XPRIZE has announced the five finalist teams advancing in the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track of its $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition. The announcement was made at an event hosted at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)’s headquarters in Oakland, California. The competition aims to encourage innovation in firefighting technologies, particularly those using artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
The event follows the one-year anniversary of major wildfires in the Los Angeles area, which resulted in significant loss of life and property. These incidents have highlighted the limitations of traditional wildfire response methods and increased interest in new technological solutions.
Teams competing in the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track are working on fully autonomous systems capable of detecting and suppressing high-risk fires within 10 minutes over large, complex areas. Their goal is to outperform current best practices by responding four times faster, potentially reducing harm from wildfires.
Andrea Santy, XPRIZE Wildfire Program Director, stated: “Globally, wildfires are becoming more frequent, more intense, more unpredictable, and more destructive. The technologies being developed by these finalist teams offer meaningful solutions with the potential to fundamentally change how we detect, respond to, and ultimately prevent catastrophic wildfire events.”
In late 2025, 13 semifinalist teams demonstrated their systems during field tests that integrated AI-driven detection and autonomous drone navigation. These demonstrations were evaluated for scalability and operational readiness. The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks served as a testing partner for these trials.
Each of the five finalist teams received an equal share of a $750,000 prize purse for demonstrating technical readiness across several core areas including end-to-end wildfire response systems and scalability assessments. In summer 2026, these teams will compete in Alaska to showcase their ability to autonomously detect and suppress fires within a 1,000 km² test zone while avoiding decoy fires.
The competition also includes a Space-Based Wildfire Detection & Intelligence track. In July 2025, XPRIZE and PG&E named ten finalists from six countries for this track. Teams must quickly detect all fires across very large landscapes and provide accurate data to ground decision-makers. Finals for this track will be held in Australia with support from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
PG&E continues its involvement as Impact Phase Sponsor by providing over $1 million in funding and support to help bring these technologies into practical use through field trials and technology evaluation.
Sumeet Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of Energy Delivery at PG&E said: “PG&E remains unwavering in our stand that catastrophic wildfires shall stop. The breakthrough technologies and innovators driving progress in XPRIZE Wildfire have the potential to transform community protection, strengthen support for first responders, and bring us together in serving our planet. PG&E is proud to support advancements in this critical area of technology development and looks forward to the testing and impact phase with finalists across both tracks of the XPRIZE Wildfire competition.”
Genny Biggs from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation added: “Wildfires are escalating in both frequency and intensity, and addressing this challenge requires bold, evidence-driven solutions. The teams advancing in the XPRIZE Wildfire competition are translating research and innovation into real-world tools that can strengthen resilience for communities and ecosystems alike.”
At the conclusion of the competition scheduled for Q3 2026, winning teams from each track may receive $3.5 million each; an additional $1 million bonus prize sponsored by Lockheed Martin is available for eligible entries demonstrating superior detection capabilities.
XPRIZE Wildfire is supported by multiple sponsors including PG&E; further details about participating organizations can be found on the official website.
For background information:
Pacific Gas & Electric Company serves over sixteen million people across Northern and Central California.
The Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation supports scientific discovery, environmental conservation efforts, patient care improvements, as well as Bay Area preservation initiatives.
