$1.25 billion Ellison Institute debuts in Oxford, aiming to find practical solutions to the problems of hunger, healthcare, and climate change

Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and currently the world’s second-richest person, has announced the launch of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), a bold new philanthropic initiative aimed at tackling some of humanity’s most urgent issues.
Created in collaboration with the University of Oxford, the institute represents a dramatic shift in Ellison’s approach to philanthropy, combining cutting-edge science, large-scale infrastructure, and sustained funding to address healthcare innovation, global hunger, and climate change.
The Ellison Institute of Technology is focused on three expansive goals: designing and distributing a new generation of life-saving drugs; addressing food insecurity through engineering higher-yield, resilient crops and deploying affordable indoor farming systems; and tackling climate change by developing advanced clean energy generation and storage technologies.
This mission-oriented model is intentionally built on a fusion of applied science and scalable, global deployment strategies, signaling Ellison’s intention to blur the lines between philanthropy, science, and entrepreneurial problem-solving.
Ellison announced the initiative in a public statement on X, where he also reflected on his previous commitment to the Giving Pledge, which he signed alongside Bill Gates and Warren Buffett over a decade ago.
While reaffirming the importance of charitable donations to nonprofit organizations, Ellison indicated that his new approach would concentrate far more resources on EIT.
“I am amending my Giving Pledge and promising to do more by concentrating my resources on the institute,” he said.
“I believe this will improve our chances of delivering practical solutions to the problems of hunger, healthcare, and climate change.”
The initial investment in the Oxford partnership totals approximately $165 million, allocated toward launching a significant new research and innovation campus at The Oxford Science Park.
The campus will feature over 320,000 square feet of laboratory space, a world-leading supercomputing center, medical and wellness facilities, and a collaborative hub for researchers addressing complex global problems.
The full development is expected to exceed $1.25 billion in total project costs over the coming years.
In addition to the infrastructure, EIT has also committed $38 million in scholarship funding to support at least 100 postgraduate students studying advanced artificial intelligence and applied sciences at Oxford, with the first Ellison Scholars set to begin in October 2025.
The institute is designed to operate independently but in close collaboration with Oxford and other global academic and research institutions, combining philanthropy with direct technological and commercial development.
Unlike Ellison’s past charitable giving—which included quiet but significant donations to institutions such as Harvard and the University of Southern California—EIT marks a more hands-on approach to philanthropy.
Ellison and his team aim not merely to fund scientific discovery but to ensure those discoveries are turned into real-world solutions that reach communities at scale.
The new Oxford-based institute is expected to be completed by 2027 and will serve as the model for additional strategic hubs in other countries.
Master-planned by world-renowned architectural firm Foster + Partners, the site will foster interdisciplinary collaboration by integrating green design with human-centered laboratories, clinical spaces, and campus amenities.
Larry Ellison’s fortune has experienced record growth in recent years, primarily driven by Oracle’s AI-driven cloud computing boom.
As of July 2025, his net worth is estimated to be between $257 billion and $286.8 billion, placing him just behind Elon Musk in global wealth rankings.
Ellison owns 98% of Lānaʻi, Hawaii’s sixth-largest island, and maintains sprawling homes in California and Florida.
“With the Ellison Institute of Technology, I am choosing to focus my energy and resources in a mission-driven institution designed not just to treat the symptoms of global problems, but to solve them,” Ellison said.
With its ambitious scientific agenda, deep financial foundation, and global reach, EIT may signal a new chapter in billionaire-backed philanthropy—one that seeks not just to donate but to shape the course of innovation and change directly.