X Prize Foundation
Encyclopedia
The X PRIZE Foundation is a non-profit
organization that designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit mankind.
The X PRIZE Foundation mission is to bring about “radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity” through incentivized competition. It fosters high-profile competitions that motivate individuals, companies and organizations across all disciplines to develop innovative ideas and technologies that help solve the grand challenges that restrict humanity’s progress.
The most high-profile X PRIZE to date was the Ansari X PRIZE
relating to spacecraft development awarded in 2004. This prize was intended to inspire research and development into technology for space exploration.
The first X PRIZE – the Ansari X PRIZE – was inspired by the Orteig Prize
, a $25,000 prize offered in 1919 by French hotelier Raymond Orteig
for the first nonstop flight between New York City and Paris. In 1927, underdog Charles Lindbergh
won the prize in a modified single-engine Ryan aircraft called the Spirit of St. Louis
. In total, nine teams spent $400,000 in pursuit of the Orteig Prize.
In 1996, entrepreneur Peter Diamandis
offered a $10 million prize to the first privately financed team that could build and fly a three-passenger vehicle 100 kilometers into space twice within two weeks. The contest, later titled the Ansari X PRIZE for Suborbital Spaceflight, motivated 26 teams from seven nations to invest more than $100 million in pursuit of the $10 million purse. On October 4, 2004, the Ansari X PRIZE was won by Mojave Aerospace Ventures
, who successfully completed the contest in their spacecraft SpaceShipOne. The prize was awarded in a ceremony at the Saint Louis Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri
. As of 2011, the Science Center maintains numerous exhibits about the X Prize.
Other organizations such as the Nobel Prize committee award prizes and financial rewards to individuals or organizations that produce novel advances in science, medicine and technology. One difference between the X PRIZES and other similar organizations is awarding prizes based on the first to achieve objective 'finish line' requirements rather than a selection committee discussing the relative merits of different endeavors. For instance, the Archon Genomics X PRIZE target is to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days or less, with less than one error per 100,000 DNA base pair, covering 98% of the genome and costing less than $10,000 per genome.
The prize can increase attention to endeavors that otherwise might not receive much publicity. For example, attempts in the recent Lunar Lander competition have been well publicized in the media, increasing visibility of both the foundation and the participants.
With the Ansari X PRIZE, the X PRIZE Foundation established a model in which offering a prize for achieving a specific goal can stimulate entrepreneurial investment. Since then, new challenges have expanded into a range of other fields. The Foundation is developing new prizes in Exploration (Space and Oceans), Life Sciences, Energy & Environment, Education and Global Development. Some hope the prizes will help improve lives, create equity of opportunity and stimulate new, important discoveries.
for Suborbital Spaceflight was the first prize from the foundation. It successfully challenged teams to build private spaceships to open the space frontier. The first part of the Ansari X PRIZE requirements was fulfilled
by Mike Melvill
on September 29, 2004 in the Burt Rutan
designed, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen
financed spacecraft SpaceShipOne when Melvill broke the 100-kilometer (62.5 mi) mark, internationally recognized as the boundary of outer space
. Brian Binnie
completed the second part
of the requirements on 4 October 2004. As a result, $10 million was awarded to the winner, but more than $100 million was invested in new technologies in pursuit of the prize. Today, Sir Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos
and others are actively creating a personal spaceflight industry.
Awarding this first prize gave the X PRIZE Foundation as much publicity as the winners themselves. After the 2004 success there was ample media coverage to afford both Scaled Composites and the X PRIZE Foundation additional support for them to expand and continue to pursue their aims. Following this early success several other X PRIZES were announced that have yet to be awarded despite various attempts to meet the requirements.
