Local billionaires Michael and Susan Dell are putting up $100 million through their charitable foundation to help come up with solutions for the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Dell, founder of Round Rock-based Dell Technologies, announced through a social media post that the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will commit $20 million toward the Therapeutics Accelerator, an effort founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to identify potential treatments for COVID-19 and accelerate their development and distribution.

The foundation will also commit $80 million "to providing relief for the communities we serve with a focus on four areas: supporting our healthcare systems; sustaining the work of nonprofits and social enterprises; supporting our education systems; and stabilizing livelihoods and small businesses," Dell said in a post on the social media site Linkedin.

Susan Dell told the American-Statesman that the foundation will support local nonprofit efforts aimed at helping those who are struggling through the pandemic.

She said the foundation, for example, is helping a telethon organized by All Together ATX Fund, through matching donations. Susan Dell added that the foundation will continue searching for ways to dedicate funding.

"We are — and always have been — focused on giving to the areas of greatest need. One of the challenges in this environment is the level of uncertainty while the world is on lockdown," Susan Dell said in a statement. "We need to ensure that we are aligning resources against not only the challenges of today, but the challenges in future weeks, even though it is harder to predict what those will look like."

Susan Dell said simply throwing money is not the solution to the problem and said every person has a role to play in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

"Whether caring for others on the front lines, donating money and resources, or simply the very important act of staying home. With everyone doing what they can to combat the virus, we are confident that we will beat it," she said.

David Fleeger, president of the Texas Medical Association, said research funding can be critical in times of a major pandemic. The Texas Medical Association is a nonprofit that represents more than 50,000 physicians and medical professionals in Texas.

"We’re all one community, and this is a circumstance in which those with more resources are able to stand up for those who don’t. They’re helping all of us when they contribute to these types of funds and this type of research," Fleeger said.

In February, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it would commit $100 million toward coronavirus research. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced this week that he had made a $100 million gift to Feeding America, a nonprofit that supplies food banks around the country.

Fleeger said the medical community appreciates the financial support from those in the tech industry.

He said innovations from companies such as Dell Technologies and Microsoft also play important roles in the day-to-day operations of physicians and medical workers.

"Knowledge in medicine helps us provide better care to our patients with better results. Technology augments that goal and makes it possible," he said. "It’s hard to imagine practicing without using technology; we use it in everything we do."