MIT Solve
MIT Solve is an MIT initiative that runs global open-innovation challenges to source, fund, and support technology-based solutions addressing climate, health, learning, and economic challenges, serving social impact entrepreneurs and corporate/foundation partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What MIT Solve does
MIT Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It operates an open innovation platform that sources, evaluates, funds, and supports technology-based solutions to global social challenges across climate, health, learning, economic prosperity, Indigenous communities, and youth innovation. The core product is the Global Challenges Platform, which runs competitive open challenges and custom challenges designed in collaboration with corporate, foundation, and multilateral partners such as Verizon, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Macquarie Group, Amazon, and Truist Foundation. Solver teams apply through a self-serve global funnel; AI-assisted screening built on GPT-4o mini categorizes submissions before human review, compressing review of nearly 3,000 applications to ten days. Selected solvers receive grants, coaching, mentorship, and partnership matchmaking through a structured Solver Support Program.
The business model is nonprofit and donor-funded rather than commercial. Revenue streams include challenge prize funding mobilized from corporate partners and philanthropists, custom challenge partnership fees, and donations to the Solver Impact Fund (100% of which is directed to solvers). Across its first decade, Solve has run over 100 challenges, received 28,200+ applications from 190+ countries, forged 1,000+ partnerships, mobilized $85M+ in funding to 460+ solver teams, and reached an aggregate 430 million+ lives through solver solutions. Customer segments are dual-sided: solver teams (the supply side, served at no cost) and corporate/foundation sponsors (the funding side, served via bespoke challenge design). As an MIT initiative rather than a separately incorporated entity, Solve operates within MIT's governance and has no external investors, cap table, or public revenue disclosure; financial transparency is therefore limited relative to a commercial enterprise.
MIT Solve firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MIT Solve
- Legal name
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Website
- https://solve.mit.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MIT Solve is an MIT initiative that runs global open-innovation challenges to source, fund, and support technology-based solutions addressing climate, health, learning, and economic challenges, serving social impact entrepreneurs and corporate/foundation partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MIT Solve industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Innovation Challenges
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)
Keywords
Where MIT Solve is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
MIT Solve business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Challenge Prize Funding: MIT Solve mobilizes funding from corporate partners, foundations, and philanthropists to award grants to selected solver teams through challenge prize structures.
- Custom Challenge Partnerships: Organizations partner with MIT Solve to design and launch custom challenges aligned with their social impact goals, with Solve handling promotion, selection, vetting, and support.
- Solver Impact Fund Donations: Direct donations to the Solver Impact Fund support social innovators, with 100% of support directed to solvers.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
MIT Solve product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MIT Solve runs open innovation challenges that source technology-based solutions to global problems from social entrepreneurs worldwide. The organization selects solver teams through a competitive application and AI-assisted screening process, awards grants funded by corporate and foundation partners, and provides ongoing coaching, mentorship, and resources to help selected solvers scale their impact across areas such as climate, health, learning, economic prosperity, Indigenous communities, and youth innovation.
Product overview
MIT Solve operates as an open innovation platform run by MIT that sources, funds, and supports technology-based solutions to global challenges. The core offering is the Global Challenges Platform, which runs competitive challenge programs across focus areas including climate, health, learning, economic prosperity, Indigenous communities, and youth innovation. Each challenge program—such as the StepForward Essential Innovation Challenge, Verizon Disaster Resilience Prize, Macquarie Community Resilience Prize, GM STEAM Education Challenge, Future Health Challenge, AI for Humanity Prize, and Truist Foundation Inspire Awards—offers grant funding and a support program to winning solver teams. The platform also produces The Solve Effect Podcast as a content brand. The portfolio spans over 100 challenges run since inception, supporting 460+ solver teams that have reached over 430 million lives.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Global Challenges Platform MIT Solve's core platform for launching and managing open innovation challenges that source technology-based solutions to global problems from anyone, anywhere in the world.
- Solver Support Program Post-selection support program including coaching, workshops, cohort meetings, mentorship matchmaking, and connections to resources that help solver teams scale their impact.
- StepForward: Essential Innovation Challenge A challenge presented with S&P Global Foundation seeking innovative solutions that equip youth aged 18-24 with knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate an AI-powered future, with $200,000 grants to six winning nonprofits.
- Truist Foundation Inspire Awards A challenge offering more than $1 million in grants and in-kind services to nonprofits helping adult workers adapt to AI-driven workplace changes, with awards ranging from $25,000 to $250,000.
- Verizon Disaster Resilience Prize A prize seeking technology-driven solutions that enable communities in the United States to prepare for, respond to, and recover from weather-related disasters, with $1,000,000 in prize funding distributed among four winners.
- Macquarie Community Resilience Prize A prize seeking scalable, technology-enabled solutions that address climate resilience and workforce training in Brazil, Australia, and Pacific Islands, with up to $1,000,000 awarded to up to 10 winning teams.
- Accelerate STEAM Education: The 2025 GM Challenge A challenge presented with General Motors seeking inspiring solutions that increase STEAM learning in the United States and allow learners of all ages to explore and succeed in STEAM careers, with a $250,000 prize pool.
- Future Health Challenge A global health innovation challenge organized by Future Health in collaboration with MIT Solve, offering $300,000 in prizes for solutions that shift health systems from late-stage treatment to earlier intervention through population sensing and AI.
- AI for Humanity Prize A prize offering up to $150,000 in unrestricted funding to teams using artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data science for social impact solutions in health, climate, learning, economic opportunity, or Indigenous community priorities.
