EVERY PRIZE, GRAND CHALLENGE, AND WINNING INNOVATION FROM COMPETITOR TEAMS

For 30 years, XPRIZE has challenged the impossible and sparked innovations that have reshaped industries, communities, and the future of our planet. From the depths of the ocean to the expanses of space, XPRIZE competitions have brought together the brightest minds and boldest innovators to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Each prize has pushed the boundaries of human potential by rewarding breakthroughs, catalyzing new industries, and inspiring a global effort to solve grand challenges.

Each of our 30 competitions is a testament to XPRIZE’s vision for the future and unwavering belief in the power of incentivized prizes. From Mojave Aerospace Ventures igniting the commercial space industry after winning the Ansari XPRIZE, to innovators vying in competition finals today, these competitors exemplify our pioneering spirit. 

We are proud of this legacy, and committed to continuing it far into the future. 

01

Ansari XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $10M
Grand Prize Winner: Mojave Aerospace Ventures (Mojave, California)

The Ansari XPRIZE challenged teams around the world to build a reliable, reusable, privately financed, crewed spaceship capable of carrying 3 people to 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, twice within two weeks.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

XPRIZE competitions don’t just crown winners; often, they define industries. That was the case when Mojave Aerospace Ventures claimed the Ansari XPRIZE with their vehicle, SpaceShipOne, and in doing so, launched the $469 billion commercial space industry. 

SpaceShipOne became the world’s first privately crewed vehicle to reach space. Shortly after Mojave Aerospace Ventures won the competition, Virgin Galactic licensed the technology to develop a commercially viable suborbital space tourism system. In 2023, Virgin Galactic successfully completed the first commercial service mission while reaching an altitude of 52 miles (85.1 kilometers). Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Galactic, lends credit for much of this development to XPRIZE, “Without XPRIZE, we wouldn’t be here today.” The company has raised $1.1 billion to date, and continues to operate commercial missions and space tourism flights. 

By demonstrating the potential of private-sector innovation in space, XPRIZE set the stage for visionary companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others to push the boundaries even further, transforming what was once a moonshot idea, into a thriving commercial reality. 

02

Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander XCHALLENGE
Prize Purse: $2M
Grand Prize Winner: Masten Space Systems (Mojave, California)

The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander XCHALLENGE gave the audacious challenge to build a privately funded vehicle capable of flying to an altitude of more than 164 feet (50 meters), laterally for 328 feet (100 meters), and landing on a 33 foot (10 meter) diameter pad with a simulated lunar surface, before refueling and flying back to the original starting point.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Masten Space Systems proved that we can all be lunar explorers. Their winning design, the Xoie Lander with advanced precision landing systems, not only validated a new generation of space technologies but brought the possibility of further space explorations closer than ever before. 

While the competition saw a number of supremely successful competitor teams, Masten Space Systems’ craft earned the title by landing more precisely than any other competing team on a simulated lunar surface dotted with boulders and craters. 

This success continued long after the competition, as in 2014 NASA selected Masten Space Systems for the Lunar CATALYST initiative to develop a robotic lunar lander. This eventually led to a $75.9 million contract to build, launch, land, and operate their XL-1 Moon lander to support NASA’s Artemis program. “Because of the XPRIZE competition, we are now able to move forward in our industry and go higher than ever before,” says founder Dave Masten. In September 2022, Google Lunar XPRIZE team Astrobotic Technology acquired Masten Space Systems.

Prize Honorable Mentions 

• Armadillo Aerospace (Rockwall, Texas)

Armadillo Aerospace’s Scorpius rocket nearly won the competition, completing the feets necessary to win, but was only beaten out by the accuracy of Masten Space Systems’ landing. 

03

Archon Genomics XCHALLENGE
Prize Purse: $10M
Grand Prize Winner: Outpaced by Innovation

Archon Genomics XCHALLENGE tasked innovators with rapidly, accurately, and economically sequencing 100 whole human genomes to an unprecedented level of accuracy.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

As we architect the future we want, sometimes the present catches up to us. When this happens, it is a massive benefit to society as a whole, but requires us to reevaluate our prize competitions. This was the case with the Archon Genomics XCHALLENGE.

After setting the bold goal of fast and affordable genome sequencing, we found that innovations in the genome sequencing industry made rapid, accurate, and affordable genome sequencing a reality that outpaced the goals of our competition. 