The Ansari X PRIZE won the Space Foundation
's Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award in 2005. The award is given annually to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.
sequencing to create a new era of personalized, predictive and preventive medicine, eventually transforming medical care from reactive to proactive. The $10 million prize purse will be awarded to the first team that can build a device and use it to sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less, with an accuracy of no more than one error in every 100,000 bases sequenced, with sequences accurately covering at least 98% of the genome, and at a recurring cost of no more than $10,000 per genome
.
If more than one team attempts the competition at the same time, and more than one team fulfills all the criteria, then teams will be ranked according to the time of completion. No more than three teams will be ranked and will share the purse in the following manner: $7.5 million to the winner and $2.5 million to the second place team if two teams are successful, or $7 million, $2 million and $1 million if three teams are successful.
Actual competition events will take place twice a year with all eligible teams given the opportunity to make an attempt, starting at precisely the same time as the other teams.
was introduced on 13 September 2007. The goal of the prize is similar to that of the Ansari X PRIZE, to inspire a new generation of private investment in space exploration and technology. The challenge calls for teams to compete in successfully launching, landing, and operating a rover on the lunar surface. The prize awards $20 million to the first team to land a rover on the moon that successfully roves more than 500 meters and transmits back high definition images and video. There is a $5 million second prize, as well as $5 million in potential bonus prizes for extra features such as roving long distances (greater than 5,000 meters) capturing images of man-made objects on the moon, or surviving a lunar night.
. It is planned to be launched in early 2012. The $ 10 million prize is awarded for creating a mobile device that can "diagnose patients better than or equal to a panel of board certified physicians". The name is taken from the tricorder
device in Star Trek
which can be used to instantly diagnose ailments.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
organization that designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit mankind.
The X PRIZE Foundation mission is to bring about “radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity” through incentivized competition. It fosters high-profile competitions that motivate individuals, companies and organizations across all disciplines to develop innovative ideas and technologies that help solve the grand challenges that restrict humanity’s progress.
The most high-profile X PRIZE to date was the Ansari X PRIZE
Ansari X Prize
The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
relating to spacecraft development awarded in 2004. This prize was intended to inspire research and development into technology for space exploration.
Background
Orteig Prize
The Orteig Prize was a $25,000 reward offered on May 19, 1919, by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first allied aviator to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice-versa. On offer for five years, it attracted no competitors...
, a $25,000 prize offered in 1919 by French hotelier Raymond Orteig
Raymond Orteig
Raymond Orteig was the New York City hotel owner who offered the Orteig Prize for the first non-stop transatlantic flight between New York and Paris....
for the first nonstop flight between New York City and Paris. In 1927, underdog Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
won the prize in a modified single-engine Ryan aircraft called the Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
. In total, nine teams spent $400,000 in pursuit of the Orteig Prize.
In 1996, entrepreneur Peter Diamandis
Peter Diamandis
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis , of Greek immigrant parents, is considered a key figure in the development of the personal spaceflight industry, having created many space-related businesses or organizations...
offered a $10 million prize to the first privately financed team that could build and fly a three-passenger vehicle 100 kilometers into space twice within two weeks. The contest, later titled the Ansari X PRIZE for Suborbital Spaceflight, motivated 26 teams from seven nations to invest more than $100 million in pursuit of the $10 million purse. On October 4, 2004, the Ansari X PRIZE was won by Mojave Aerospace Ventures
Mojave Aerospace Ventures
Mojave Aerospace Ventures is a company founded by Paul Allen and Burt Rutan to handle the commercial spinoffs from the Tier One project. It owns the intellectual property arising from Tier One, and it is in turn owned by Paul Allen and Burt Rutan...
, who successfully completed the contest in their spacecraft SpaceShipOne. The prize was awarded in a ceremony at the Saint Louis Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. As of 2011, the Science Center maintains numerous exhibits about the X Prize.
X PRIZES
X PRIZES are monetary rewards to incentivize three primary goals:- Attract investment from outside the sector that takes new approaches to difficult problems.
- Create significant results that are real and meaningful. Competitions have measurable goals, and are created to promote adoption of the innovation.
