Susan Wojcicki Foundation

What Susan Wojcicki Foundation does

The Susan Wojcicki Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity launched on May 12, 2026 with $150 million in founding support from the Troper and Wojcicki families, operating in memory of former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who died of late-stage lung cancer in August 2024 despite having no known risk factors. The foundation is led by Executive Director Nadia Litterman PhD, governed by a Board of Directors that includes Dennis Troper, Anne Wojcicki (CEO of 23andMe), Janet Wojcicki PhD MPH, and William Pao MD PhD (former Pfizer Chief Development Officer), and advised by a Scientific Advisory Committee of 14+ oncologists, researchers, and diagnostics experts from institutions including Memorial Sloan Kettering, Stanford, Dana-Farber, Francis Crick Institute, MD Anderson, NCI, Harvard, and UCSF. It is headquartered at 171 Main Street #259, Los Altos, California, with a core staff of 11-15.

The foundation's core offerings are structured as research infrastructure rather than commercial products. These include the Lung Cancer Genetics Study (LCGS) Database — a controlled-access resource of de-identified germline genetic data (collected via 23andMe Research Institute's custom Illumina SNP array) and patient-reported questionnaire data from 998+ participants with a stated goal of 10,000; the Early Detection Biorepository Program — a first-of-its-kind multi-site centralized biorepository of clinically annotated biological samples enriched for early-stage and screening-ineligible populations, established with Brown University; a competitive Grants Program funding investigator-led research through targeted requests for applications; Mission Investing, a venture philanthropy vehicle that deploys catalytic capital plus hands-on scientific, clinical, and operational support into early-stage diagnostics companies; and an aggregated Research Portfolio spanning liquid biopsy, cancer vaccines, biomarker discovery, and studies on biological and environmental drivers of lung cancer.

The foundation funds its operations exclusively through charitable contributions and philanthropic grants. The $150M founding commitment was supplemented by $15M raised at the Evening of Impact fundraiser on May 28, 2026, and by additional multi-million dollar commitments from Google.org, Melinda French Gates/Pivotal, and Salesforce. The foundation reaches researchers and clinicians through grants and co-development partnerships, patients and caregivers through resources and a network of ~24 advocacy organizations, and the general public through earned media coverage (TIME, Good Morning America, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, STAT News, Washington Post) and a Creator Advisory Council that includes YouTube creators such as Mark Rober (18M+ subscribers) and Matthew & Stephanie Patrick (40M+ combined subscribers).

Name

Susan Wojcicki Foundation

Legal name

Susan Wojcicki Foundation

Website

https://susanwfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Susan Wojcicki Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation launched in May 2026 with $150M in founding support that accelerates lung cancer early detection research through grants, the LCGS genetics database, a multi-site biorepository, and venture philanthropy investments in early-stage diagnostics companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Lung Cancer Research & Patient Advocacy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA), Healthcare Access & Life Sciences Impact Funds (FSANAJAI)

Keywords

• Lung cancer research
• Early cancer detection
• Cancer genetics study
• Venture philanthropy
• Nonprofit research grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Altos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations & Philanthropic Grants: The foundation is funded by philanthropic donations from individuals (e.g., founding $150M commitment from the Troper and Wojcicki families), corporate contributions (Google.org, Melinda French Gates, Salesforce), and the general public. Donations are tax-deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code (Federal Tax ID: 33-4873578). Revenue is entirely charitable in nature; no commercial products or services are sold.
2. Mission-Related Investment (Venture Philanthropy): The foundation makes venture philanthropy investments in early-stage companies developing innovative early detection technologies. In addition to catalytic capital, the foundation provides hands-on scientific, clinical, and operational support to help companies advance real-world impact in lung cancer early detection.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Susan Wojcicki Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that funds and accelerates lung cancer early detection and prevention through research grants, the Lung Cancer Genetics Study (LCGS) database, a multi-site centralized biorepository, and venture philanthropy investments in early-stage diagnostics companies. It also convenes advocacy organizations, researchers, clinicians, and digital creators to expand screening eligibility beyond current smoking-based criteria and reduce stigma.

Product overview

The Susan Wojcicki Foundation is a nonprofit philanthropic organization (not a technology product company) focused on saving lives through early detection and prevention of lung cancer. Its core offerings consist of research funding programs (grants, mission investing), shared research resources (Lung Cancer Genetics Study Database, Early Detection Biorepository Program), and a research portfolio of supported scientific initiatives. The Foundation does not offer a commercial software product; instead, it provides grant funding, data access, and biospecimen resources to the research community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lung Cancer Genetics Study Database A controlled-access database that provides qualified nonprofit researchers and institutions with de-identified germline genetic data (SNP array data from 23andMe Research Institute's custom Illumina chip) combined with patient-reported questionnaire data on lung cancer experience, biomarker testing, family history, and in some cases medical records. Access is granted at no cost through a multi-step Data Access Committee review and Data Use Agreement process via a Lifebit platform account.
• Early Detection Biorepository Program A shared research resource that assembles de-identified health information and biological samples from consenting participants with different smoking histories and stages of lung cancer, providing clinically annotated biospecimens for the discovery, development, and validation of early detection biomarkers through partnerships with academic and industry test developers.
• Grants Program A competitive investigator-led research grants program that funds early detection, prevention, and understanding of lung cancer risk. Funding opportunities are offered through targeted Requests for Applications to qualified researchers and institutions.
• Mission Investing (Venture Philanthropy) Venture philanthropy investments made by the foundation in early-stage companies developing innovative early lung cancer detection technologies, providing both catalytic capital and hands-on scientific, clinical, and operational support to help companies advance real-world impact.
• Research Portfolio