“When we launch an XPRIZE, we do so with the understanding that it may not achieve its objectives–either because we made the finish line too difficult, or sometimes because we did not make it hard enough,” said Peter H. Diamandis, MD, Executive Chairman & Founder, XPRIZE, “If we are only launching prizes we know will succeed, we are not taking enough risk to reach the goals we set for ourselves to ultimately benefit humanity.”

04

XPRIZE Google Lunar
Prize Purse: $30M
Grand Prize Winner: No Grand Prize Awarded

XPRIZE Google Lunar’s challenge would bring competitor teams beyond the bounds of our planet. It tasked teams with soft-landing a craft on the moon, moving 500 meters on or above the lunar surface, transmitting two “Mooncasts,” and completing a data uplink.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

For generations, dreamers have looked at the Moon and imagined exploring its surface. XPRIZE Google Lunar empowered private industry to pursue this dream and explore this great symbol of further frontiers.

While no team was able to meet the competition’s Grand Prize standards within the necessary timeline, this XPRIZE spurred an unbelievable amount of innovation. Teams invested more than $420 million, started private space companies in India, Malaysia, Israel, and Hungary, and collaborated across political borders. The impacts included NASA contracts, technological advances, legislative influence, and increased awareness of, and investment in, STEM education. Winning an XPRIZE is not necessary for success—all one needs to do is strive for it. 

In early 2024, XPRIZE Google Lunar alum Intuitive Machines successfully landed their Odysseus lander on the Moon, making it the first privately built vehicle to do so, and the first American-built spacecraft to land there in over 50 years. 

05

Progressive Automotive XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $10M
Grand Prize Winner: Edison2 (Lynchburg, VA)

The Progressive Automotive XPRIZE set out to change fuel efficiency as we know it. Teams from around the world competed to design and build production‐capable, super fuel‐efficient and clean vehicles that could exceed 100 miles per gallon (2.35 liter/100km) or energy equivalent. 

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Imagine a car that could travel more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) on a single gallon of gas. For Progressive Automotive XPRIZE winner Edison2, it was an ambitious goal that they were determined to make a reality. Their “Very Light Car” or VLC weighed less than 850 pounds (385 kilograms) and used a E85-capable 40 horsepower gasoline engine to achieve a highway efficiency of 113 mpg (2.08 l/100km) and a 600 mile (965 kilometer) range. Along with their lightweight and efficient engine, the team leveraged aerodynamics to achieve the incredible feat.

Along with winning the XPRIZE, the VLC was named one The Best Inventions of 2010 by Time. In the year after the competition, they reinvested their prize money to develop further interactions of the VLC.

06

Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup XCHALLENGE
Prize Purse: $1.4M
Grand Prize Winner: Elastec (Carmi, Illinois)

The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup XCHALLENGE set out to vastly improve oil spill cleanup with a goal of recovering oil on the sea surface at the highest oil recovery rate, over 2,500 gallons (9,464 liters) per minute, with an oil recovery efficiency of more than 70%.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Who would have thought that a team from Illinois could best an entire industry at ocean oil spill cleanup? At XPRIZE, we know solutions can come from anyone, anywhere.  Elastec’s Grand Prize winning system uses grooved plastic disks which spin vertically in the water. Oil sticks to these plastic discs, while water does not. The oil can then be scraped off the discs and pumped out of the spill.

Their system worked so well it recovered oil at a rate of 4,760 gallons (18,019 liters) per minute with an efficiency of 89.5%. Not only did this smash the competitions’ standards, it more than tripled the effectiveness of the industry’s best solution at the time. 

Elastec launched their system commercially after the competition and continue to develop products for environmental cleanup including oil spill recovery, debris collection, and cutting invasive aquatic weeds, “Our participation in the XCHALLENGE led to the development of new, groundbreaking technology,” says Brian Orr, Elastec’s Director of Operations. 

07

NOKIA Sensing XCHALLENGE
Prize Purse: $2.25M
Grand Prize Winner: DMI (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Nanobiosym (Boston, Massachusetts)

The NOKIA Sensing XCHALLENGE tasked teams with developing a new generation of health sensors and sensing technologies that could drastically improve the quality, accuracy, and ease of monitoring a person’s health.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Given the complexity of developing advanced health sensing technologies, this XCHALLENGE implemented distinct competition phases, encouraging even more opportunities for innovative breakthroughs and transformative solutions.

