In Russia, an AI Assistant Helps Raise Funds for Critically Ill Children

A Bridge for Donors

The creation of this unique digital charity platform was no accident. Several years ago, Ramazan Medzhidov from Dagestan found it difficult to locate a trustworthy, convenient service for making donations. Existing platforms were too narrow in focus, lacked user-friendly mobile tools, or raised concerns about fraud. Medzhidov approached developers with the idea of building a new solution, and the first version of Tooba was born.

Today, Tooba has grown into one of Russia’s largest charitable ecosystems. In 2024, total donations made through the app exceeded about $24.1m. More than 126 funds worldwide collaborate with the platform, and 781,000 people have already received assistance. According to the app’s creators, Tooba has no equivalent in the country — and artificial intelligence performs the majority of operational work.

Solving 80% of Requests

AI technologies are deeply integrated into the platform. Algorithms recommend the most relevant fundraising campaigns to users, analyzing who they have supported before and what causes they care about. A virtual assistant answers questions, guides users through the interface, and ensures smooth interactions.

The system also performs document checks and verifies financial reports, minimizing human error and accelerating the process of identifying individuals who urgently need help. The statistics confirm its effectiveness: AI handles 80% of all inquiries, significantly reducing staff workload.

“Our goal is to make charity transparent and effective so that it becomes a good habit. This can only be achieved if users know for certain that their money brings real benefit.”

Ramazan Medzhidov

founder of Tooba

The team plans to build a unified AI assistant that will shorten the path from a request for help to its fulfillment. Developers are currently constructing a platform that will allow users to track every detail of financial transactions. Another major project on the roadmap is a hospital support system that could aid diagnostics and coordinate patients worldwide.

In 2025, the company invested roughly about $635,000 into expanding Tooba’s AI features. An additional about $889,000 is planned for the next two years. Even Tooba’s public events demonstrate strong engagement: this year the platform auctioned a T-shirt signed by legendary football players — Rivaldo, Totti, Trezeguet, Gomez, and El-Hadari. The proceeds, about $24,100, were directed through the app to support children’s football and children with autism.

Doing Good in One Click

This crowdfunding platform represents a rare example of artificial intelligence applied not to commercial goals but to public good. Tooba brings together hundreds of nonprofit organizations, simplifying the daily work of volunteers and charitable groups across Russia.

For everyday users, the app enables safe, transparent giving. The ability to see exactly how donations are distributed builds trust and increases the effectiveness of charitable campaigns. For the Russian IT sector, Tooba demonstrates how AI can be successfully adapted to humanitarian goals — showing how digitalization can improve society rather than just industry.

Further integration with government services is also possible, such as social support mechanisms, targeted aid distribution, and assistance programs for seniors, people with disabilities, and orphans. In the long term, the platform may be valuable to developing nations as a model for AI-driven charity systems. To achieve that, however, it will need multilingual support, compliance with international donor reporting standards, expanded data protection measures, and scalable technical infrastructure.