Quantifiable outcome

• Lung cancer screening could prevent 62,000 deaths over five years if everyone eligible were screened
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026IARC is conducting research toward developing a blood-based biomarker test designed to identify never-smokers at high risk for lung cancer. The foundation supports follow-up research for a study published in JAMA (INTEGRAL-Risk model) that measured 13 proteins in the blood and identified 85% of lung cancer cases in recent smokers, compared to 63% using current criteria.
• Brown University & Brown University Health Cancer InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Brown University and Brown University Health Cancer Institute partnered with the foundation to establish a first-of-its-kind multi-site centralized lung cancer biorepository. The biorepository is enriched for early-stage and screening-ineligible lung cancer populations, creating a critical resource for the development and validation of next-generation early detection approaches.
• Stand Up To CancercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026The foundation is designed to work alongside Stand Up To Cancer and other leading organizations to accelerate progress against lung cancer. Collaboration focuses on maximizing collective impact in early detection research and awareness.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer, LUNGevity Foundation, Lung Cancer Foundation of America, and other advocacy organizations (~24 total)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026The foundation partners with approximately 24 lung cancer advocacy organizations for the Lung Cancer Genetics Study. These groups include GO2 for Lung Cancer, LUNGevity Foundation, Lung Cancer Foundation of America, The Happy Lungs Project, and biomarker-specific groups (ALK Positive, EGFR Resisters, KRAS Kickers, etc.). Over 25 patients and advocates participate as advisors in research design.
• YouTube / YouTube HealthminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2026The foundation is working with YouTube and YouTube Health to explore ways to broaden lung cancer awareness and shift perceptions across diverse communities. YouTube's scale (2+ billion users) provides a powerful platform for health education content.
• 23andMe / 23andMe Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024The Lung Cancer Genetics Study (LCGS) is the foundation's flagship research initiative, created in collaboration with 23andMe's Research Institute. The study collects germline genetic data and patient-reported information from people diagnosed with lung cancer. 23andMe provides its custom Illumina SNP array platform and manages participant enrollment. The de-identified data is shared with approved researchers. The study enrolled 1,000 participants in under six weeks with a goal of 10,000.
• Stanford University (Ash Alizadeh MD PhD & Max Diehn MD PhD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The foundation supports research at Stanford University led by Dr. Ash Alizadeh and Dr. Max Diehn focused on integrating multiple liquid biopsy analysis techniques to improve early detection of lung cancers. This research combines complementary molecular and genomic approaches to better characterize disease signals at early stages.
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Cathy Wu MD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The foundation supports work at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute led by Dr. Cathy Wu advancing next-generation cancer vaccine technologies through 'tumor avatar' platforms capable of expressing hundreds of tumor neoantigens within a single system. Platforms are designed for both patient-specific and off-the-shelf use, positioned for early clinical testing.
• Francis Crick Institute (Charles Swanton MD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Dr. Charles Swanton, Clinical Director at the Francis Crick Institute and member of the foundation's Scientific Advisory Committee, led a Cell-published study identifying 14 blood proteins that predict lung cancer risk 5+ years before diagnosis and found that an existing anti-inflammatory drug may reduce tumor risk. This represents promising work toward precision lung cancer prevention.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (Bonnie J. Addario): Patient-founded lung cancer nonprofit funding collaborative research, early detection initiatives, and patient empowerment. Closely comparable as a single-disease-focused, founder-anchored foundation supporting translational research.
• Lung Cancer Foundation of America: Patient-advocacy and research funding nonprofit exclusively focused on lung cancer. Comparable in disease-specific mission and advocacy focus, though smaller in research portfolio scale than LUNGevity or the Wojcicki Foundation.
• Prevent Cancer Foundation: Cancer prevention-focused grantmaker and advocate funding early detection research across multiple cancers. Comparable in mission emphasis on early detection, screening guideline expansion, and competitive research grants.
• LUNGevity Foundation: One of the largest lung cancer-specific research nonprofits in the U.S., funding early detection research, providing patient support, and advocating for screening guideline expansion. Most directly comparable to the Susan Wojcicki Foundation in mission, funding mechanisms, and target beneficiaries.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer: Dedicated lung cancer nonprofit focused on screening, research funding, and patient/survivor support. Operates a similar combination of research grants, advocacy, and community-building, and is an explicit LCGS partner of the Susan Wojcicki Foundation.
• Lung Cancer Research Foundation: Grant-making nonprofit funding innovative lung cancer research. Directly comparable as a pure-play lung cancer research funder operating a competitive grants program.

Others

• International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC): Global professional society advancing lung cancer research, education, and screening. Comparable as a stakeholder in the lung cancer research ecosystem but organized as a professional membership body rather than a grantmaking foundation.

Broad incumbents

• Stand Up To Cancer: Multi-disease cancer research funder using high-profile fundraising and collaborative "dream team" research models. The Wojcicki Foundation explicitly coordinates with SU2C, and the two share a mass-market, celebrity-driven fundraising approach.
• American Cancer Society: Largest U.S. cancer nonprofit funding broad research, screening, and patient support across all cancers. Provides a reference point for capital scale, donor reach, and research infrastructure the Wojcicki Foundation is building toward.
• American Lung Association: Large established nonprofit addressing all lung diseases through research funding, advocacy, education, and patient support. Overlaps with the Wojcicki Foundation on screening, research funding, and public education but operates across all lung conditions rather than lung cancer alone.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/susan-wojcicki-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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