Nanobiosym, a team led by Dr. Anita Goel, won the Phase I grand prize. The group created Gene-RADAR, a portable device equipped with a nanochip that can read the genetic code from a small sample of blood or saliva to detect the presence of pathogens. The device can detect pathogens including E. coli and HIV/AIDS in less than an hour, with the same accuracy as a lab. Moreover, because this portable technology does not require intensive infrastructure like electricity or running water, it could be deployed anywhere, including remote locations. 

DNA Medicine Institute (DMI) won the Phase II grand prize. The DMI team developed a small portable device called rHealth, short for Reusable Handheld Electrolyte and Lab Technology for Humans. The device was capable of conducting rapid tests using a single drop of blood to screen users for a number of diseases and health conditions including cold, flu, or more nefarious pathogens including pneumonia and ebola. In addition, the device offered real-time health data via wireless sensors on the patient. 

These solutions have accelerated the development of advanced, non-invasive mobile sensing technologies in healthcare–innovations that will undoubtedly shape the future of personalized, accessible medical care for everyone.  

08

Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $10M
Grand Prize Winner: Final Frontier Medical Devices (Paoli, Pennsylvania)

The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE challenged teams to accurately diagnose a set of 13 medical conditions independent of a healthcare professional or facility, and continuously measure vital signs.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Few science fiction worlds hold quite the innovation legacy as Star Trek. In this XCHALLENGE, teams turned inspiration into reality when they created consumer-focused, mobile integrated diagnostic devices like the famous Star Trek Tricorder. 

Final Frontier Medical Devices, a family-led company, beat out relative Goliaths in the industry with their DxtER device. DxtER used various sensors to monitor health and leveraged artificial intelligence to interpret and analyze patient data in real-time to diagnose up to 34 different health conditions, including ailments like pneumonia, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation.

If that wasn’t enough, the device can also share this information with your medical providers at your discretion—though that may not include Dr. McCoy or Captain Kirk. 

09

Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $2M
Grand Prize Winner: Sunburst Sensors (Missoula, Montana)

The Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE tasked teams with creating pH sensor technology that could affordably, accurately, and efficiently measure ocean chemistry across depths. 

THE WINNING INNOVATION

The ocean is massive and mysterious, with vast unexplored depths and uncharted terrain. To help demystify the ocean and its role in the global climate crisis, this competition sought to change the way in which we collected ocean data. 

Sunburst Sensors used their Submersible Autonomous Moored Instrument (SAMI) technology to create sensors that could measure pCO₂ (the amount of CO₂ dissolved in the water) and pH in the water from boats, in labs, near the water’s surface, and deep in the ocean. Their affordable technology won the competition after finals testing at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Seattle Aquarium, and a deep-sea test off the coast of Hawaii where their sensors worked successfully at nearly two miles (three kilometers) beneath the ocean surface. 

Sunburst Sensors' technology has not only been used in studies off the coast of Africa, but has also proven effective in research in rivers and the Great Lakes. “We are a small company, and being able to demonstrate how well our approach works versus other, larger companies, was validating. We went into the contest with the attitude that even if we lost, we would learn a great deal, and the effort and expense would be worth it. And it was,” says James Beck, CEO. 

10

Global Learning XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $15M
Grand Prize Winner: Enuma (competed as Kitkit School)(Albany, California) and onebillion (London, England)

The Global Learning XPRIZE set out to revolutionize education by tasking teams with developing open-source, scalable software that empowers children to teach themselves basic reading, writing, and arithmetic within 15 months.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

A good idea can make large ripples. For the co-winners of XPRIZE Global Learning, onebillion, and Kitkit School, that means the education of millions of children around the world. 

onebillion’s low-cost tablet, with no other apps to distract children, uses activities, games, and stories to engage students, and can be adapted to languages all over the world. They have already helped 750,000 children across 17 countries, many with no understanding of numbers or reading, achieve comprehension. They plan to partner with the government of Malawi to reach every primary school in the country, impacting over 3.5 million children by the end of 2029. “XPRIZE has been a huge catalyst. The funding itself has afforded us the independence to really focus on the needs and realities of children in the contexts in which we work,” says Nat Dinham, Partnerships Lead.

Co-winner Enuma’s Kitkit tablet-based software achieved the highest learning gains during the 15-month competition, thanks to their game-based architecture. It has been downloaded more than 13 million times around the planet, and the organization helped to provide free software to students in 55 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kitkit has since expanded their offerings with game design, engineering, and AI capabilities, delivering over 20,000 foundational learning activities focused on improving learning efficacy.

