Essay: Announcing the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Occasion and Framing
Mark Zuckerberg’s 2015 essay is framed as a letter to his newborn daughter, Max, using her arrival to reflect on the world she will inherit and the responsibilities of her parents’ generation. Through this intimate lens, he announces the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and a lifetime commitment to channel 99% of the couple’s Facebook shares to advance a long-term mission.

Core Mission
The essay anchors CZI in two overarching goals: advancing human potential and promoting equality. Zuckerberg argues that society has made extraordinary progress over the last century, longer lifespans, rising prosperity, broader education, and greater connectivity, but insists that the benefits remain unevenly distributed. He frames the mission as building a future where every child has the opportunity to reach their potential, regardless of where they are born or the circumstances they face.

Initial Focus Areas
Zuckerberg sketches several domains for early investment. Personalized learning stands out as a way to tailor education to each student’s needs, helping them learn at their own pace and equipping teachers and parents with better tools. He contends that technology can help move beyond a one-size-fits-all classroom and close achievement gaps.

He also sets an ambitious target to help cure, prevent, or manage all diseases within his daughter’s lifetime. The essay emphasizes accelerating scientific discovery by funding basic research, supporting talented scientists, and building tools, computational methods, data platforms, and collaborative infrastructure, that can make research faster and more open. Health, he argues, is fundamental to unlocking human potential.

Another priority is connecting the world so that everyone can access the internet, information, and essential services. He links connectivity to freedom of expression, civic participation, and economic opportunity. Finally, he highlights the importance of building strong, inclusive communities, pointing to social and policy challenges that undermine stability and opportunity, and suggesting support for reforms that expand fairness and safety.

Approach and Time Horizon
Zuckerberg emphasizes patience and long-termism. He writes that lasting change comes from persistent effort over decades, not quick wins. CZI will use a range of tools, philanthropic grants, investments in mission-aligned companies, policy advocacy, and open collaboration with governments, nonprofits, and the private sector. The essay favors experimentation and risk-taking, with the expectation that some bets will fail while others produce outsized benefits. Technology is positioned as an accelerator, but the work is grounded in empowering people, teachers, doctors, scientists, and community leaders.

Values and Safeguards
The essay underscores values of equality, inclusivity, and freedom of expression. Zuckerberg stresses the need to protect civil rights, expand access to opportunity, and ensure that progress respects privacy and dignity. He links transparent, open science and shared knowledge to faster collective advancement, while acknowledging that tools must be used responsibly.

Financial Commitment and Structure
Zuckerberg pledges to transfer 99% of his Facebook shares over his and Priscilla Chan’s lifetimes to support the mission. He notes that CZI’s structure allows philanthropic giving, private investment, and policy work, reflecting a belief that different problems require different instruments. He also affirms his continued leadership at Facebook, positioning the company’s platform as one contribution to the broader effort to connect and empower people.

Tone and Promise
The letter balances realism about persistent challenges with optimism about human ingenuity and collaboration. It reads as both a personal promise to a child and a public commitment to future generations: to expand opportunity, reduce suffering, and leave a more connected, healthier, and fairer world.