Business 4 min read By Arthur Ellington
Goldman Sachs analysts pitch AI-driven charity ideas in $650,000 competition
More than 1,000 analysts took part in Goldman Sachs' eleventh Analyst Impact Fund, pitching philanthropic projects to CEO David Solomon and senior executives, with finalists sharing $650,000 for their chosen causes.
Goldman Sachs has awarded $650,000 to analyst-led charitable projects after its eleventh annual Analyst Impact Fund, a company-wide competition in which junior staff pitch philanthropic ideas directly to chief executive David Solomon and senior executives. More than 1,000 analysts from 45 offices took part this year, the largest field in the programme's history.
A four-person team from Frankfurt, competing under the name Every Cure, won the top prize of $250,000. The group uses technology to identify new uses for existing drugs and move them towards clinical trials, and plans to put the money into accelerating its AI-powered research, expanding its team and getting more approved medicines to patients.
The finalists were the most technologically fluent cohort yet, according to Asahi Pompey, Goldman's global head of corporate engagement and president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation. Around 84 per cent of participating analysts brought artificial intelligence into their pitches, including every team that reached the final.
Team Thorn, drawn from Goldman's Birmingham and London offices, finished second and received $100,000, plus a further $25,000 after being voted fan favourite by the 3,500 employees who watched the event. The team works on technology to combat online child sexual abuse, including threats posed by generative AI.
Build Change, a team based in New York and Norwalk, took third place and $75,000 for work on disaster-resilient housing and community preparation for climate-related crises. WattTime, a Bengaluru team, came fourth and won $50,000 for tools that track emissions linked to electricity generation and support cleaner energy decisions. In total, 25 teams reached the semi-finals, each receiving grants of up to $10,000.
Pompey said the programme places decisions about the bank's charitable giving in the hands of its most junior staff. «Goldman Sachs is putting in the hands of our analysts the decision on where ultimately $6 billion of philanthropic grants have gone over the last 11 years,» she said.
The competition began when two Goldman partners looked for ways to connect junior talent with the firm's culture of service. What started as a small event with a handful of teams presenting to the CEO has become one of the bank's most popular fixtures. Just 1,000 analysts took part across the programme's first three years; in 2026, 1,063 competed in a single edition.
Solomon opens the process each May with an email inviting analysts to join. Employees form small teams, choose a non-profit partner and spend months developing proposals on issues ranging from disaster relief and the environment to medical care and education before facing the judges.
Goldman argues the benefits go beyond the grants. Participants sharpen their presentation skills, collaborate across divisions and meet senior executives face to face. One in six partners mentored a team this year, and former participants coached the newest entrants.
Solomon said in a statement that the programme gives analysts the chance to engage with complex global challenges while developing the leadership, resilience and adaptability that will serve them throughout their careers. Pompey described the initiative as significant for career development, saying it builds the qualities Goldman looks for in leaders: making something complex simple, leading peers with humility, knowing when to hold ground and when to yield, and recognising that asking the right questions can matter more than getting the right answer.
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