11

Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $7M
Grand Prize Winner: Learning Upgrade (San Diego, California) and People ForWords (Dallas, Texas)

The Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE sought to change life and literacy for adults. This competition challenged teams to develop mobile applications for existing smart devices that would result in the greatest increase in literacy skills among participating adult learners in just 12 months.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Small changes that fit easily into our lives can make a big impact. This XPRIZE leveraged a common object, the smartphone, to empower users to improve their literacy. For co-winner Learning Upgrade, their learning software gave users access to more than 1,400 lessons and 28 courses aimed at learners across ages and abilities. And it works. Their software has reached over 3 million students in over 40 countries for more than 250,000 hours of user learning each month with songs, video, games and rewards. 

Co-winner People ForWords took a similar approach and added a bit of fun to keep users engaged. Their app  “Codex: Lost Words of Atlantis,” uses an archeological adventure storyline to keep users engaged while they improve their English reading skills. 

The Adult Literacy XPRIZE not only unlocked new pathways for learning but also set a precedent for how technology can drive lasting change in education and reach millions of learners worldwide.

12

NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $20M
Grand Prize Winner: CarbonCure (Halifax, Canada) and CarbonBuilt (Los Angeles, California)

The NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE set out to address the planet’s climate criss by addressing the carbon cycle through innovations to develop breakthrough technologies to convert CO₂ emissions into usable products.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

In this competition, the co-winners truly are building the world they want to live in. That is because both teams, CarbonCure and and CarbonBuilt, developed technologies to reduce  CO₂  emissions in the concrete-making process while also storing carbon within the concrete. 

CarbonCure’s technology reclaimed wastewater from concrete plants and injected captured CO₂  into concrete during the mixing process. This created a mineralization process which allowed the concrete to permanently store the input CO₂. This process not only reduced the CO₂, but also increased the strength of the concrete. CarbonCure estimates that this process has already saved 496,040 tons (450,000 metric tons) of CO₂ .

CarbonBuilt also used carbon mineralization to permanently store carbon in their concrete blocks, employing lower-carbon binding ingredients to not only reduce CO₂ production, but to actively store it as well.

This competition led to several innovations beyond concrete, including finalist AirCompany, who were able to convert CO₂ into alcohols and fuels that could be used for vodka, aviation fuels, and hand sanitizers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

13

Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $7M
Grand Prize Winner: GEBCO-NF (Durham, New Hampshire)

The Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE sought to uncover the unknowns of the ocean depths by challenging teams to advance deep-sea technologies for autonomous, fast, high-resolution ocean exploration.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Before this competition, only 4% of the world’s ocean floor had been mapped. Experts estimated that mapping the other 96% would take another 600 years! After the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, that timeline dropped to an astonishing 10 years. By 2023, more than 25% had already been mapped. 

GEBCO-NF sat at the center of this revolution with their unmanned surface vessel, the SEA-KIT. This low-cost vessel, in combination with a cloud-based data processing system, allowed the team to quickly visualize the seafloor. 

Not only this, but their unmanned vessels can be configured with an adaptable payload to serve a variety of missions working either as a solo ship, or as part of a fleet. This opens the door for fast and cheap transport, without risk to any human crew. To prove this point, GEBCO-NF successfully completed the first unmanned commercial cargo crossing of the North Atlantic in May, 2019. 

14

IMB Watson AI XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $5M
Grand Prize Winner: Zzapp Malaria (Tel Aviv, Israel)

The IBM Watson AI XPRIZE sought to create new opportunities for humans to work with AI to tackle global challenges.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

The power of AI to solve human problems is only limited by how creatively we can apply it. For Zzapp Malaria, AI was a key element for fighting a very non-digital problem—Malaria. With the help of AI, their innovation has already protected more than 1 million people in seven countries. 

The team from Tel Aviv used AI to analyze satellite images and topographical maps to identify malaria transmission hotspots. The AI can then optimize malaria elimination strategies for each location that it then delivers through a map-based mobile app that gives workers in the field simple instructions for how to implement strategies to slow transmission. The app also allows the field workers to give feedback, water body sampling data, and AI-guided positioning of mosquito traps to measure the size, type, and spread of mosquito populations over time.

In urban and semi-urban settings, where 60% of Africa’s population lives, Zzapp’s solution is twice as cost-effective as today’s leading method, distribution of bed nets.

