◆StayClued

XPRIZE

Competition-specific purses: USD 119 million Water Scarcity, USD 101 million Healthspan, USD 11 million Wildfire and USD 5 million Quantum Applications; payment goes to milestone and final winners rather than every entrant. · XPRIZE Foundation (competition-specific title sponsors, e.g. Google Quantum AI)

XPRIZE designs and runs large-scale global incentive competitions to crowdsource solutions to grand challenges. Multiple multi-million-dollar competitions run in parallel. Prizes are non-dilutive cash purses; XPRIZE takes no equity. Current lifecycle: open. Real economics: Competition-specific purses: USD 119 million Water Scarcity, USD 101 million Healthspan, USD 11 million Wildfire and USD 5 million Quantum Applications; payment goes to milestone and final winners rather than every entrant..

Tier 1 · ranked #7prizenon-dilutiveglobaldeep-tech

ApplyOfficial siteOpen in the live directory

Key facts

FunderXPRIZE Foundation (competition-specific title sponsors, e.g. Google Quantum AI)
AmountCompetition-specific purses: USD 119 million Water Scarcity, USD 101 million Healthspan, USD 11 million Wildfire and USD 5 million Quantum Applications; payment goes to milestone and final winners rather than every entrant.
Decision timeSelection is competition-specific and usually spans qualification, milestone, semifinalist/finalist and independently validated final demonstrations over multiple years.
EligibilityTeams from around the world may register for a specific active competition and must satisfy that competition's agreement, technical thresholds, safety rules, deadlines and validation protocol.
RestrictionsTeams self-fund most development, submit detailed technical evidence, accept inspections and independent validation, comply with safety/site rules, and receive only milestone or final awards earned under the competition agreement. Funds are restricted to the approved work plan, budget, eligible cost categories and award period; unrelated, unsupported, double-funded and noncompliant expenditure is excluded.
Statusopen

Always confirm on the official page before applying — dates and terms change.

Application process

  1. Choose an active competition and read its guidelines
  2. Register your team on the XPRIZE Prize Operations Platform during the open registration window
  3. Submit qualifying/entry materials by the competition deadline
  4. Advance through milestone, semifinal and finalist rounds
  5. Compete in final judging/live testing
  6. Winners awarded the prize purse

Background

XPRIZE Foundation (competition-specific title sponsors, e.g. Google Quantum AI) operates XPRIZE. This pass separates direct cash, repayable finance, credits, incentives and umbrella programs so later ranking does not compare unlike instruments. XPRIZE reports 30 competitions, more than 35,000 innovators across 173 countries and USD 519 million in prize capital. Its 2025 impact report attributes USD 31 billion of measured economic and social value and USD 7.6 billion of capital to competing teams. The original Ansari XPRIZE drew 26 teams and catalyzed commercial spaceflight.

How the application really works

Choose an active competition and read its guidelines → Register your team on the XPRIZE Prize Operations Platform during the open registration window → Submit qualifying/entry materials by the competition deadline → Advance through milestone, semifinal and finalist rounds → Compete in final judging/live testing → Winners awarded the prize purse

Tips

Watch out for

Track record

The reviewed official corpus does not publish a comparable applicant denominator and selection rate.

Frequently asked questions

Is this actionable now?
open. XPRIZE is an umbrella for separate multi-year competitions. As of review it listed four active Grand Challenges—Water Scarcity, Healthspan, Wildfire and Quantum Applications—each with its own registration, milestone and final deadlines; no universal umbrella deadline applies.
What is the real economic value?
Competition-specific purses: USD 119 million Water Scarcity, USD 101 million Healthspan, USD 11 million Wildfire and USD 5 million Quantum Applications; payment goes to milestone and final winners rather than every entrant.
Who is eligible?
Teams from around the world may register for a specific active competition and must satisfy that competition's agreement, technical thresholds, safety rules, deadlines and validation protocol.
How does selection work?
Choose an active competition and read its guidelines; Register your team on the XPRIZE Prize Operations Platform during the open registration window; Submit qualifying/entry materials by the competition deadline; Advance through milestone, semifinal and finalist rounds; Compete in final judging/live testing; Winners awarded the prize purse. Selection is competition-specific and usually spans qualification, milestone, semifinalist/finalist and independently validated final demonstrations over multiple years.
What burden and restrictions apply?
Teams self-fund most development, submit detailed technical evidence, accept inspections and independent validation, comply with safety/site rules, and receive only milestone or final awards earned under the competition agreement. Funds are restricted to the approved work plan, budget, eligible cost categories and award period; unrelated, unsupported, double-funded and noncompliant expenditure is excluded.
What evidence exists?
XPRIZE reports 30 competitions, more than 35,000 innovators across 173 countries and USD 519 million in prize capital. Its 2025 impact report attributes USD 31 billion of measured economic and social value and USD 7.6 billion of capital to competing teams. The original Ansari XPRIZE drew 26 teams and catalyzed commercial spaceflight. The reviewed official corpus does not publish a comparable applicant denominator and selection rate.

Related grants

XPRIZE Healthspan$101 million prize purse; per-recipient maximum not established · XPRIZE / Hevolution FoundationXPRIZE Water Scarcity$119 million prize purse; per-recipient maximum varies by track and round · XPRIZE / Mohamed bin Zayed Water InitiativeXPRIZE Quantum Applications$5 million prize purse; per-recipient maximum not established · XPRIZE / Google Quantum AIXPRIZE Wildfire$11 million prize purse; $3.5 million first prize in each main track · XPRIZE / PG&E / Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy)IGNIITE 2026 provides about USD 500,000 per selected early-career project from a USD 10 million pool; other ARPA-E NOFOs publish separate multi-million-dollar limits and cost-share rules. · Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) — DOENSF Convergence AcceleratorUSD 5,000,000 maximum; see notes for structure · National Science Foundation (NSF)

Sources