Challenge Works

What Challenge Works does

Challenge Works is a London-based not-for-profit enterprise wholly owned by Nesta, the UK's research and innovation foundation. Founded in 2012 and rebranded from "Nesta Challenges" in 2021, the organisation designs and runs challenge prize competitions on behalf of governments, foundations, charities, and corporate clients. Its core competency is prize design methodology: framing hard problems, curating expert panels including lived-experience voices, attracting global innovator teams, and providing milestone-based funding, mentorship, and commercialisation support through to winners. Over a decade it has set close to 100 challenges, named 236 winners, engaged 15,977 innovator teams, and distributed £258.7M in prizes and seed funding, producing 239 technologies/products.

The current portfolio is organised around four priority areas — Cities & Societies, Climate, Global Health, and Technology Frontiers — and spans marquee programmes such as the £7.5M Longitude Prize on ALS, £1M Longitude Prize on Dementia, the multi-round Water Breakthrough Challenge under Ofwat's £600M Innovation Fund, the £1.2M UK Space Agency Aqualunar Challenge, and the $9M Toyota Mobility Foundation Sustainable Cities Challenge across Detroit, Venice, and Varanasi. Operationally, Challenge Works delivers programmes in consortiums with technical partners (e.g., Arup and Isle Utilities on water; World Resources Institute on Varanasi crowd-management) and uses a multi-channel engagement model (website, newsletter, social, events, earned media reaching ~36.1M people in 2020) to recruit innovators.

The business model is grant- and partnership-funded rather than commercial: Challenge Works does not charge innovators entry fees and instead is paid by commissioning clients (e.g., Ofwat, Toyota Mobility Foundation, UK Space Agency, Innovate UK, BEIS, Alzheimer's Society) to design, market, and deliver challenge programmes, retaining a share of programme budgets as professional-services fees and distributing the remainder as prize purses and seed grants to participants. Headcount sits in the 51–100 range and there are no external shareholders, acquisitions, or M&A activity; growth is expressed in programme count, prize capital deployed, and geographic scope rather than traditional revenue.

Name

Challenge Works

Legal name

Challenge Works

Website

https://challengeworks.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Challenge Works is a London-based not-for-profit, owned by Nesta, that designs and runs challenge prize competitions on behalf of governments, foundations, and corporate clients to solve pressing societal problems through innovation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Prize Management

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD)

Keywords

• Challenge prize design
• Innovation competitions
• Prize-based innovation
• Social impact funding
• Innovation program management

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Challenge Prize Program Delivery: Challenge Works operates as a not-for-profit enterprise owned by Nesta, designing and running challenge prizes funded by external partners including governments, foundations, and corporations. Revenue comes from partnership fees and grant administration rather than product or service sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Challenge Works designs and runs challenge prize programs that attract innovative talent, incentivise progress, and nurture radical ideas to solve pressing societal problems. The organization partners with governments, foundations, charities, and corporations who commission and fund bespoke challenges; Challenge Works then runs the competitions and distributes prize money, mentorship, and support to winning innovators and finalists. Over 10 years they have set close to 100 challenges with a total prize pot of £258.7 million.