15

Women's Safety XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $1M
Grand Prize Winner: Leaf Wearables (New Delhli, India)

The Women’s Safety XPRIZE sought to leverage technology to empower communities to rapidly respond to threats against any of its members, enabling women’s safety, and allowing for quickly deployed assistance when needed.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

When technology empowers people, it can change both individual lives, and the world.  For Leaf Wearables, that meant helping women feel safe. 

Their technology, SAFER PRO, won this XPRIZE competition by enabling individuals to send emergency alerts—including location details—to their guardians at the push of a button. This is made possible by a small chip that can be inserted into various devices and jewelry.. The device would also then begin recording audio. The size of the device allowed users the ease and flexibility to incorporate it into their lives and wardrobes. 

Leaf Wearables’ technology was affordable, easy to use, and could reach a network of community responders, all features that helped it meet the competition guidelines. It also earned them a selection as a finalist for Fast Company’s 2019 World Changing Ideas Awards. “The Anu & Naveen Jain Women’s Safety XPRIZE gave us the incentive and focus to continue to work toward our mission and make the world a safer place to live, learn and work,” said Leaf Wearables’ Team Leader Manik Mehta

16

XPRIZE Water Abundance
Prize Purse: $1.75M
Grand Prize Winner: Skysource/Skywater Alliance (Los Angeles, California)

XPRIZE Water Abundance challenged teams to alleviate the global water crisis with energy-efficient technologies that harvest fresh water from thin air.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

If you believe in your idea, you’ll put just about anything on the line to see it through. For Skysource Founder and President David Hertz, that meant mortgaging his house to compete in XPRIZE Water Abundance finals. Thankfully for Hertz, and all of us, his idea, WEDEW (Wood-to-Energy Deployed Water), worked so well it won his team the competition.

WEDEW creates usable water by leveraging thermodynamics to create temperature imbalances that cause moisture from the air to condense for harvest. They power the process with biomass gasification, making it a 100% renewable energy solution. Their self-contained water generating system is helping communities around the world address water scarcity, including through a partnership with the U.N. World Food Programme to bring the technology to Uganda, Liberia and India. “The XPRIZE competition created a compressed timeline on which to advance the concepts and technology, and subsequently has provided instant credibility and access to opportunities,” says Hertz.

17

ANA Avatar XPRIZE
Prize Purse: $10M
Grand Prize Winner: NimbRo (Bonn, Germany)

ANA Avatar XPRIZE motivated teams to develop robotic avatar systems that could transport human presence to a remote location in real time.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Imagine if first responders could save victims in dangerous disaster areas without putting themselves at risk, or doctors could operate on patients in remote areas of far continents, or a scientist could work on the Moon, without having to worry about life support systems. These are the futures that the competitors in the ANA Avatar XPRIZE strived to achieve.

NimbRo won the competition by securing an impressive perfect score in the finals, requiring their avatar system to navigate a challenging course that included operating switches, identifying objects by weight and texture, and operating a drill. 

Other finalists in the competition are already seeing their avatar system make a difference in the world. Touchlab is using its technology in a hospital geriatric acute ward to reduce the transmission of healthcare-acquired infections. 1to1 Robotics has secured contracts with NASA to work to put teleoperated robots on the Moon, and Team UNIST is developing their avatar to support emergency disaster response teams in areas where access for search and rescue, and administering aid is too cramped, dangerous, or hard to reach for humans. 

18

Adult Literacy XPRIZE Communities Competition
Prize Purse: $1M
Grand Prize Winner: World Education (USA)

This extension of the Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE focused on spreading free, effective, convenient and private mobile learning tools to increase literacy rather than developing the technologies themselves. While XPRIZE provided the apps, teams needed to develop and implement strategies to deliver them to learners.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Innovation is only effective if you put it in the hands of those who it can most help. That is why this extension of the Adult Literacy XPRIZE focused on spreading the innovations made by each of the finalist teams. 

World Education, a collection of adult education programs and funders, won the highest tier of this competition after spreading the apps designed in the competition, to the most people. The group did this through libraries, adult education programs, tutoring, career centers, and workplace education programs among others. 

World Education promoted all four of the finalist apps and, after the competition, reached out to the winners of the competition's smaller tiers to team up to better advance adult literacy together. 

19

XPRIZE Pandemic Response Challenge
Prize Purse: $500K
Grand Prize Winner: Valencia la4COVID (Valencia, Spain) and JSI vs COVID (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

The XPRIZE Pandemic Response Challenge rose to meet the emerging challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It tasked teams with developing data-driven AI systems to predict COVID-19 infection rates and prescribe intervention plans (IPs) that regional governments, communities, and organizations could implement to minimize harm when reopening their economies.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

When challenges demand fast solutions, perhaps no one is better suited to meet them than innovators. That was especially true in the thick of the COVID-19, when this competition tasked competing teams with developing systems to mitigate pandemic risks in the real world. 

