Netflix pioneer donates millions to North East university to boost funds

One of the key architects of the Netflix success story has donated more than £3.2m to the North East university where he was once a student.

Neil Hunt, who became Netflix’s first chief product officer in 1999 and worked there for almost 20 years, has made a donation of $4.15m (£3.235m) to Durham University to help fund a number of scholarships and support schemes to help youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds study at the university.

Dr Hunt studied at Durham in the 1980s before a career in the US technology sector that has seen him work for a number of high profile companies. The donation is the second he has made to the university, following a $3.5m gift in 2019 to help more women access leadership roles in the tech sector and establish new scholarships for students from low income backgrounds.

The new donation has been made with his partner Julie Raymond and will be used to fund PhD scholarships aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Hunt-Raymond Innovation Programme, which will support student entrepreneurship. It will also support science students to gain industry experience, establish a Futures in STEM initiative to support young people from low income backgrounds to study computer science at Durham. There will also be support for his former college, Collingwood College.

Dr Hunt - who received an honorary degree from Durham in 2019 - said: “I am passionate about using technology to achieve good for society, and widening access to tech, for women and for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. To be able to support Durham University’s outstanding work in these areas is a privilege. I look forward to seeing the great results that will come in the years ahead.”

Prof Karen O’Brien, vice-chancellor at Durham University, said: “This generous donation will significantly enhance our ability to nurture diverse talent and drive innovation and entrepreneurship. We are immensely grateful to Dr Hunt and Ms Raymond for their continued support.”

Dr Hunt was an undergraduate and postgraduate student at Durham University in the 1980s. Since leaving Netflix, he has been involved in founding, funding and advising several start-up businesses with a strong social purpose as well as serving as a board member for the global technology giant Sony.

His donation follows a similar funding pledge made to Newcastle University earlier this year. Rob Wood, who grew up in Newcastle before earning millions from the sale of a life sciences business he founded, donated £1.25m to Newcastle to set up an academy that aims to inspire others on the same journey.