A naukri.com initiative
StartupDaily
1M
182
AirTrunk billionaire Robin Khuda’s exit leads to $100 million donation backing women in STEM
- Robin Khuda, billionaire founder and CEO of AirTrunk, has donated $100m to the University of Sydney to support girls in Western Sydney studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The Khuda Family Foundation STEM Program aims to address the under-representation of women in STEM by attracting them to the subjects in school and helping them through tertiary studies to a career. The outreach stage of the program will start in six schools, with the first cohort expected in 2027. The program guarantees undergraduate places and scholarships for young women who complete their HSC studies. It aims to benefit communities outside Western Sydney too.
- Thus far, few philanthropists have been as generous in their backing of women than Melinda French Gates and author MacKenzie Scott. Together these two women alone have donated billions of dollars to projects supporting the interests and equity of the gender globally.
- Khuda, a newcomer to billionaire status, recently sold his 9-year-old data centre business Airtrunk for $23.5bn to the Macquarie Group and has pledged to put his new wealth to good use. He launched the Khuda Family Foundation focusing on STEM skills and the advancement of women in technology.
- The philanthropy offered by the Khuda Family Foundation will support the creation of life-changing opportunities for girls and women from Western Sydney. The donation is one of the largest worldwide to back women working in STEM-related fields and is certain to attract the interests of the Tech Council of Australia which aims to create 1.2 million tech jobs by 2030 through gender-diverse employment.
- Khuda said to the University, “Western Sydney, compared to other areas of Sydney, hasn’t had the same level of educational support for students to pursue an early interest in science and technology, and converting their interest into a University degree with that focus…”.
- The STEM scholarship program will see girls supported through the STEM curriculum from year 7 and will continue all the way through university. Upon completing the HSC with the correct criteria, a girl will be guaranteed a STEM scholarship and a dedicated mentoring support throughout their STEM degree program.
- Furthermore, the Khuda Family Foundation has created an invaluable community offering the necessary resources, mentors, and role models designed to empower young girls to pursue opportunities in scientific and technological fields.
- In addition to the Khuda Family Foundation’s backing of the STEM program, the entrepreneur rewarded AirTrunk staff with end of year bonuses of $65,000 each following the sale of AirTrunk.
- The philanthropy by Khuda and his foundation aims to address the lack of diversity in the STEM industry, where women are persistently underrepresented. The Khuda Foundation STEM Program is set to make a long-term, positive impact and correct this anomaly.
- Melinda French Gates and author MacKenzie Scott have donated billions of dollars to support women and gender equity globally in recent years. Gates pledged to donate $1.5bn in 2025-26 to women’s causes, while Scott has donated $26bn in the last five years to over 2300 non-profits over the last five years to support women.
Read Full Article
11 Likes
For uninterrupted reading, download the app