The 2026 Goldman Sachs Analyst Impact Fund Finals

The Goldman Sachs Gives Analyst Impact Fund (AIF) is entering its 11th year, having evolved from an initial pilot into a global competition with exponential growth in participation.

• Initial three-year combined participation totaled 1,000 analysts; current annual participation reached 1,063 analysts across 60 global offices.
• Since inception, 7,800 analysts have directed over $6 million to 192 non-profits.
• The 11th annual event featured a grand prize of $250,000 and a total pot of $500,000 to be allocated among four finalists.

The final competition narrowed 1,063 participants down to four finalist organizations, selected for their use of technology to address critical global challenges.

• EveryCure (Winner): A non-profit biotech founded by David Fagenbaum to repurpose existing drugs for rare diseases using AI and human expertise.
  • Secured the grand prize of $250,000 to fund the expansion of its medical research team.
  • Funding targets Stage Two of their process: enabling the review of an additional 2,000 drug-disease matches annually that are currently bottlenecked by human analysis.
  • The platform maps 75 million potential combinations; human medical fellows validate the top matches for safety and feasibility.
  • Repurposing existing drugs is projected to be five times faster and 500 times less expensive than traditional drug development.
• Thorn (2nd Place + Fan Favorite): An organization focused on stopping AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
  • Received $100,000 in grant funding plus $25,000 fan favorite award, totaling $125,000.
  • Proposed "Project Prevent": A four-phase initiative to make children's images resistant to AI manipulation at the source.
  • Proposed "Thorn Search": An AI chatbot to centralize evidence-based safety guidance and support for victims.
  • Over 61 million suspected CSAM files were reported last year (100+ per minute).
  • Currently, Thorn's solutions have helped detect 13.1 million suspected files across 48 countries.
• BuildChange (3rd Place): A non-profit dedicated to disaster-resilient housing and retrofitting.
  • Received a $75,000 grant.
  • Proposes scaling its BCTAP (AI-enabled) app to the Philippines and Indonesia to reinforce 20,000 homes and train 2,000 local builders by September 2027.
  • A 2025 pilot in Indonesia saw 300 homes retrofit with zero loan defaults, while all BuildChange-retrofitted homes in the Philippines withstood Typhoon Noru.
  • The model costs $45 per person to protect, having safeguarded $5.2 billion in housing assets historically.
• WattTime (4th Place): A non-profit creating real-time data on grid carbon intensity.
  • Received $50,000.
  • Proposes building the "AI Emissions Index," a public benchmark to measure data center emissions using satellite imaging and public filings.
  • A 2024 study cited in the pitch indicated actual AI data center emissions were 662% higher than reported.
  • The investment aims to index over three-quarters of global AI labs by end of 2027, targeting a 10% reduction in emissions and $600 in avoided climate damage per $1 invested.

Goldman Sachs leadership emphasized the strategic alignment between the firm's capital and its people's expertise.

• Asahi Pompei, Global Head of Corporate Engagement, noted that 38 partners served as judges, mentors, or coaches, with one in six partners participating this year.
• The firm highlighted that this generation of analysts is the "most technologically sophisticated" to date, with a specific focus this year on AI-driven solutions.
• Board members Ellen Coleman, Michelle Burns, and Kim Harris served as judges alongside 38 partner representatives.
• Brad Weinstein, Head of Goldman Sachs Gives, has proctored the competition since its inception.

The competition structure and judging process included specific financial allocations and audience engagement mechanisms.

• $500,000 total was awarded: $250,000 (Grand Prize) + $100,000 (2nd) + $75,000 (3rd) + $50,000 (4th) + $25,000 (Fan Favorite).
• The "Fan Favorite" vote was open to the global audience of 3,000 attendees across 60 offices, including locations in New York, London, Dubai, Shanghai, Chicago, and Santiago.
• Every division head was informed of the participants' contributions to ensure recognition within the firm's culture.

Analysts described the competition as a cultural exercise in cross-divisional collaboration and communication.

• Teams spanned multiple disciplines (engineering, audit, sales) and regions (NY, Norwalk, London, Birmingham, Bangalore), requiring the resolution of differing professional viewpoints.
• Analysts cited mentorship from senior leaders (e.g., George Kevin, MD) as pivotal in refining pitches from "simplistic" to technically robust.
• The event reinforced the firm's ethos of "impact in action," leveraging two core resources: its people and its capital.

Forward-looking statements regarding the impact of the grants included specific metrics and timelines.

• EveryCure: Aims to review 2,000 additional drug matches annually, potentially saving patients who have been told "no options remain."
• Thorn: Projects that Project Prevent could stop 83 million CSAM photos from being weaponized within five years of deployment.
• BuildChange: Targets reaching 20,000 people and assessing 2,000 homes by September 2027 through microfinance and workforce development.
• WattTime: Aims to create a permanent public benchmark for AI emissions, with a goal of a 10% cut in global AI data center emissions by end of 2027.