- Cross national and disciplinary boundaries to encourage teams around the world to invest the intellectual and financial capital required to solve difficult challenges.
Other organizations such as the Nobel Prize committee award prizes and financial rewards to individuals or organizations that produce novel advances in science, medicine and technology. One difference between the X PRIZES and other similar organizations is awarding prizes based on the first to achieve objective 'finish line' requirements rather than a selection committee discussing the relative merits of different endeavors. For instance, the Archon Genomics X PRIZE target is to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days or less, with less than one error per 100,000 DNA base pair, covering 98% of the genome and costing less than $10,000 per genome.
The prize can increase attention to endeavors that otherwise might not receive much publicity. For example, attempts in the recent Lunar Lander competition have been well publicized in the media, increasing visibility of both the foundation and the participants.
With the Ansari X PRIZE, the X PRIZE Foundation established a model in which offering a prize for achieving a specific goal can stimulate entrepreneurial investment. Since then, new challenges have expanded into a range of other fields. The Foundation is developing new prizes in Exploration (Space and Oceans), Life Sciences, Energy & Environment, Education and Global Development. Some hope the prizes will help improve lives, create equity of opportunity and stimulate new, important discoveries.
Prizes and events overseen
- The Ansari X PRIZEAnsari X PrizeThe Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
, the original X PRIZE competition to create a private spaceflight vehicle - The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, an engineering competition designed to create a fuel efficient clean car that gets 100 MPGe
- The Archon Genomics X PRIZE, a genomicsGenomicsGenomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
competition challenging teams to sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less - The Google Lunar X PRIZEGoogle Lunar X PrizeThe Google Lunar X PRIZE, abbreviated GLXP, sometimes referred to as Moon 2.0, is a space competition organized by the X Prize Foundation, and sponsored by Google. It was announced at the Wired Nextfest on 13 September 2007...
, a competition to put a robot on the moon - The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X CHALLENGE, a competition to build precise, efficient small rocket systems
- The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGEWendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGEThe Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE is a challenge award offered by the X PRIZE Foundation, for efficient capturing of crude oil from ocean water. It was announced on July 29, 2010, and the official one-year competition begins on August 1, 2010...
, a competition inspiring a new generation of innovative solutions that will speed up the cleaning of seawater surface oil resulting from spillage from tankers, ocean platforms, and other sources
Ansari X PRIZE for Suborbital Spaceflight
The Ansari X PRIZEAnsari X Prize
The Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
for Suborbital Spaceflight was the first prize from the foundation. It successfully challenged teams to build private spaceships to open the space frontier. The first part of the Ansari X PRIZE requirements was fulfilled
SpaceShipOne flight 15P
-Flight profile:All times are in PDT, which is seven hours behind UTC. This was the local civil time at the spaceport on the day of the flight. All measurements are first stated in the U.S...
by Mike Melvill
Mike Melvill
Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill is one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne on its first flight past the edge of space, flight 15P on June 21, 2004, thus becoming the first commercial astronaut and the 434th...
on September 29, 2004 in the Burt Rutan
Burt Rutan
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
designed, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
financed spacecraft SpaceShipOne when Melvill broke the 100-kilometer (62.5 mi) mark, internationally recognized as the boundary of outer space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
. Brian Binnie
Brian Binnie
William Brian Binnie is a former United States Navy officer and is one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites.-History:...
completed the second part
SpaceShipOne flight 17P
Flight 17P of SpaceShipOne was a spaceflight in the Tier One program that took place on October 4, 2004. It was the second competitive flight in the Ansari X Prize competition to demonstrate a non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft, and is hence also referred to as the X2 flight...
of the requirements on 4 October 2004. As a result, $10 million was awarded to the winner, but more than $100 million was invested in new technologies in pursuit of the prize. Today, Sir Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston "Jeff" Bezos is the founder, president, chief executive officer , and chairman of the board of Amazon.com.-Early life and background:...
and others are actively creating a personal spaceflight industry.