Many partners stepped forward to aid in the success of this competition. Cognizant provided foundational research and their Evolutionary AI modeling as a baseline and teams also received data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government response tracker.

Valencia Ia4COVID won the competition after collaborating with the Valencian government to forecast epidemiological evolution, which allowed them to successful predict a surge in cases, and predict when those numbers would begin to decline, greatly assisting the local government's ability to manage the crisis. 

Co-winner JSI vs COVID similarly modeled the virus successfully to the great aid of local authorities. 

20

XPRIZE Rainforest
Prize Purse: $10M
Grand Prize Winner: To Be Determined

XPRIZE Rainforest challenges teams from around the world to use novel technologies to expedite the monitoring of tropical biodiversity.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Tropical rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, but their vastness and complexity restricts our ability to fully assess that biodiversity. By deploying rapid and autonomous technology into the forest, researchers can gain near-real-time insights about biodiversity. This can provide the necessary data to inform conservation action and policy, support sustainable bioeconomies, and empower Indigenous Peoples and local communities who are the primary stewards, protectors, and knowledge holders of the planet’s tropical rainforests.

Six teams participated in XPRIZE Rainforest finals in Amazonas, Brazil in 2024. Each team was tasked with producing impactful insights in just 48 hours after being given just 24 hours to survey 246 acres (one square kilometer) of dense tropical rainforest. 

The winning team will develop novel technologies to rapidly and comprehensively survey rainforest biodiversity and use that data to improve our understanding of this complex ecosystem to the benefit of both biodiversity and forest communities. 

21

XPRIZE Rapid COVID Testing
Prize Purse: $6M
Grand Prize Winner: Reliable LFC, LLC (Carlsbad, California), ChromaCode (Carlsbad, California), Mirimus (Brooklyn, New York), La Jolla Institute for Immunology (La Jolla, California), and Alveo Technologies (Alameda, California)

XPRIZE Rapid Covid Testing Challenged teams to develop much-needed COVID-19 testing methods that were easier to use, fast, and cheap to develop at scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

THE WINNING INNOVATION

When the world needed solutions most, and most urgently, our community of innovators stepped up to the challenge. In the midst of the struggles to survive a global pandemic, competitor teams in this XPRIZE fought to find solutions for all of humanity. 

An impressive 20 teams met the criteria to compete in competition finals, and after extensive clinical validation from two separate laboratories, the XPRIZE Rapid COVID Testing judges selected five teams as co-winners of the competition. 

ChromaCode, one of these co-winners, used high definition PCR technology, cloud-based analytics, and Amazon Web Services for real time access to data to create flexibility, affordability, and scalability in their tests. Their technology was so scalable in fact, that ChromaCode was responsible for 1.5 percent of all U.S. PCR COVID testing during the Omicron wave.

“Winning the XPRIZE grand prize for high-throughput COVID-19 testing has been incredibly rewarding. We were suddenly on the global stage with the XPRIZE name behind us,” said Chris MacDonald Former Chief Scientific Officer at ChromaCode.

22

XPRIZE NEXT-GEN MASK CHALLENGE
Prize Purse: $1M
Grand Prize Winner: Luminosity Lab (Tempe, Arizona)

XPRIZE Next-Gen Mask Challenge asked teams to reimagine protective face masks used to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by making them more comfortable, functional, accessible, and even stylish.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Sometimes a great solution, like wearing a mask to prevent the spread of infectious disease, can be derailed by a seemingly simple problem: foggy glasses.

That’s why this XPRIZE challenge tasked teams of competitors ages 15-24 to address at least five of the common issues users complained about masks during the COVID-19 pandemic:  fogging of glasses, getting too hot, being uncomfortable, causing breathing difficulties, making conversations challenging, prohibiting exercise while wearing, causing pain or not fitting properly, blocking facial expressions, preventing eating or drinking, not being eco-friendly, looking ugly or boring, and difficulty acquiring.

The student-led Luminosity Lab from Arizona State University won the competition with their FloeMask, which, among its advantages, eliminated glasses fogging. The team created a two-chambered mask that kept breath exhaled from the mouth and breath exhaled from the nose separate, which helps potential glasses-fogging air from escaping out the top of the mask and behind your glasses.

