CA-XPRIZE
23.6.2021 19:32:08 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
XPRIZE , the world’s leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges, and IBM Watson , IBM’s AI technology for business, today announced the Grand Prize Winner in the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Challenge . First launched in 2016, the five-year global competition looked to accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and spark creative, innovative and audacious demonstrations of the technology that are truly scalable to solve societal grand challenges.
Winning first place honors is Zzapp Malaria , in second place is Aifred Health , followed by Marinus Analytics . These finalists were selected out of a pool of 10 semifinalists following presentations of their solutions to a panel of judges during an event held at TED headquarters in New York City last year. A $3 million grand prize, $1 million second place prize, and $500k third place prize will be awarded to the teams. In total, over 150 teams throughout the world joined the competition.
"After five years of hard work and dedication, XPRIZE is thrilled to announce Zzapp Malaria as the grand prize winner of IBM Watson AI XPRIZE,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE. “Zzapp Malaria, Aifred Health and Marinus Analytics are on the forefront of AI advancement, and we are looking forward to seeing firsthand the positive impact they will have on our future.”
"Each of the three finalists of the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE showcase what's possible when the power of AI is used to address some of the world’s toughest challenges,” said Daniel Hernandez, General Manager, IBM Data and AI. “It’s inspiring to witness how the AI technologies we developed at IBM help these organizations realize and scale their good tech solutions to drive positive societal change.”
Based out of Tel Aviv, Israel, Zzapp Malaria is committed to malaria elimination. The team’s AI technology is geared towards tackling the main challenges faced by malaria elimination campaigns by creating custom models, built with tools like IBM Watson Studio for Cloud Pak for Data, to predict the number of small water bodies caused by weather, enabling it to optimize the timing for launching larviciding operations.
- Marinus Analytics (based out of Pittsburgh, PA): A woman-owned company founded in 2014 out of Carnegie Mellon Robotics that is driven by a single social mission: To fight human trafficking. Their solution, Traffic Jam, is a suite of analytics tools that saves hours and sometimes days of investigative time to find traffickers and recover victims by quickly turning big data into actionable intelligence. Marinus Analytics has used IBM Watson Discovery and IBM Watson Assistant to extend their Traffic Jam application, aiding investigation into financial fraud and the illicit flow of proceeds to international crime groups.
- Aifred Health (based out of Montreal, Canada): A digital health company focused on clinical decision support in mental health, starting with depression. The team’s solution uses AI to learn from thousands of patients to help tailor treatment, reducing the time it takes for a patient to reach remission. IBM Watson Health is providing Aifred Health with millions of records of observational depression data to improve their ML models.
To determine the winner, XPRIZE AI convened a global jury of representatives from around the world. The jury evaluated each team based on their performance in the following four dimensions: achieved technical impact, evidenced real-world impact, scalability of real-world impact, and ethics and safety.
The winning teams were announced today in partnership with WIRED during the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE’s AI For Good fireside chat featuring Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE, and Seth Dobrin, IBM’s Chief AI Officer. The two discussed the challenge and the importance of AI for the future of humanity. As part of their partnership with WIRED, XPRIZE opened up a public vote for the Most Inspiring Team, and Zzapp Malaria was selected as the winner. You can watch the full fireside chat and view additional content via WIRED’s content hub linked here.
About XPRIZE
XPRIZE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the global leader in designing and implementing innovative competition models to solve the world’s grandest challenges. Active competitions include the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal, $15M XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, $10 Million XPRIZE Rainforest, $10 Million ANA Avatar XPRIZE and $5 Million XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling. For more information, visit xprize.org.
