XPRIZE

What XPRIZE does

XPRIZE Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Peter H. Diamandis and headquartered in Culver City, California. It designs and operates large-scale incentive prize competitions—structured, outcome-based contests with multi-million to nine-figure purses—that invite global innovators to develop breakthrough technologies in domains including space, climate, health, water, and education. Over three decades, XPRIZE has launched 30 competitions, engaged 35,000+ innovators across 173 countries, and converted $519M in prize capital into $31B in measurable economic and social value (60x leverage), generating 9,745 patents and 20,000+ jobs.

The current portfolio spans five focus areas (Deep Tech + Exploration; Energy + Climate + Nature; Food + Water + Waste; Health; Learning + Society), with flagship active competitions including XPRIZE Healthspan ($101M), XPRIZE Water Scarcity ($119M), XPRIZE Wildfire ($11M), XPRIZE Quantum Applications ($5M), and XPRIZE Rainforest ($10M), plus the recently concluded $100M Carbon Removal prize. Additional programs include XPRIZE Connect (youth innovation), Build with Gemini (AI hackathon), and Future Vision (sci-fi film competition). The foundation does not develop proprietary technology; rather, it operates competition frameworks, milestone-based testing, and third-party validation protocols to drive breakthroughs by external teams.

XPRIZE is funded through philanthropic donations, corporate sponsorships, and title partnerships with foundations such as the Musk Foundation, Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, Hevolution Foundation, PG&E, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and corporate partners including Google, Amazon, and Salesforce. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. Distribution occurs through the global team portal (pop.xprize.org), the Visioneering and Moonshot Gathering events, alumni networks, and youth programs. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors, led by Executive Chairman Diamandis and CEO Anousheh Ansari, with approximately 51-100 employees.

Name

XPRIZE

Legal name

XPRIZE Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://xprize.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

XPRIZE Foundation is a non-profit that designs and operates large-scale incentive prize competitions to catalyze breakthrough technologies in climate, health, space, and education, engaging 35,000+ innovators across 173 countries and converting $519M in prize capital into $31B in measurable impact.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Incentive Prize Competitions

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual & Hybrid Participation Events (App-Based, Remote/Hybrid Races) (MPAKAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Obstacle Course & Adventure Races (OCR, Mud Runs, Adventure Racing) (MPAKAIAE)

Keywords

• Incentive prize competitions
• Nonprofit innovation foundation
• Grand challenge prizes
• Technology challenge competitions
• Philanthropic innovation funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Culver City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations and Benefactors: XPRIZE operates as a non-profit foundation funded primarily through philanthropic donations from individuals, corporations, and government entities who sponsor competitions or provide general operating support.
2. Competition Sponsorships: Corporate and institutional sponsors fund specific prize competitions (e.g., Musk Foundation's $100M Carbon Removal, Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative's $119M Water Scarcity). Sponsors shape competition design and receive recognition and association with breakthrough outcomes.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

XPRIZE designs, funds, and operates large-scale public incentive prize competitions that invite global innovators to develop breakthrough technologies addressing humanity's grand challenges. The foundation offers multi-million to multi-hundred-million-dollar prize purses (e.g., $100M Carbon Removal, $119M Water Scarcity, $101M Healthspan) structured around clear, measurable outcomes, milestone payments, and independent testing, with sponsor capital sourced from philanthropy, corporations, and governments. Beyond active competitions, XPRIZE operates supporting programs such as the XPRIZE Connect youth initiative and the pop.xprize.org Team Portal.