To make the most of their solution, Luminosity Lab created CAD files and cloth templates to streamline mass production.

23

XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling
Prize Purse: $5M
Grand Prize Winner: In lieu of a Grand Prize Winner, four teams shared a 1.5M Finalist Award:

Dignified Work (Spokane, Washington), Team Isotonik (Washington, D.C.), SHIFA360 (San Diego, California), and VITAL (Boston, Massachusetts)

XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling aimed to assist the most vulnerable individuals facing employment loss by developing and demonstrating effective rapid training and reskilling solutions.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

When you set audacious goals, you don’t always reach them, but that doesn’t mean that striving to achieve goes without reward. 

Although there was no grand prize winner of XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling, as no team met  the criteria of scaling their training program to train and place 5,000 workers in three industries in ten months, success still flourished. Four finalist teams shared $1.5 million for the massive work their efforts achieved.  

Across the competition, employees who trained in programs developed by competitor teams are expected to gain a total of $8.7 million in increased wages in one year, a $20,000 increase per worker. Prior to training, the average hourly wage of these workers was $8.80, which is expected to increase to $19 post Rapid Reskilling training.

SHIFA360 developed a 4-week online program accessible anywhere and anytime to reskill people for careers as community health workers, medical secretaries, and motor vehicle operators. Team Isotonik of Washington, D.C used cutting-edge technology like augmented reality and an AI-enabled engine to adapt to learning styles to train for in-demand job in the healthcare sector. 

24

XPRIZE Feed The Next Billion
Prize Purse: $15M
Grand Prize Winner: To Be Awarded in 2024

XPRIZE Feed The Next Billion challenges teams to produce chicken breast or fish fillet alternatives that replicate or outperform conventional chicken and fish in: access, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, nutrition, as well as taste and texture.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

By 2050, Earth’s population will be 9.7 billion. Demand for meat products is increasing while impact from meat production practices devastates our planet. We need new ways to feed the next billion humans.

Satisfying the global demand for meat will accelerate deforestation and biodiversity loss, strain global water supply, accelerate climate change, intensify inhumane treatment of animals, and worsen food safety and insecurity issues.

The solutions developed as a result of XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion will provide a more environmentally sustainable path to meeting emerging demand for meat products, while advancing food systems, and animal welfare.

25

XPRIZE Digital Learning Challenge
Prize Purse: $1M
Grand Prize Winner: Adaptive Experimentation Accelerator (Raleigh, North Carolina)

The XPRIZE Digital Learning Challenge invited teams to enhance education by modernizing and accelerating the ways in which we identify effective learning tools and processes to improve learning outcomes.

THE WINNING INNOVATION

Education is perhaps our most valuable pursuit as a species. Through education, we empower innovation and creative problem solving. That is why it is so important to accurately identify how we can improve the ways we teach and learn, and adapt those methods to changing needs. 

Adaptive Experimentation Accelerator won this competition with the creation of their 'MOOClet' toolkit which democratizes the contribution of educational ideas from teachers, students, and scientists, then experimentally tests which ideas work for which students. 

Their artificial intelligence algorithms are then able to analyze data and adapt educational experiments in just days, where past experimental methodology would have taken months to adjust. This allows for testing more ideas more quickly, and using promising data to more rapidly get these approaches to students.

“XPRIZE helped us see the potential of our experimental approach to change how we do science. Our method could offer substantial benefits to others—a realization that became clear only after we presented our approach to a broader audience through the competition,” said Mohi Reza from Adaptive Experimentation Accelerator. 

26

XPRIZE Carbon Removal
Prize Purse: $100M
Grand Prize Winner: To Be Awarded in 2025

XPRIZE Carbon Removal challenges teams to address the climate crisis by creating and demonstrating solutions to pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans, and sequester it durably and sustainably. 

THE INNOVATION

The climate math is clear: we will need gigaton-scale carbon removal in the coming decades to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that in order to keep the rise of global temperatures below 2.7-3.6°F (1.5 - 2℃) we will need approximately 11 gigatons (10 gigatonnes) of net CO₂  removal per year by 2050. Success in meeting this goal will require a vast range of carbon removal solutions.

This competition invites innovators to create and demonstrate solutions that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans, and sequester it durably and sustainably. Any carbon negative solution is eligible: nature-based, direct air capture, mineralization, or anything else that achieves net negative emissions, sequesters CO₂ durably, and shows a sustainable path to low-cost growth to gigatonne scale.