About IBM Watson
Watson is IBM’s AI technology for business, helping organizations to better predict and shape future outcomes, automate complex processes, and optimize employees’ time. Watson has evolved from an IBM Research project, to experimentation, to a scaled, open set of products that run anywhere. With more than 40,000 client engagements, Watson is being applied by leading global brands across a variety of industries to transform how people work. To learn more, visit: https://www.ibm.com/watson .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210623005848/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Dubai Chambers to Train 14,000 Private Sector Companies in Agentic AI7.9.2026 12:15:00 CEST | Press release
Dubai Chambers has launched specialised Agentic AI training for more than 14,000 private sector companies, helping businesses build the skills needed to adopt the technology across their operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260907193930/en/ H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori speaking during the launch of the training programme (Photo: AETOSWire) The training forms part of Dubai’s wider programme to transition the private sector towards Agentic AI, launched under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai. Delivered through the new Dubai Chambers Academy, an integrated e-learning platform, the training provides practical guidance on applying Agentic AI in business. Participants will explore tools and solutions that can improve operations, effici
REPLY: A Face Only A Mother Could Love by Robert Gaudette Wins the Reply AI Film Festival 2026, the International Competition Exploring the Intersection of Cinema and Artificial Intelligence7.9.2026 12:02:00 CEST | Press release
Gabriele Salvatores chaired the international jury that selected the winner from more than 3,000 short films submitted from 76 countries. The awards ceremony took place in Venice on Sunday 6 September, alongside the 83rd Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale. Canadian filmmaker Robert Gaudette, with his short film A Face Only A Mother Could Love, has won the Reply AI Film Festival 2026, the international competition created by Reply to explore new frontiers in cinematic language through the use of artificial intelligence. The award was presented on Sunday 6 September in Venice, during a ceremony organised by Reply and Mastercard at the Match Point Arena, set up at Tennis Club Venezia on the Lido, alongside the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260907478421/en/ Canadian filmmaker Robert Gaudette, with his short film A Face Only A Mother Could Love, has won the
From China’s Mountains to the World’s Mountains: KAILAS Deepens Its Global Expansion Strategy7.9.2026 11:58:00 CEST | Press release
In late August 2026, KAILAS FUGA, the trail-running brand of KAILAS, a China-based professional outdoor brand, officially opened its first European store in Chamonix, France. As KAILAS’s first directly operated international store, the new location not only gives the brand a more direct presence in the European market, but also marks a new stage in its global expansion — moving from years of investment in products, events, athletes and international channels toward more localized operations and deeper brand development. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260906651659/en/ KAILAS First European Store in Chamonix Founded in 2003, KAILAS is one of the world’s three leading full-category climbing brands. Over more than two decades, the company has built its professional capabilities through product development, professional athletes, events and testing in real mountain environments. From mountaineering, rock climbing
Falcon Is Sold for AED 2.1 Million (USD 571,000) in Abu Dhabi, Setting the World’s Highest Price Ever at Falcon Auction7.9.2026 02:07:00 CEST | Press release
A Gyr Pure Ultra White falcon achieved a record-breaking sale of AED 2.1 million (USD 571,000) at the final falcon auction of the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX) 2026, making it the highest value a falcon has ever been auctioned for. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260906974005/en/ The Gyr Pure Ultra White falcon sold for AED 2.1 million (USD 571,000) at the final falcon auction of ADIHEX 2026 in Abu Dhabi. (Photo: AETOSWire) Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the Emirates Falconers’ Club, ADIHEX 2026 is organised by ADNEC Group in strategic partnership with the Emirates Falconers’ Club. Bidders competed for the prized Gyr Pure Ultra White falcon, which originated from the United States, with the winning bid setting the highest price a falcon has ever been auctioned for. The Gy
Ant International Secures Payment Institution Licence from the Central Bank of Brazil4.9.2026 16:41:00 CEST | Press release
Expanding the company’s capability to support local partners with FinAI solutions Ant International, the leading global digital payment, digitisation, and FinAI solutions provider, today announced that it has received a Payment Institution (PI) licence from the Central Bank of Brazil. “With the Central Bank's invaluable support, we are ready to step up more reliable and comprehensive global payment and account services to enterprises, platforms and SMEs in the country's dynamic digital economy, in ever deeper collaboration with its highly developed payments ecosystem and financial services industry,” said Rodrigo Reif, General Manager, Ant International Brazil. Ant International provides cross-border payments and account services, embedded credit and treasury services, and other finAI and blockchain solutions to clients across Asia, Europe and the Americas. The company processes over 20 million transactions daily, connecting 2 billion consumer accounts to 150 million global merchants v
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom