The next major wave of philanthropy may not come from inherited family fortunes, oil wealth or traditional foundations. It may come from the founders, engineers and early employees behind today’s fast-growing AI and technology companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI, some of which may reach public markets later this year.

SpaceX offers a recent, though not identical, example of how quickly technology wealth can be created. The aerospace and technology company completed a record-breaking IPO in June 2026, raising US$85.7 billion (RM346.5 billion) and drawing enormous investor attention. The listing also created substantial paper wealth for existing shareholders and other equity holders, although that value remains subject to market performance.

Recent reporting, including coverage by The Economist, has suggested that AI entrepreneurs and employees could eventually direct hundreds of billions of US dollars towards philanthropy. Nan Ransohoff, Head of Public Goods at Stripe and a prominent voice on this emerging wave of technology philanthropy, has highlighted Anthropic as one example. Its seven co-founders have reportedly pledged to give away 80% of their wealth, while the company has also introduced an unusually generous employee donation-matching programme.

Much of this potential wealth, however, remains on paper. Potential future public listings may be delayed, valuations can change, and a pledge is not the same as money reaching a charitable organisation.

Yet, an interesting global shift may be emerging. A new generation of technology founders, engineers and early employees are beginning to ask not only how to create wealth, but what to do with it. Recent reporting on AI-linked philanthropy suggests that the tectonic shift is already taking shape among technology entrepreneurs.

For Malaysia, the question is whether we will be ready when this new generation of donors starts looking for credible problems worth solving.

Technology-created wealth may also produce a different style of giving.

Many emerging donors are likely to ask difficult questions: What can RM1 million achieve? How many lives could it improve? What evidence supports the intervention? How will we know whether it worked?

Malaysian organisations seeking global philanthropic capital should be prepared to answer these questions.

But there is a danger. If philanthropy becomes focused only on interventions that produce immediate and easily measured results, we risk neglecting work whose impact may take years to emerge but could eventually change millions of lives.

Cancer research is one example.

Many major advances in cancer treatment begin long before a drug reaches a patient.

Scientists first need to understand why normal cells become cancerous, how tumors evade the immune system, which genetic changes drive disease, and why one patient responds to treatment while another does not.

This fundamental research is the foundation on which new diagnostics, prevention strategies and treatments are built. But it is expensive, uncertain and slow. It requires scientists, laboratories, specialized equipment, biological samples, computing infrastructure and years of accumulated expertise.

Not every experiment succeeds, and not every discovery becomes a treatment. That uncertainty makes early-stage cancer research difficult to fund through conventional investment, where investors usually expect a clearer path to financial returns. Philanthropy can fill this gap by giving scientists the time and flexibility to pursue promising ideas before they are mature enough to attract commercial investment. If this new generation of AI philanthropists is comfortable backing bold, long-term bets, fundamental medical research should be one of them.

One example is Cancer Research Malaysia (CRMY), a Malaysian non-profit focused on cancers affecting Malaysians and other Asian populations, which have historically been underrepresented in biomedical research.

CRMY’s work spans cancer genetics, precision medicine and cancer immunology, including vaccine research for oral, lung and nasopharyngeal cancers.

This is where philanthropy can have outsized impact. Early discoveries often undergo years of testing before governments or commercial investors are ready to step in. Philanthropic funding can help bridge that gap, giving promising ideas a better chance of becoming new ways to prevent, detect or treat cancer.

Malaysia should not wait for a cheque to appear.

Non-profits, universities and research institutions should strengthen governance, audited financial reporting, research integrity, data protection and their ability to demonstrate outcomes. They also need clearer narratives around impact. Scientists are used to explaining their work through technical milestones and publications. Philanthropists may need a different translation:

Malaysia should also avoid chasing donor fashion. Local organisations should not redesign their missions simply to attract whatever issue becomes fashionable among wealthy technology donors.

The strongest organisations will remain grounded in problems they genuinely understand.

Donors, on their part, should recognise that meaningful impact does not always arrive within a twelve-month grant cycle.

A community screening programme may produce measurable results quickly. A fundamental cancer discovery may require five or ten years before patients benefit. Both can be valuable.

Good philanthropy needs room for both.

The possible AI philanthropy boom creates an extraordinary opportunity, but Malaysia should not approach it with a begging bowl. We should approach it with credible propositions:

Cancer research is a powerful example. A discovery made in the laboratory today may become a diagnostic test, prevention strategy or treatment years from now. We cannot predict which experiment will produce the breakthrough, but breakthroughs in science are unlikely to happen without sustained investment in fundamental science.

Malaysia should therefore prepare not only to attract AI-era philanthropy, but also to help shape a more strategic, evidence-based approach to giving.

Cancer is one of humanity’s hardest problems. Malaysia already has scientists working on possible answers. The question is whether a new generation of philanthropists will be willing to back them before the breakthrough becomes obvious.

Many in the AI generation became wealthy by believing in possibilities before they were proven. Perhaps its greatest legacy will be funding the scientists who are asking society to do the same.

Dr Low Ley Hian is head of business development at Cancer Research Malaysia and a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Center.

Fikrie Hashim is chief fundraising officer at Cancer Research Malaysia.