Ask HN: What are some software companies that are doing good for the world? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are some software companies that are doing good for the world?

9 pointsbitzoid5 comments

Feeling a bit bummed about the current state of the world. What are some companies and/or roles in software that are actively working to better humanity or the planet?

It would be great to help with solutions to climate change, equality, or mental health, etc. Perhaps I’m just not aware of it but it seems like most of these sort of things are primarily in the realm of other disciplines - humanities, politics, non-software eng fields. What are some ways software eng can meaningfully contribute?

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There are many of them out there, but they have a much lower budget than banks, FAANG, and other top tech companies. Because of that they usually have a much smaller reach, and you don't hear about them much.

Computers are everywhere today, and charities do work more efficiently thanks to specialised software as well.

In the UK, for example, you can find a job at a charity on https://www.charityjob.co.uk/, and some need software engineers/web developers.

If you want more of technology-focused companies, one example that comes to my mind is a Little Ripper, life-saving drone https://thelittleripper.com.au/.

Another one, online GP https://www.babylonhealth.com/

They are out there, but sadly they don't have the same reach as corporations. Another debatable reason: to save our planet, all of us need to take action and software can't help here.

More and more employers these days offer access to workplace giving software that enables people to donate money to causes of their choice and get matching from their employer. There are also a lot of employers matching volunteer time for their employees. If you work at a place like this, you can make a difference simply by providing financial and/or volunteer support to some of the causes that you care about.

Additionally, there are enterprise software companies out there that enable the kind of volunteer matching and donation matching that I mentioned above. This software usually falls into the category of "workplace giving". Working on software like this could provide some of the goodness hit that you're looking for.

If you're in the US, you could take a look at USDS: https://www.usds.gov/

I work primarily on projects for Health & Human Services and definitely feel like I'm doing much more good in the world as a civil servant than I was as at a FAANG.

You could probably look at companies that are included in the prospectus for an ESG fund. Some of them my be making the world a better place, but they should at least neutral.

Not about climate change, but Purism: https://puri.sm/why-purism/

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