Pinduoduo Founder Foundation Donates $100 Million to Alma Mater

(Bloomberg) -- Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang’s Starry Night Foundation has pledged $100 million to Zhejiang University to support fundamental research in biomedical science, agriculture and food.

The $100 million donation, to be disbursed over the next three to five years, will fund research at an advanced institute set up by Zhejiang University and the Shanghai municipal government, according to a statement.

As a first phase of funding, the donation is the biggest pledge to date by Starry Night Foundation since it was set up in July 2020. Huang, who studied computer science at Zhejiang University, and the founding team at Pinduoduo donated 2.37% of their company shares to the irrevocable charity trust at the time, with the aim of promoting social responsibility development and scientific research.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.