Looking to add “condom revolutionary” to the Microsoft founder’s legacy, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced today it is offering a $100,000 start-up grant for the design of a “next generation condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure.” More important, they’re looking for it to promote “regular use.”
Before you write off the tech entrepreneur’s pursuits as pervy, imagine that 34 million people in the world are living with HIV and about half of them don’t know they’re infected, according to CNN. The foundation is said to want “something that will lead men and women outside of a committed relationship to stop and think twice before having unprotected sex,” and they want it quickly.
There’s another potential $1 million in further funding to compensate for the time crunch, since the foundation already has manufacturing, marketing, and distribution channels in place.