After three years of competition, XPRIZE Carbon Removal selected 20 finalist teams from over 1,300 team entries from 88 countries. These teams will be challenged to use their novel carbon removal technology to remove 1,102 tons (1,000 tonnes) of CO₂ during the final year of the competition. 

27

XPRIZE Wildfire
Prize Purse: $11M
Grand Prize Winner: To Be Awarded in 2026

XPRIZE Wildfire aims to revolutionize firefighting by tasking teams with developing innovative technologies to end destructive wildfires so that humanity and beneficial wildfire can safely co-exist. 

THE INNOVATION

Extreme wildfires are on the rise, and globally, the severity of wildfires is increasing. Extreme wildfire events account for only about 3% of all wildfires–but drive over 80% of total associated fire damages, and cost $350 billion annually in the US alone. 

XPRIZE Wildfire will spur innovation across a wide range of firefighting technologies, transforming the practices of a crucial industry that has not seen major change in a century. 

The competition is designed to synergistically transform how fires are managed and fought across two tracks: The $5 million Space-Based Wildfire Detection and Intelligence Track (Track A), and $5 million Autonomous Wildfire Response Track (Track B).

Track A will rapidly and accurately detect all fires across a vast and remote area and transmit data to ground stations. Track B will transform how fires are managed and fought by rapidly and autonomously detecting and completely suppressing a destructive, high-risk fire in environmentally challenging areas. 

Competing teams will drive innovation and build new tools to keep up with the increasing threats and mounting challenges posed by extreme wildfire events.

28

XPRIZE Healthspan
Prize Purse: $101M
Grand Prize Winner: To Be Awarded in 2030

XPRIZE Healthspan is set to change human aging by incentivizing competing teams to create proactive, accessible therapeutics that reduce the risk of chronic age-related diseases, increase human healthspan, and extend quality of life well into our later years.

THE INNOVATION

In our current healthcare systems, traditional medicine treats symptoms of injury, illness, and disease only after they develop. This reactive system extends life, but doesn’t proactively improve health, leaving millions grappling with poor quality of life and related economic challenges in their later years.

Success in this competition will create change to the way we think about, and approach, aging and disease. Competitor teams can create a world where every single person on earth benefits from the ability to enjoy longer, healthier lives, bringing more time with family and friends, opportunities for continued learning, second or third careers, and fulfilled bucket lists.

29

XPRIZE Water Scarcity
Prize Purse: $119M
Grand Prize Winner: To Be Awarded in 2029

XPRIZE Water Scarcity challenges teams from around the world to generate novel seawater desalination technologies that are reliable, affordable, and sustainable, increasing access to clean water.

THE INNOVATION

By 2030, we will lack 40% of the water needed to meet global demand. Today, 80% of the global population already suffers from serious threats to water supply. Traditional desalination methods are unaffordable to low- to medium-income countries, face increasing threats to operations from pollution and climate change, drive negative environmental impacts, and are unsustainable solutions to mitigating water scarcity.

Generating novel seawater desalination technologies that are reliable, affordable, and sustainable while increasing access to clean water will significantly reduce the risk of water scarcity and help alleviate water stress worldwide. 

In revolutionizing desalination, our competitor teams will allow us to access more than 96% of Earth's water resources year-round and create a world where clean water is equitably and sustainably abundant, enabling people and the environment to prosper.

30

XPRIZE Quantum Applications
Prize Purse: $5M
Grand Prize Winner: To Be Awarded in 2027

XPRIZE Quantum Applications challenges to generate quantum computing algorithms that can be put into practice to help solve real-world challenges.

THE INNOVATION

Current quantum computers are not advanced enough to solve real-world societal problems. But, technology is advancing rapidly. As these computers become more powerful, we need to focus their capabilities on identifying and tackling some of the largest problems humanity faces.

This multidisciplinary challenge at the intersection of computer science, physics, and mathematics seeks to use the emerging information processing power to address complex, global challenges in climate, sustainability, health, and beyond.

As we reflect on these remarkable 30 competitions and their lasting impacts, one thing is clear: this is just the beginning. 

We remain committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, enabling innovation to flourish, and empowering humanity to solve our greatest problems. The future promises more grand challenges, more breakthrough innovations, and more equitable abundance for all. 

Join us as we continue this journey into the next era of transformational impact. The future belongs to those bold enough to create it.

THE AUTHOR