Learning + Society
Accelerate Learning
Reimagine learning to ensure every child masters foundational literacy and numeracy—regardless of geography, income, or circumstances.
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A two-year competition to redefine what’s possible in foundational learning
Teams will be challenged with identifying and validating breakthrough solutions that enable children to master literacy and numeracy early, equitably, and at scale.
The outcomes will create proven models with the potential to transform learning for millions.
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Announcing the launch of XPRIZE Accelerate Learning | $6M competition
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Core Track registration
Radically accelerate foundational learning by bringing the most first-graders to mastery — a ≥25 percentage-point gain — for under $10 per child per year.
Last Mile Moonshot Track registration
Transform foundational learning for the last mile by bringing first-graders in target communities to a monumental ≥50 percentage-point gain for under $40 per child annually.
Sponsor
Sponsors fund the prize journey from bold idea to breakthrough—shaping each competition, supporting global teams, and accelerating solutions that scale. Their backing powers impact that lasts well beyond the prize.
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Partners
Partners play a hands-on role in our prizes—co-designing competitions, supporting operations, and helping scale solutions with their expertise, resources, and global reach.
The Barrier
Despite rising global school enrollment, millions of children continue to advance through school without mastering foundational skills, leaving an entire generation unprepared to learn, earn, and thrive.
In many systems, overcrowded classrooms, under-supported teachers, program language barriers, and economic pressures on families make consistent learning difficult to sustain.
Without scalable innovation, today’s approaches will keep falling short of equitable outcomes at scale.
The Breakthrough
Children achieve literacy and numeracy faster, at lower cost, and at scale in real-world conditions — harnessing advances in AI, mobile connectivity, and behavioral neuroscience, while putting the child and their ecosystem (parents, teachers, community) at the center.
Learning is redesigned around mastery of skills rather than grades, adapting to each learner in real time and measuring progress continuously.
Our anticipated impact
XPRIZE Accelerate Learning will demonstrate how children can master foundational literacy and numeracy early, equitably, and at scale, creating proven models with the potential to transform learning worldwide.
- Reach nearly one million children across Sub-Saharan Africa and India during the competition
- Help first-graders master foundational reading and math in one year instead of four
- Validate affordable solutions that work in children’s schools and communities
- Develop proven models that governments and education systems can adopt and scale beyond the prize
- Strengthen the focus on measurable learning outcomes to unlock lifelong opportunity for children, families, and communities
Competition tracks
XPRIZE Accelerate Learning is an $6M, two-year competition with two tracks — Core and Last Mile Moonshot — together designed to drive foundational learning at scale while ensuring no child is left behind.
Each track has distinct timelines, milestones, and purses; teams may enter one or both.
Core Track: radically accelerate foundational learning by bringing the most first-graders to mastery — a ≥25 percentage-point gain — for under $10 per child per year.
Last Mile Moonshot Track: transform foundational learning for the last mile by bringing first-graders in target communities to a monumental ≥50 percentage-point gain for under $40 per child annually.
School/District pairing
Solutions are co-designed, operated, and tested with select countries and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa or India.
Teams will undergo a pairing process where they will be matched with a specific school or district depending on what track they are in, to help foster a partnership and solutions that are co-designed with communities, for communities.
Competition timeline
Competition Launch Date: November 10, 2026
Core Track
- Qualified Teams Announcement: 2027
- Finals Teams Announcement: 2028
- Winners Announced: 2029
Last Mile Moonshot Track
- Qualified Teams Announcement: 2027
- Semifinals Teams Announcement: 2027
- Finals Teams Announcement: 2028
- Winners Announced: 2029
Get Involved
Competition Materials
The Competition Guidelines 1.0 summarize the high-level requirements and procedures of the competition. These guidelines are based upon extensive research and consultation with dozens of experts and researchers across a wide array of relevant fields. Public feedback, open from November 10 to December 11, 2026, provided further refinement. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Registration opens in November 2026. Moonshot Track registration and Qualifying Submissions are due February 15, 2027, and Core Track registration and Qualifying Submissions are due March 15, 2027. All dates are preliminary and subject to change.
XPRIZE Accelerate Learning is open to organizations and teams from diverse disciplines that can develop and deliver innovative approaches to accelerating foundational literacy and numeracy for first-grade learners. Teams can include subject matter experts, enthusiasts, start-ups, student teams, amateurs, industry veterans, and all problem-solvers in between; a winning idea can come from anyone, anywhere. Nontraditional innovators are encouraged to apply, particularly those bringing capabilities, technologies, or delivery models from outside conventional education.
$5M Design for Scale Core Track: effective foundational learning at scale, implemented across a school district for one school year.
$1M Last Mile Moonshot Track: breakthrough, low-cost, offline-capable tech and AI tools for first-grade learners in underserved, resource-constrained communities, so no child is left behind.
Both tracks take place in India and Sub-Saharan Africa. Each team selects one region per track at registration.
Yes. If your team chooses to register for both tracks, your team can register for the Core Track in one region and the Moonshot Track in one region. Each track is a separate competition with its own requirements, registration fee, and Qualifying Submission deadline, so we recommend choosing the track that best fits your team’s expertise and capacity.