After three decades of accelerating innovation, there is much to celebrate, and so much more to achieve.
This year, we proudly celebrate 30 years of XPRIZE. On May 16, 1994, XPRIZE began with a moonshot idea inspired by the 1927 $25,000 Orteig Prize, which revolutionized air travel when Charles Lindbergh successfully completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight on The Spirit of St. Louis. Our founder, Peter H. Diamandis, MD, envisioned a prize that would launch humanity to the stars, and knew prize competitions could once again incite massive innovations by launching private space flight for the first time.
With generous support from our now-CEO Anousheh Ansari and the Ansari family, the Ansari XPRIZE became a reality, attracting 26 teams to compete for a $10M prize. The prize—unprecedented at the time—would go to the first team to build and launch a spacecraft capable of carrying three people to 100 kilometers above Earth twice within two weeks. Mojave Aerospace Ventures achieved this with SpaceShipOne. The Ansari XPRIZE not only catalyzed a $546B (and growing) private space industry, but also transformed crowdsourced innovation, proving the XPRIZE model works. The Ansari XPRIZE was awarded in October 2004. Since that first prize, we have steadfastly believed in harnessing human ingenuity to tackle our planet's greatest challenges.
“XPRIZE is about inspiring entrepreneurs, scientists, and technologists with a challenge that will fuel their creativity and enable them to construct a hopeful, compelling, and abundant future for humanity. Dematerialized, demonetized, and democratized technologies have made grand challenges that were once only addressable by government and large corporations, within reach of individuals and small teams. It is my grandest hope that entrepreneurs powered by accelerating technologies and motivated by XPRIZE will uplift humanity and lead us towards an age of abundance." - Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Founder and Chairman, XPRIZE
The world has changed significantly since 1994. The rise in atmospheric CO2 levels has contributed to a one-degree Celsius increase in global temperature. Life expectancy has increased, yet healthy aging has stagnated. Wildfires have burned 1,640,238 hectares of forest in the US alone.Artificial intelligence promises a world of abundance but also threatens the fabric of society. Our global appetite for energy, protein, and water is increasing without adequate sustainable resources. XPRIZE is rising to meet these challenges.
“We live in a critical time in human history where exponential technological advancement is at the crossroads of making our dream of an equitable abundant future come true, or destroy it. XPRIZE is that guiding lens that focuses this powerful energy toward building not destroying, toward abundance not scarcity, toward equity not discrimination. It is built on hope not fear, and at its core built on our collective collaboration.” - Anousheh Ansari, CEO, XPRIZE
XPRIZE designs competitions aimed at achieving audacious yet achievable goals, launching and awarding competitions across various industries to accelerate crucial innovation.
In just the last few years, XPRIZE has launched the three largest incentive prize competitions in history, each with a prize purse of $100M or more. XPRIZE Carbon Removal, with a $100M prize purse, strives to rebalance Earth’s carbon cycle and combat climate change by escalating gigatonne-scale carbon removal solutions. The $101M XPRIZE Healthspan prize seeks to extend healthy lifespans by 10-20 years for aging populations. Our largest prize, the $119M XPRIZE Water Scarcity, aims to revolutionize access to clean water worldwide through innovative desalination solutions.
“Opening the energy and material resources of space through non-governmental spaceflight was widely regarded as impossible and we knew how tough a task it was. But the chance to use space to provide abundance for all and to protect and repair the biosphere kept us going through those often-difficult early years.” - Gregg E. Maryniak, Co-Founder & Secretary, XPRIZE
Our 30 prizes and their respective alumni teams, have sparked enduring impact that resonates far and wide. The NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE secured commitments for nearly 700 million gallons of net-zero aviation fuel by 2050. ChromaCode, winner of the XPRIZE Rapid Covid Testing Grand Prize, developed and distributed 1.5% of all U.S. PCR COVID tests during the Omicron wave, benefiting over 11 million people since launch. XPRIZE Ocean Discovery competition reduced ocean floor mapping time from 600 to just 10 years, while Global Learning XPRIZE co-winners educated 14M children across 55 countries. We're poised to achieve even more.
As humanity faces growing challenges, we are committed to continuous innovation in solving grand challenges. Our active competitions—XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, XPRIZE Rainforest, XPRIZE Wildfire, XPRIZE Quantum Applications, alongside the $100M+ competitions XPRIZE Carbon Removal, XPRIZE Healthspan, and XPRIZE Water Scarcity—are addressing emerging needs and reshaping the world for abundance, opportunity, and equity.
As we look to the next 30 years, we invite you to help us to achieve even more. Join our mission and contribute your ideas, energy, and financial support toward our efforts. As we celebrate 30 years together, we know there is no challenge our community cannot solve.