X Prize Foundation

Guide Note

The non-profit X PRIZE Foundation sponsors high-profile competitions to encourage the development of breakthrough technologies for the benefit of humanity. The Foundation awards multi-million dollar prizes in an effort to spur innovation in the fields of education, life sciences, global entrepreneurship and space exploration.

Fast Facts

1. Founder: Peter H. Diamandis
2. Established: 1994
3. HQ: Santa Monica, California
4. Mission: To bring radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity¹
5. Model: Orteig Prize, which offered $25,000 in 1919 for the first non-stop flight between New York and Paris

Ansari X PRIZE:

• Challenge: Construction of a private spaceship
• Prize: $10M
• Winner: Burt Rutan (October 2004)

Archon X PRIZE:

• Challenge: Successfully sequence 100 anonymous human genomes in 10 days at a recurring cost of no more than $10,000 per genome
• Prize: $10M
• Winner: No winner as of 2008

Progressive Automotive X Prize:

• Challenge: Designing and building a super-efficient, commercially viable vehicle that will achieve 100 MPG
• Prize: $7.5M (mainstream); $2.5 (alternate class)
• Winner: No winner as of 2008

Google Lunar X PRIZE:

• Challenge: Successfully launching, landing and operating a rover on the lunar surface
• Prize: $20M
• Winner: No winner as of 2008