Awarding this first prize gave the X PRIZE Foundation as much publicity as the winners themselves. After the 2004 success there was ample media coverage to afford both Scaled Composites and the X PRIZE Foundation additional support for them to expand and continue to pursue their aims. Following this early success several other X PRIZES were announced that have yet to be awarded despite various attempts to meet the requirements.
The Ansari X PRIZE won the Space Foundation
Space Foundation
The Space Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports the global space industry through information and education programs. It is a resource for the entire space community - industry, national security organizations, civil space agencies, private space companies and the military around the...
's Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award in 2005. The award is given annually to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.
Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE
The goal of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE is to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient automobiles that offer more choices for consumers. $10 million in prizes will be awarded to the teams that win a stage competition for clean, production-capable cars that can go beyond 100 miles per gallon or energy equivalent (MPGe).Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE
The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE was introduced on 29 July 2010. The $1 million prize had a goal to inspire a new generation of innovative solutions that will speed the pace of cleaning up seawater surface oil resulting from spillage from ocean platforms, tankers, and other sources. The team of Elastec/American Marine won the challenge by developing a device that skims oil off of water three times faster than previously existing technology.Archon Genomics X PRIZE
The Archon Genomics X PRIZE, the second X PRIZE to be offered by the foundation, was announced 4 October 2006. The goal of the Archon Genomics X PRIZE is to greatly reduce the cost and increase the speed of human genomeHuman genome
The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is stored on 23 chromosome pairs plus the small mitochondrial DNA. 22 of the 23 chromosomes are autosomal chromosome pairs, while the remaining pair is sex-determining...
sequencing to create a new era of personalized, predictive and preventive medicine, eventually transforming medical care from reactive to proactive. The $10 million prize purse will be awarded to the first team that can build a device and use it to sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less, with an accuracy of no more than one error in every 100,000 bases sequenced, with sequences accurately covering at least 98% of the genome, and at a recurring cost of no more than $10,000 per genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
.
If more than one team attempts the competition at the same time, and more than one team fulfills all the criteria, then teams will be ranked according to the time of completion. No more than three teams will be ranked and will share the purse in the following manner: $7.5 million to the winner and $2.5 million to the second place team if two teams are successful, or $7 million, $2 million and $1 million if three teams are successful.
Actual competition events will take place twice a year with all eligible teams given the opportunity to make an attempt, starting at precisely the same time as the other teams.
Google Lunar X PRIZE
The Google Lunar X PRIZEGoogle Lunar X Prize
The Google Lunar X PRIZE, abbreviated GLXP, sometimes referred to as Moon 2.0, is a space competition organized by the X Prize Foundation, and sponsored by Google. It was announced at the Wired Nextfest on 13 September 2007...
was introduced on 13 September 2007. The goal of the prize is similar to that of the Ansari X PRIZE, to inspire a new generation of private investment in space exploration and technology. The challenge calls for teams to compete in successfully launching, landing, and operating a rover on the lunar surface. The prize awards $20 million to the first team to land a rover on the moon that successfully roves more than 500 meters and transmits back high definition images and video. There is a $5 million second prize, as well as $5 million in potential bonus prizes for extra features such as roving long distances (greater than 5,000 meters) capturing images of man-made objects on the moon, or surviving a lunar night.
Tricorder X PRIZE
The Tricorder X PRIZE was announced on 10 May 2011 and is sponsored by QualcommQualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
. It is planned to be launched in early 2012. The $ 10 million prize is awarded for creating a mobile device that can "diagnose patients better than or equal to a panel of board certified physicians". The name is taken from the tricorder
Tricorder
In the fictional Star Trek universe, a tricorder is a multifunction handheld device used for sensor scanning, data analysis, and recording data.Three primary variants of the tricorder are issued in Star Trek's Starfleet...
device in Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
which can be used to instantly diagnose ailments.
Future X PRIZES
The X Prize Foundation has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a prize for a better tuberculosis diagnostic tool. Other potential prize ideas include: preserving biodiversity, mapping the oceans, developing clean aviation fuels, energy storage, sustainable housing and carbon sequestration.Board of Trustees
The Foundation is run by a board of trustees, of which the members are:- Eric C. AndersonEric C. AndersonEric Anderson is an entrepreneur and aerospace engineer known for co-founding Space Adventures, a commercial spaceflight company that brokers spaceflight experiences.-Early life and education:...
, Trustee. - Anousheh AnsariAnousheh AnsariAnousheh Ansari is an engineer and the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. . The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the Ansari X Prize. On September 18, 2006,...
, Trustee. - Amir AnsariAmir AnsariAmir Ansari is co-founder of venture capital firm Prodea Systems, Inc. Along with his sister-in-law Anousheh Ansari, he made a multi-million dollar contribution to the X PRIZE foundation on May 5, 2004, the 43rd anniversary of Alan Shepard's sub-orbital spaceflight...
, Trustee. - Jack Bader, Trustee.
- Michael Boustridge, Trustee.
- Peter DiamandisPeter DiamandisDr. Peter H. Diamandis , of Greek immigrant parents, is considered a key figure in the development of the personal spaceflight industry, having created many space-related businesses or organizations...
, Founder and Chairman. - Gil Elbaz, Trustee.
- Richard GarriottRichard GarriottRichard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
, Trustee. - James N. Gianopulos, Trustee.
- Jack Hidary, Trustee.
- Arianna HuffingtonArianna HuffingtonArianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
, Trustee. - Dean KamenDean KamenDean L. Kamen is an American entrepreneur and inventor from New Hampshire.Born in Rockville Centre, New York, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, but dropped out before graduating after five years of private advanced research for drug infusion pump AutoSyringe...
, Trustee. - Ray Kurzweil, Trustee.
- Erik R. Lindbergh, Trustee.
- Gregg E. Maryniak, Secretary.
- Rob McEwenRob McEwenRob McEwen, CC is a Canadian businessman. He is the Chairman and CEO of US Gold Corporation and Minera Andes Inc., Chairman of Lexam VG Gold Inc. and was the founder and former Chairman and CEO of Goldcorp Inc., which is the world’s second largest gold producer based on market capitalization...
, Trustee. - Diane MurphyDiane MurphyDiane Murphy is a former child actor, best known for sharing the role of "Tabitha" with her fraternal twin sister Erin in the 1960s television series Bewitched for one season. Erin then took over the part for the remaining 6 seasons. Diane left the entertainment industry at age thirteen and never...
, Trustee. - Elon MuskElon MuskElon Musk is an American engineer and entrepreneur heritage best known for co-founding PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla Motors. He is currently the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity...
, Trustee. - Larry PageLarry PageLawrence "Larry" Page is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur who, with Sergey Brin, is best known as the co-founder of Google. As of April 4, 2011, he is also the chief executive of Google, as announced on January 20, 2011...
, Trustee. - Adeo Ressi, Trustee.
- Jeffrey L. Shames, Trustee.
- Barry Silverstein, Trustee.
- Ratan TataRatan TataRatan Naval Tata is the present chairman of Tata Sons and therefore, Tata Group. Also, he is one among the few in the world...
, Trustee. - J. Barry Thompson, Treasurer.
- Craig VenterCraig VenterJohn Craig Venter is an American biologist and entrepreneur, most famous for his role in being one of the first to sequence the human genome and for his role in creating the first cell with a synthetic genome in 2010. Venter founded Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research and the J...
, Trustee. - Robert K. WeissRobert K. WeissRobert K. Weiss is an American film and television producer. His productions include films by director John Landis, producer Lorne Michaels, and the “Z. A. Z.” team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker. He also co-created the science-fiction TV series Sliders...
