Jon Swartz

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Tech billionaire Michael Dell, who grew up in Houston before founding Dell Technologies, has pledged $36 million — the largest donation so far — to assist Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

"The scale of human tragedy is unprecedented," Dell, who spent the first 14 years of his life in Houston, told USA TODAY in a phone interview Thursday, a day before the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation announced its gift.

"I turned on the TV (last week) and saw a neighborhood called Meyerland, where I grew up, flooded," Dell said. "I know those streets extremely well. I used to ride my bike there every day."

The goal of the foundation is to raise $100 million. The Dell Foundation will initially contribute $18 million and match another $18 million as donations come in.

Several major corporations have kicked in millions of dollars in pledges — among them, Verizon ($10 million) and Toyota ($3 million).

Facebook and Google each took less than 24 hours to hit their matching goals of $1 million in funds raised to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey. Amazon hit its goal within days.

Additionally, Apple donated $2 million to the American Red Cross for relief efforts. It has also pledged to match employee donations two to one.

More:Humanitarian efforts aim to minimize Harvey's misery

More:Tech firms raise millions within hours to aid Hurricane Harvey victims

More:J.J. Watt's Hurricane Harvey fundraising effort climbs past $14 million

Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Jon Swartz @jswartz on Twitter.