It will commit US$1 billion in an investment fund to help the state create more low- to mid-income housing, and another US$1 billion to help first-time home buyers with financing and down payments. It’s also offering US$300 million of land for affordable-housing development in San Jose, and US$200 million for low-income housing in the Bay Area. (Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: Apple’s is the largest in a series of affordable housing commitments from California-based tech firms. Last month, Facebook pledged US$1 billion to help with the problem, and Alphabet has also made a billion-dollar commitment in the Bay Area. The rapid expansion of the tech sector in the state has created a large volume of high-income jobs that have pushed up housing prices. That’s made it difficult for middle-class workers to make rent—including contractors at many tech firms, like Facebook’s janitors and security guards. However large these companies’ pledges, they haven’t been enough to silence critics; as one said, the money may simply be “good public relations at a touchy moment.”