has before as a startup.

Bargmann and Pinkerton wrote that Meta’s technologies can “dramatically accelerate scientific progress” and could help perform feats like helping researchers more quickly discover promising treatments for ailments like coronary heart disease and the Zika virus.

For more on artificial intelligence and health watch our video.

“We will be working to make Meta even more powerful and useful for the entire scientific community, and are committed to offering these tools and features for free to all researchers,” Bargmann and Pinkerton wrote.

Molyneux wrote that because of the pending acquisition, Meta would not focus on making money like a typical business but on more altruistic motives.

“Helping scientists will produce a virtuous cycle, as they develop new tools that in turn unlock additional opportunities for faster advancement,” wrote Molyneux. “The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s recognition of this ‘meta’ effect is why Meta can be a key piece of the puzzle to enable the future of human health that we believe to be possible within this century.”

2017 Will Be the Year of AI

In September, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative said it would spend $3 billion over the next decade on projects intended to cure and treat all human diseases.

The Chan Zuckerberg also hired Bargmann, a former non-executive director of AstraZeneca, to become its president of science in September.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

AsiaSingapore
Singapore-based startup founder Anand Roy thinks generative AI can help fix a broken music sector
By Angelica AngJanuary 8, 2026
20 hours ago
Brown
CybersecuritySocial Media
Mass shootings on campus give rise to a new kind of life-saving service journalism: an anonymous message board called Sidechat
By Leah Willingham and The Associated PressJanuary 8, 2026
23 hours ago
PoliticsDefense
Founder of $30 billion defense tech company Anduril embraces Trump’s threat to crack down: It’s ‘good to scare people sometimes’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
Jassy
Workplace CultureAmazon
Amazon demands proof of productivity from employees, asking for list of accomplishments
By Jake AngeloJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
kappos
CommentaryEconomics
The Nobel Prize winners have a lesson for us all
By David J. KapposJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
Dario Amodei sits in a white chair in front of a pink background and speaks animatedly.
AIEye on AI
AI is boosting productivity. Here’s why some workers feel a sense of loss
By Sharon GoldmanJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
By Emma BurleighJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Workplace Culture
Amazon demands proof of productivity from employees, asking for list of accomplishments
By Jake AngeloJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Bill Gates warns the world is going 'backwards' and gives 5-year deadline before we enter a new Dark Age
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 9, 2026
8 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Law
Amazon is cutting checks to millions of customers as part of a $2.5 billion FTC settlement. Here's who qualifies and how to get paid
By Sydney LakeJanuary 6, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Google billionaire Larry Page copies the Jeff Bezos playbook, buying a $173 million Miami compound that will save him millions in taxes
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Crypto
Russia and Iran are increasingly turning to crypto—especially stablecoins—to avoid sanctions, report finds
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 8, 2026
1 day ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.