Product overview

XPRIZE is an incentive competition organization that operates a portfolio of large-scale prize competitions designed to tackle humanity's toughest challenges. The portfolio is organized across five focus areas: Deep Tech + Exploration, Energy + Climate + Nature, Food + Water + Waste, Health, and Learning + Society. Active flagship competitions include XPRIZE Carbon Removal ($100M, concluded 2025), XPRIZE Water Scarcity ($119M, 2026 semifinals), XPRIZE Healthspan ($101M), XPRIZE Wildfire ($11M, 2026 finals), XPRIZE Quantum Applications ($5M), and XPRIZE Rainforest ($10M). Additional products include XPRIZE Connect (youth innovation program) and Build with Gemini XPRIZE (AI hackathon). The portfolio also encompasses past competitions spanning ocean discovery, cultivated food, space exploration, pandemic response, literacy, and autonomous vehicles, as well as competitions in fundraising phases including XPRIZE Critical Minerals, XPRIZE Coral Restoration, XPRIZE Mission Methane, XPRIZE Ovarian Health, XPRIZE Accelerate Learning, and Adaptive Plants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• $519M prize capital has generated $31B in economic and social value (60x leverage)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Planet Classroom NetworkminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 June 2026Partnership with Planet Classroom Network for the 'AI for a Better World' podcast series featuring XPRIZE CEO Anousheh Ansari discussing responsible AI innovation.
• GooglecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 May 2026Google is the presenting sponsor of the Build with Gemini XPRIZE hackathon ($2M prize pool) and partner for the Future Vision XPRIZE ($3.5M film competition). Google provides creative technology support including Gemini, Google AI Studio, and Cloud infrastructure.
• AmazoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Amazon and XPRIZE are collaborating to design the XPRIZE Critical Minerals grand challenge, a global competition aimed at accelerating scalable solutions for critical minerals circularity and responsible sourcing, aligned with Amazon's goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
• Seraphim SpaceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Seraphim Space formed a Global Space Advisory Council including XPRIZE representation, focusing on structural forces shaping the space economy including defense, communications, climate monitoring, and sustainability.
• Project InnerSpacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2026Project InnerSpace and XPRIZE have announced a collaboration to design a major incentive prize targeting breakthroughs in integrated geothermal surface plant systems, including turbomachinery components. The prize addresses structural bottlenecks limiting geothermal deployment at scale.
• Range Media PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 March 2026Range Media Partners is a co-presenting sponsor of the Future Vision XPRIZE, providing comprehensive production support to help the grand prize winner develop their concept into a feature film.
• YPOminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2025Strategic partnership announced to catalyze innovation and impact between YPO and XPRIZE networks.
• Google Quantum AIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Sponsor of XPRIZE Quantum Applications ($5M competition) focused on advancing quantum computing applications in collaboration with GESDA.
• 350 SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner for XPRIZE Carbon Removal, providing expertise in evaluating and developing innovative environmental technologies with over 60 years combined experience.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HeroX: Crowdsourced prize competition platform spun out of XPRIZE; runs incentive competitions across science and technology challenges. Most direct peer — operates the same business model of sponsoring prize competitions to crowdsource breakthrough solutions.
• Nesta Challenges: UK-based charity running large-scale prize challenges (e.g., Longitude Prize on AMR, £10M, and various Grand Challenges). Comparable as a mission-driven incentive-prize operator with government and philanthropic backing.
• Wazoku (formerly InnoCentive): Open innovation and crowdsourced problem-solving platform; runs paid challenges for corporate and government clients. Closely comparable in operating crowdsourced innovation competitions at enterprise scale.
• NineSigma: Open innovation services firm connecting corporations with external problem-solvers through challenge-based programs. Comparable as a paid open-innovation intermediary, though more B2B-services oriented than XPRIZE.
• Hevolution Foundation: Saudi-backed foundation (up to $1B annual budget) co-sponsoring XPRIZE Healthspan ($101M). Comparable as a large, mission-driven grantmaking foundation actively funding aging/longevity research at prize scale.

Emerging players

• Kaggle: Data science competition platform (now part of Google) running machine-learning challenges with cash prizes. Comparable as a prize-based crowdsourcing platform, but narrower in domain (ML/data science) and commercial rather than philanthropic.
• Devpost: Hackathon and online challenge platform used by corporations and governments to crowdsource software solutions. Comparable as a prize-based hackathon operator, though more B2B-focused and software-domain-specific than XPRIZE.

Broad incumbents

• MacArthur Foundation: Large US philanthropic foundation ($8B+ endowment) making grants for big-bet global challenges. Comparable as a high-profile grantmaking foundation with a portfolio approach to audacious problems, though not competition-based.
• Wellcome Trust: One of the world's largest charitable foundations (over £30B), funding bold science and health challenges globally. Comparable as a mega-philanthropic foundation with comparable prize-scale funding capacity, particularly relevant given XPRIZE Healthspan overlap.
• Templeton Foundation: Large philanthropic foundation funding 'big questions' in science, health, and human progress. Comparable as a mega-donor funding ambitious, science-driven initiatives with measurable outcomes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/xprize
• YouTubeyoutube.com/xprize
• Facebookfacebook.com/xprize
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/18183
• Instagraminstagram.com/xprize

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments31 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about XPRIZE