, President & Vice Chair. - Will Wright, Trustee.
Donor Spotlight
The foundation makes a point of spotlighting supporters that made a significant contribution to further their goals.- Sonia Arrison
- Max AzriaMax AzriaMax Azria is a French fashion designer of Tunisian Jewish descent who founded the contemporary women's clothing brand BCBGMAXAZRIA. Azria is also the designer, chairman and CEO of BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP, a global fashion house that encompasses over 20 brands...
- Peter Bloom
- Joshua Boger
- Alex Bouzari
- Bill BradyBill BradyWilliam "Bill" Brady, CM is a Canadian print and radio journalist, manager and executive who has been involved with various local and national organizations....
- Eli BroadEli BroadEli Broad is an American businessman from Detroit, Michigan who resides in Los Angeles, California.-Life and career:An only child, Broad was born in the Bronx to Lithuanian Jewish immigrant parents. His father was a housepainter, his mother was a dressmaker. His family moved to Detroit when he...
- Brook ByersBrook ByersBrook Byers is a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the brother of Stanford University Professor Tom Byers and Atlanta, Georgia engineering entrepreneur ....
- Adam Clamme
- Tom Compere
- Nancy Conrad
- Ron ConwayRon ConwayRon Conway is an American angel investor, often described as one of the "super angels". Conway is recognized as a strong networker and is based in Silicon Valley.-Early career:...
- William CrawfordWilliam CrawfordWilliam Crawford is the name of:* William Crawford , Scottish painter* William Crawford , Member of Parliament for Mid Durham, 1885–1890...
- L. John Doerr
- Esther DysonEsther DysonEsther Dyson is a former journalist and Wall Street technology analyst who is a leading angel investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and commentator focused on breakthrough innovation in healthcare, government transparency, digital technology, biotechnology, and space...
- Daisuke EnomotoDaisuke Enomotois a Japanese businessman and former livedoor executive who hoped to become the fourth space tourist. He had trained at Star City, Moscow in Russia to fly with two members of Expedition 14 on board Soyuz TMA-9, which was launched on September 18, 2006....
- Richard Forman
- Rafe FurstRafe FurstRafe Furst is an entrepreneur, angel investor, cancer awareness advocate and part time professional poker player. Furst currently works on and advises many projects that involve technology and social entrepreneurship. He regularly blogs about complex systems on EmergentFool...
- Gordon GettyGordon GettyGordon Peter Getty was born on December 20, 1934. He is the fourth child of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. His mother, Ann Rork, was his father's third wife. When his father died in 1976, Gordon assumed control of Getty's US$2 billion trust...
- Troy Griepp
- Mark David Grossman
- Karl Handelsman
- Georges Harik
- Takafumi HorieTakafumi Horieis a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested on accusations of securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. He was granted bail, and the trial began on September 4, 2006...
- D.L. Horowitz
- J. C. Huizenga
- Chad HurleyChad HurleyChad Meredith Hurley is an American co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the popular video sharing website YouTube. In June 2006, he was voted 28th on Business 2.0's "50 People Who Matter Now" list...
- Jared IsaacmanJared IsaacmanJared Isaacman is the founder and CEO of United Bank Card, Inc. , a payment processing organization based out of Hampton, New Jersey. Jared has been named as a finalist for the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" for 2006, 2007 and 2008 and was the youngest person ever named as one of ...
- Naveen JainNaveen JainNaveen K. Jain is a business executive and entrepreneur. He is the founder of InfoSpace, Intelius, and Moon Express. In 2000, Forbes ranked Jain 121 on their list of 400 Richest Americans with a net worth of 2.2 billion dollars....
- Asad Jamal
- Salar KamangarSalar KamangarSalar Kamangar is CEO of YouTube and Senior Vice President of Video at Google.Kamangar was Google's 9th employee.-Early childhood and education:...
