XPRIZE Wildfire Announces Finalists in $11M Autonomous Firefighting Competition

Five teams awarded $750,000 to advance drone and AI-powered wildfire detection and suppression solutions

Jan. 29, 2026 at 5:31am

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XPRIZE, the global leader in large-scale incentive competitions, has announced the five finalist teams advancing in the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track of its $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition. The finalists were awarded a total of $750,000 to further develop their autonomous systems capable of rapidly detecting, mapping, and suppressing wildfires. These technologies aim to transform wildfire management by enabling a response 4x faster than current best practices.

Why it matters

Wildfires are becoming more frequent, intense, and destructive, exceeding the capabilities of traditional human-driven firefighting systems. The XPRIZE Wildfire competition is incentivizing the development of autonomous technologies that can detect and suppress wildfires within minutes, minimizing the devastating impacts on communities. The finalist solutions showcase the potential for AI, drones, and coordinated systems to revolutionize wildfire response.

The details

The five finalist teams were selected after in-field testing of 13 semifinalist autonomous systems that integrated AI-driven detection, drone navigation, real-time sensing, and automated suppression. The finalist solutions demonstrated technical readiness across core areas like end-to-end wildfire response, smart detection, autonomous navigation and safety, and autonomous suppression. In the final round in 2026, the teams will compete to detect and fully suppress a high-risk fire in a 1,000 km² test zone in Alaska within minutes while leaving decoy fires untouched.

  • The XPRIZE Wildfire operations team conducted in-field testing with 13 Autonomous semifinalist teams in late 2025.
  • The five Autonomous finalist teams will compete in a final testing round in Alaska in the summer of 2026.

The players

XPRIZE

The world's leader in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions to solve humanity's grand challenges.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)

A combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than sixteen million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California.

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

A foundation that fosters path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the Bay Area.

Andrea Santy

XPRIZE Wildfire Program Director.

Sumeet Singh

Pacific Gas and Electric Company Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, Energy Delivery.

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What they’re saying

“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.”

— Andrea Santy, XPRIZE Wildfire Program Director (PRNewswire)

“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.”

— Sumeet Singh, Pacific Gas and Electric Company Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, Energy Delivery (PRNewswire)

“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.”

— Genny Biggs, Program director of the Wildfire Resilience Initiative at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (PRNewswire)

What’s next

In the summer of 2026, Autonomous finalist teams will compete in a final testing round in Alaska, where they will be tasked with demonstrating autonomous systems that can detect and fully suppress a high-risk fire in a 1,000 km² test zone within minutes while leaving decoy fires untouched.

The takeaway

The XPRIZE Wildfire competition is driving the development of cutting-edge autonomous technologies that have the potential to revolutionize wildfire detection, response, and prevention, offering a glimpse into the future of protecting communities from the growing threat of catastrophic wildfires.