Product overview

Challenge Works is a not-for-profit enterprise owned by Nesta that designs and runs challenge prizes to solve pressing global problems. Rather than a single unified product, Challenge Works offers a portfolio of distinct challenge prize programs as its core offering. Their flagship programmes include the Longitude Prize series (£7.5m Longitude Prize on ALS, £1m Longitude Prize on Dementia), water sector innovation challenges (£600m Ofwat Innovation Fund including Water Breakthrough Challenge and Water Efficiency Lab), financial technology challenges (Open Up Challenge), and social innovation prizes (Inventor Prize, Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize). Over 10 years, they have set close to 100 challenges with a total prize pot of £258.7 million. Their model attracts innovative talent, incentivises progress, and nurtures radical ideas through competition-based prizes, providing funding, support, and publicity to winning teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Longitude Prize The flagship Longitude Prize series inspired by the 1714 British Parliament prize for solving the longitude problem, focusing on bold breakthroughs in antimicrobial resistance diagnostics.
• Longitude Prize on ALS A £7.5 million five-year challenge prize that incentivises AI-based approaches to transform drug discovery for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), bringing together ALS datasets and multidisciplinary teams to identify, prioritise and validate high-potential drug targets.
• Longitude Prize on Dementia A £1 million challenge prize incentivising the creation of AI-powered smart glasses and technologies that adapt to the changing condition of people living with dementia to help them live independently longer. Co-funded with Innovate UK and Alzheimer's Society.
• Water Breakthrough Challenge Part of Ofwat's £600 million Innovation Fund (2020-2030), this challenge awards funding to pioneering water sector projects spanning technological, engineering, and nature-based approaches to help water companies achieve net zero and protect ecosystems. Delivered in partnership with Arup and Isle Utilities.
• Water Efficiency Lab A £25 million Water Efficiency Lab seeking data-driven innovative solutions to give households and businesses actionable insights and tools to cut their water consumption.
• Water Discovery Challenge 2 A climate-focused water discovery challenge running from April 2026 to April 2027.
• Open Up Challenge A £4.5 million+ prize fund (split across Open Up 2018 and Open Up 2020) backed by the CMA and major UK banks to inspire next-generation fintech services for small businesses using open banking data.
• Inventor Prize A £50,000 prize funded by BEIS to support local innovation, business creation, and improve access to finance for Britain's 'hidden inventors' with ideas for products that help improve people's daily lives.
• Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize A prize for 11-16 year olds challenging young minds to design technological solutions to big issues of our time that deliver social good, with £40,000 in prize money.
• Legal Access Challenge A £500,000 challenge in partnership with the Solicitors Regulation Authority calling for legal tech solutions to make legal services more accessible and affordable for individuals, families and small businesses.
• Mobility Unlimited Challenge A $4 million challenge to transform the mobility of people with lower-limb paralysis using robotics and smart devices, won by Phoenix Instinct for its intelligent ultra-light carbon fibre wheelchair.
• Global Surgical Training Challenge A challenge aimed at creating a paradigm shift in surgical learning through innovative training approaches.
• Homegrown Innovation Challenge A challenge focused on nurturing innovation in agriculture and food sustainability.
• Aqualunar Challenge A £1.2 million UK Space Agency challenge to develop technologies to purify water frozen in the Moon's soil, supporting NASA's Artemis program goal of establishing a permanent crewed base.
• Sustainable Cities Challenge A $9 million Toyota Mobility Foundation global challenge in Detroit, Venice, and Varanasi focused on sustainable and inclusive urban mobility solutions, with clean freight transportation as a key focus.
• Dynamic Demand Challenge A challenge focused on solving the energy crisis through dynamic demand innovations.
• Data Driven Farming Challenge A challenge focused on modernising the farming industry through data-driven solutions for agricultural productivity.
• Fall Armyworm Tech Prize A challenge prize to develop technology solutions to combat the fall armyworm pest affecting crops.
• Affordable Credit Challenge A £2 million challenge prize to find innovative technological solutions to increase access to affordable, responsible credit.
• CareerTech Challenge Prize A £1.2 million challenge prize to develop data-driven solutions helping people understand the labour market and plan their future careers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 239 technologies, products or services created through challenge prizes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• ArupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Engineering and consulting partner for delivery of Ofwat's Water Breakthrough Challenge, providing technical expertise alongside Challenge Works and Isle Utils.
• Isle UtilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Water sector specialist partner for delivery of Ofwat's Water Breakthrough Challenge, providing industry expertise alongside Challenge Works and Arup.
• UK Space AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026UK Space Agency's Aqualunar Challenge delivered by Challenge Works, funding innovations for water purification from lunar ice using £1.2 million international challenge.
• Toyota Mobility FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 April 2026Sustainable Cities Challenge partnership investing $9 million across Detroit, Venice, and Varanasi to foster sustainable urban mobility solutions, with Challenge Works designing and delivering the challenge program.
• City of DetroitflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2026Local government partner for Toyota Mobility Foundation's Sustainable Cities Challenge, focusing on clean freight solutions at Eastern Market in Detroit.
• World Resources InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 August 2025Partner for Varanasi Sustainable Cities Challenge, providing expertise on crowd management solutions in historic urban environments.
• Varanasi Municipal CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 August 2025Local government partner for Varanasi Sustainable Cities Challenge, piloting crowd management solutions in Kashi pilgrimage site.
• Innovate UKflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2025Co-funder and partner for Longitude Prize on Dementia, providing government innovation funding alongside Challenge Works and Alzheimer's Society.
• Alzheimer's SocietyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2025Charity partner for Longitude Prize on Dementia, providing lived experience perspective and co-funding for £1 million dementia care innovation challenge.
• OfwatflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2025Ofwat's Water Innovation Fund partnership delivering the Water Breakthrough Challenge series, with Challenge Works delivering in partnership with Arup and Isle Utils. £600 million innovation fund (2020-2030) supporting water sector innovation in England and Wales.
• Global FundminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2022Global health funder mentioned in global health innovation context, focusing on scaling validated solutions and increasing access to health innovations.
• UnitaidminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2022Global health organization focused on accelerating access to health innovations, referenced in global health innovation discussion.
• NestaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerChallenge Works is a not-for-profit enterprise owned by Nesta, the research and innovation foundation. All operations are supported by Nesta as parent organization.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• XPRIZE: XPRIZE is the most direct peer — a non-profit foundation that designs and runs large multi-million-dollar incentive prizes (e.g., Carbon Removal, Healthspan) to solve grand challenges. It competes with Challenge Works for the same corporate, foundation, and government sponsors seeking an operator for breakthrough-prize programmes and uses the same global innovator-attraction model.
• HeroX: HeroX is a challenge-prize platform and services company that helps organisations crowdsource solutions through competitions, serving corporates, governments, and NGOs. It is a direct competitor in challenge-prize design and delivery, with a more SaaS/PLG technology wrapper around the same core service Challenge Works offers.

