$1 billion in new commitments: Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, David Koch, Scott Cook, and John Overdeck lead powerful coalition to reimagine economic mobility with AI for millions of low-income families
NextLadder Ventures, launched in July 2025, is one of the most ambitious philanthropic endeavors in recent years, bringing together some of the most prominent names in American charity and business.
With a $1 billion initial commitment to address the growing challenges of economic mobility in the United States, this new coalition has set out to reimagine how technology—especially artificial intelligence—can be used to support millions of low-income Americans.
Behind this initiative are household names such as Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Charles Koch, Scott Cook and his wife Signe Ostby, and John Overdeck.
Each plays a distinctive role within NextLadder. Bill Gates, through the Gates Foundation, lends crucial experience in large-scale, evidence-driven giving and brings his reputation for relentlessly measuring impact.
Steve Ballmer applies his Microsoft-honed focus on data and performance, ensuring that cutting-edge digital tools help frontline workers—such as social workers, legal aid staff, and others who support those in need—do their jobs more effectively and reach a broader audience.
Charles Koch, through his Stand Together foundation, brings a philosophy of empowering individuals and supporting local, community-rooted solutions, favoring bottom-up change over top-down mandates.
Scott Cook and Signe Ostby focus on financial empowerment and entrepreneurship, aiming to expand opportunities for individuals who are often overlooked in the traditional economy.
Meanwhile, John Overdeck champions the responsible and transparent use of data and advanced technologies, insisting that NextLadder lead not only with innovation but also with accountability.
At the operational level, CEO Ryan Rippel shapes and executes this big-picture mission, drawing on his years of experience with the Gates Foundation. Meanwhile, Kevin Bromer helps grantees acquire and utilize the right technology, and Brian Hooks works to build broad support across various organizations and communities.
The ultimate aim of NextLadder Ventures is precise: to give tens of millions of Americans a genuine opportunity for upward mobility, particularly those who face entrenched barriers such as unstable housing, gaps in healthcare, and limited job prospects.
Rather than replacing people with technology, NextLadder aims to empower frontline helpers by placing new digital tools in their hands, making their work more effective and easier, and ensuring that help reaches those who need it most.
Crucially, NextLadder isn’t designing solutions in a vacuum.
They put a strong emphasis on working with the very communities they want to serve, believing that those closest to the problems know best what will work.
Their goal isn’t just to help a few thousand people but to prove how technology, funding, and new ideas can work together to break the cycle of poverty and open up opportunities nationwide.
Anthropic will offer free AI computing power and technical support to the organizations funded by NextLadder Ventures. This will help those groups develop and launch their technology solutions more quickly.
NextLadder Ventures plans to bring in more philanthropic partners and raise additional funds over the next 15 years. At the same time, it aims to encourage other public and private funders to support the growth of scalable technologies that help low-income Americans and essential service providers—such as social workers, legal aid attorneys, and others—tackle significant challenges like job loss, unstable housing, lack of childcare, health emergencies, and clearing criminal records.
If the plan works, outside funders will step in over time, reducing the need for direct investment from NextLadder Ventures.
At that point—15 years from now—the organization’s board will evaluate what comes next.
Regardless of what the future holds for NextLadder Ventures itself, its five founders are expected to continue supporting efforts that promote economic mobility through their foundations, as they’ve done for many years.
Success will be measured not just by the number of lives touched, but by real, lasting improvements in people’s incomes and well-being, setting a new standard for what philanthropy can achieve in America.