The X Prize: It's not just for space cadets

auto_x_prize_logo.gifMost of our readers should be familiar with the X Prize and its space travel initiatives. The first of which in 2004 awarded $10 million to a private sector team funded by Microsoft’s Paul Allen for reaching suborbital space. And now it’s offering $20 million in conjunction with Google for the first team to land on the moon.

What many (myself included) might not know, however, is that X Prizes are now being offered for innovations from a wide array of fields. Some of the most notable include the development of a 100MPG car, sequencing genomes for personalized medicine and $1 million for solving seven unsolved math problems — that’s $1 million for each problem. Netflix is even offering $1 million to anyone who can improve its automated movie recommendations.

There are quite a few others that could have a profound impact on the future of humanity in general. Have a look for yourself, maybe you’ve got what it takes to compete.

The X Prize Ecosystem [Wired]