- Bill Lee
- Nick Lewin
- Alice Malone
- Brian MatthewsBrian MatthewsBrian Matthews is an actor, best known for acting in daytime soap operas in the 1980s.Matthews and co-stars Holly Hunter, Jason Alexander, and Fisher Stevens all made their film debuts in The Burning . He then played Eric Garrison on the soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1983-1985...
- Marissa MayerMarissa MayerMarissa Ann Mayer is Vice President of Location and Local Services at the search engine company Google. She has become one of the public faces of Google, providing a number of press interviews and appearing at events frequently to speak on behalf of the company.-Education and career :After...
- Brian McClendonBrian McClendonBrian McClendon is an American software designer, developer and engineer. He was a co-founder and angel investor in Keyhole, a geospatial data visualization tool; the start-up was purchased by Google in 2004 and later came to be known as Google Earth...
- Mitch Menaged
- Norm Meyrowitz
- Howard MorganHoward MorganHoward Morgan is a retired weather forecaster for Albuquerque, New Mexico television station KOAT-TV, Holdrege, Nebraska station KHOL-TV, and other stations in Kansas and Utah...
- George Ohrstrom
- Scott PainterScott PainterScott Painter is a U.S. investor and entrepreneur who has started over 35 companies, raising almost 1.25 billion dollars from investors in the process.-Early life:...
- Daniel Peters
- Mark PincusMark PincusMark Jonathan Pincus is an Internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Zynga, which makes online social games. Pincus also founded Freeloader, Inc., Tribe Networks, and SupportSoft. Pincus currently serves as CEO of Zynga, which had 232 million monthly active users as of July 1, 2011...
- Keith Powers
- Damien Reynolds
- David SacksDavid SacksDavid Sacks is a television writer and producer. His writing and producing credits include The Simpsons, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Malcolm in the Middle, The Tick and Murphy Brown...
- John Sakler
- Ram Shiriram
- Rena Shulsky
- Lucy Southworth
- Raymond Stata
- Lee Stein
- John SteinJohn SteinJohn Stein, is a jazz guitarist, born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. His education includes a Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is an associate professor.-Musical Background:...
- Kimberly Sweidy
- Peter ThielPeter ThielPeter Andreas Thiel is an American business magnate, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO...
- John ThompsonJohn Thompson-Academics:* Sir John Eric Sidney Thompson , English archeologist and Mayan scholar* John G. Thompson , mathematician* John Thompson , professor at Cambridge...
- Mahesh Tirupattur
- Steve Trulaske
- Matthew Upchurch
- Ingrid Vanderveldt
- Mr. Thomas W. Wathen
- Nadine Weil
- Richard WhiteRichard WhiteRichard White may refer to:*Richard A. White, American public transit official*Richard White, 2nd Earl of Bantry , Irish representative peer*Richard White , cricketer*Richard Crawford White , U.S...
- Steve Wynn
- George Zachary
- George Zaolavy
See also
- DARPA Grand ChallengeDARPA Grand ChallengeThe DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for driverless vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense...
- Global Security ChallengeGlobal Security ChallengeThe Global Security Challenge runs international business plan competitions to find and select the most promising security technology startups in the world. The GSC holds regional selection events and a Security Summit in London to bring together innovators with government, industry and investors...
- Hydrogen prizeHydrogen prizeThe Hydrogen Prize is a proposed financial award to encourage research into hydrogen as an alternative fuel.-Legislative status:During October 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced that the Hydrogen Education Foundation of Washington, D.C...
- Inducement prize contestInducement prize contestAn inducement prize contest is a competition that awards a cash prize for the accomplishment of a feat, usually of engineering. IPCs are typically designed to extend the limits of human ability...
- Orteig PrizeOrteig PrizeThe Orteig Prize was a $25,000 reward offered on May 19, 1919, by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first allied aviator to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice-versa. On offer for five years, it attracted no competitors...