New York – September 23, 2026 -- XPRIZE awarded $4.55 million to innovators across two tracks of its $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition, recognizing breakthroughs in space-based detection and autonomous suppression technologies during a ceremony at the New York City Fire Museum.
Space-based detection track distributes $1.05 million across five teams
SIRIUS Wildfire Alliance took first place with $500,000 for integrating SAR and optical satellite data to characterize fires and model spread. Team Snuffed earned $250,000 for a probabilistic data-fusion framework built for firefighter usability. MyRadar, DeepFire and Mayday.AI each received $100,000 special recognition awards for commercial viability, operational fire-spread alerts, and repurposed volcanic-ash detection algorithms applied to smoke plumes, respectively.
Autonomous response teams tested in Alaska secure $3.5 million
In June 2026, three finalist teams attempted to autonomously detect and fully suppress a high-risk fire within 10 minutes of ignition across 1,000 square kilometers of Alaskan terrain, without disturbing decoy fires. Anduril Industries won first place with $1.2 million for its Lattice software platform, which unified cameras, sensors and drones into an integrated detection-to-suppression pathway. Dryad Networks placed second with $800,000, combining a 170-sensor Silvanet field network with Silvaguard drones to demonstrate end-to-end autonomy. AURA Foresight took third with $500,000 after meeting the critical 10-minute detection gate.
Lockheed Martin adds $1 million bonus for multi-sensor accuracy
Anduril Industries also secured the Lockheed Martin Accurate Detection Intelligence Bonus Prize of $1 million for rapid, precise multi-sensor detector performance, extending its total haul from the competition.
Minderoo Foundation cites real-world testing with Australian firefighters
Minderoo Foundation's Dr. Andrew Forrest AO said finalist teams tested their technologies earlier this year alongside the NSW Rural Fire Service, framing the goal as finding fires faster while giving firefighters better information.
Competition shifts to 12-15 month Impact Phase led by PG&E
XPRIZE Wildfire will now enter a 12- to 15-month Impact Phase aimed at translating the tested technologies into deployable wildfire-management tools, with PG&E as lead sponsor. PG&E Chief Safety Officer Mark Quinlan said the utility aims to help bridge the gap between innovation and deployment. Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Program Director Genny Biggs noted the competition exposed technical gaps that must be closed to deliver faster, actionable intelligence. XPRIZE CEO Anousheh Ansari said the true impact of the competition "will be measured by what happens next,