Broad incumbents

• Nesta: Nesta is Challenge Works' parent charity and a broader innovation foundation running missions, investments, and experiments across health, climate, and education. It is comparable as the larger mission-aligned entity that incubates and funds Challenge Works, and operates adjacent innovation programmes that overlap thematically (e.g., early-years, decarbonisation).
• Wellcome Trust: Wellcome is a large UK-based charitable foundation funding health research and innovation, including grant programmes and challenge-style initiatives. It is comparable as a high-value UK/UK-and-global grantmaking funder and potential commissioning client for Challenge Works' global health prizes (Longitude Prize on ALS, Dementia).
• MacArthur Foundation: MacArthur Foundation is a major US philanthropic foundation that runs grant programmes and has historically backed challenge-prize mechanisms (e.g., 100&Change). It is comparable as a large foundation that both operates and commissions challenge-style competitions, sitting in Challenge Works' competitive set for foundation-led innovation funding.

Emerging players

• Schmidt Futures: Schmidt Futures runs talent and innovation programmes including prize-backed competitions (e.g., Rise, Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship). It is an emerging, well-funded player in philanthropic innovation with overlapping funder base and grand-challenge framing, but more US-centric.
• Grand Challenges Canada: Grand Challenges Canada funds innovators in low- and middle-income countries through challenge grants and integrated innovation programmes. It is comparable to Challenge Works in using challenge mechanisms to direct funding toward breakthrough solutions for development and global health priorities.
• OpenIDEO: OpenIDEO runs open-innovation challenges and communities for social impact, working with foundations, governments, and corporates. It overlaps with Challenge Works on challenge-based innovation design for social missions but is more community-platform-oriented.

Others

• Skoll Foundation: Skoll Foundation funds social entrepreneurs and system-change initiatives at scale, including through awards and prize-like mechanisms. It is comparable as a philanthropic funder in the social-innovation space that Challenge Works' impact-measurement narratives compete for mindshare with.
• Climate KIC: Climate KIC is a European knowledge and innovation community focused on climate innovation, running accelerator and challenge-style programmes. It is comparable as a thematic adjacent operator in climate innovation challenges, overlapping with Challenge Works' climate priority area.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Challenge_Works
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChallengeWorksUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/challenge-works
• Instagraminstagram.com/challengeworksuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments13 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Challenge Works