- The Solve Effect Podcast A podcast by MIT Solve featuring interviews with leaders, visionaries, and barrier-breakers who use technology for social impact, exploring topics from AI ethics to community resilience.
Quantifiable outcome
- 430 million+ lives reached by solver solutions
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use MIT Solve
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
MIT Solve technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature1 record
MIT Solve partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Truist FoundationflagshipCollaboration on the Inspire Awards Challenge, offering over $1 million in grants and in-kind services to nonprofits helping adult workers adapt to AI-driven workplace changes. Fourth year of partnership.
- Future HealthflagshipPartnership on the inaugural Future Health Challenge at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, awarding $300,000 to early detection and population health solutions.
- S&P Global FoundationflagshipCollaboration on the StepForward: Essential Innovation Challenge, offering $200,000 grants to six winning nonprofit organizations (total prize pool of $1.2M) to equip youth aged 18-24 with AI literacy and future-ready skills.
- Macquarie GroupflagshipMacquarie Community Resilience Prize offering up to $1,000,000 to up to 10 winning teams working on climate-resilient communities in Brazil, Australia, and Pacific Islands.
- UNFPA and OrganoncoreThe 4HerPower Challenge, launched 2023-2024 in collaboration with MIT Solve, provided $280,000 in grants to 14 women-led teams reaching 230,000+ women and girls with solutions spanning contraception access, gender-based violence support, and maternal health.
- Johnson & Johnson FoundationflagshipJohnson & Johnson Foundation served as MIT Solve's Global Health Anchor Supporter, awarding $100,000 across six innovative teams at the 2025 Solve Challenge Finals during the 80th UN General Assembly.
- General MotorsflagshipGM Challenge on Accelerate STEAM Education awarded $250,000 pool to up to five winning solutions increasing STEAM learning in the United States, with focus on automotive and technical career pathways.
- VerizonflagshipVerizon's 2025 Disaster Resilience Prize awarded $1 million in grants to four innovators developing next-generation disaster resilience technologies including wildfire prevention robots, lightning detection sensors, mobile solar arrays, and heat vulnerability mapping.
- AmazoncoreAmazon Sustainability Pilot Program challenge seeking innovative climate technology in material handling, lower-carbon fuels, or waste optimization to accelerate Amazon's path to net-zero carbon by 2040.
- FII InstitutecoreFII Innovators Pitch challenge leveraging AI and technology to transform climate change, healthcare, robotics, and learning environments.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MIT Solve competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ashoka: Global network supporting leading social entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, and connections. Operates a fellowship-style selection model with similar funder relationships and a comparable mission of identifying breakthrough social innovators.
- Echoing Green: Provides fellowships and seed funding to emerging social entrepreneurs, with a comparable vetting-and-support model to Solve's solver program. Targets similar applicant personas (early-stage social innovators) and similar funding partners.
- New Profit: Venture philanthropy organization funding and supporting innovative social entrepreneurs and social impact ventures. Comparable model of curated selection plus long-term capacity-building support.
- XPRIZE: Operates large-scale, prize-based open innovation competitions to address global grand challenges, the most direct analogue to Solve's challenge prize model. Solves for similar corporate/foundation sponsors and global applicant pools.
- Grand Challenges Canada: Runs challenge-based innovation funding programs for global health and development, directly competing for the same pool of corporate, foundation, and government partners seeking structured social innovation sourcing.
- Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation: Early-stage social enterprise funder selecting and supporting a limited portfolio of high-potential ventures. Uses a similar vetting + multi-year support model and targets overlapping applicant pools.
Broad incumbents
- Skoll Foundation: Major social entrepreneurship funder backing proven social entrepreneurs with larger-scale capital. Overlaps with Solve's alumni of high-performing solvers and competes for the same institutional impact capital.
- Acumen: Impact investing organization supporting entrepreneurs addressing poverty through patient capital and advisory support. Competes with Solve for corporate and foundation partners seeking social innovation deployment vehicles.
Others
- Schmidt Futures: Philanthropic initiative of Eric Schmidt funding talent and innovation across science, technology, and society. Already a Solve partner; comparable funder profile for open-innovation and social impact programs.
Emerging players
- Katapult: Impact-focused accelerator and fund backing tech-driven startups solving global challenges. Represents the emerging venture-builder model competing for both solver talent and corporate partnership dollars.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
MIT Solve social profiles
Digital presenceMIT Solve financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MIT Solve leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
MIT Solve funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors5 records
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MIT Solve M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments11 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MIT Solve
What does MIT Solve do?
MIT Solve runs open innovation challenges that source technology-based solutions to global problems from social entrepreneurs worldwide. The organization selects solver teams through a competitive application and AI-assisted screening process, awards grants funded by corporate and foundation partners, and provides ongoing coaching, mentorship, and resources to help selected solvers scale their impact across areas such as climate, health, learning, economic prosperity, Indigenous communities, and youth innovation.
Is MIT Solve a public or private company?
MIT Solve is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was MIT Solve founded?
MIT Solve was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MIT Solve based?
MIT Solve is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does MIT Solve make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Challenge Prize Funding is the primary driver. The others are custom Challenge Partnerships and solver Impact Fund Donations.
Who are MIT Solve's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ashoka, Echoing Green, New Profit, XPRIZE, Grand Challenges Canada and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. Broad incumbents are Skoll Foundation and Acumen. Schmidt Futures is listed as an others. Katapult is listed as an emerging player.
Does MIT Solve have an API?
No public API is recorded for MIT Solve.
What industry is MIT Solve in?
MIT Solve's product category is Social Innovation Challenges. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7371.