XPRIZE has announced the five finalist teams in its Autonomous Wildfire Response Track, part of an $11 million global competition aimed at developing new firefighting technologies. The announcement was made at Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)’s headquarters in Oakland, with PG&E and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation serving as co-title sponsors.
The competition comes a year after major wildfires in the Los Angeles area resulted in significant loss of life and property. As wildfires become more frequent and severe, there is growing interest in using artificial intelligence and autonomous systems for wildfire prevention and response.
Teams competing in the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track are working on solutions that can detect and suppress high-risk fires within 10 minutes across large, complex areas. These autonomous systems must also distinguish real fires from decoys. Technologies demonstrated so far have been able to map, assess, and respond to wildfire threats quickly, offering faster response rates than current methods.
“Globally, wildfires are becoming more frequent, more intense, more unpredictable, and more destructive,” said Andrea Santy, XPRIZE Wildfire Program Director. “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, semifinalist teams were tested on their ability to integrate AI detection with autonomous drone navigation and suppression. The Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration at the University of Alaska Fairbanks partnered on these trials.
Each of the five finalist teams received a share of a $750,000 prize for demonstrating readiness in areas such as end-to-end autonomy, smart detection capabilities, navigation safety features, suppression technology, and scalability.
Final testing will take place in Alaska during summer 2026. Teams will be required to autonomously detect and suppress a fire within a 1,000 km² zone while avoiding decoy fires.
Another part of the competition focuses on space-based wildfire detection. In July 2025 ten finalists representing six countries were named for this track; they will compete in Australia in April alongside local emergency services.
PG&E has increased its support as Impact Phase Sponsor by providing over $1 million toward field trials and further development. This phase aims to help bring new solutions into practical use for regions most threatened by wildfires.
“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,” said Sumeet Singh, Pacific Gas and Electric Company Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, Energy Delivery. “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.”
Sponsors interested in supporting or hosting pilot projects are encouraged by PG&E and XPRIZE to participate.
“Wildfires are escalating in both frequency and intensity, and addressing this challenge requires bold, evidence-driven solutions,” said Genny Biggs from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “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.”
Winners from each track will be awarded $3.5 million when results are announced later in 2026; Lockheed Martin is sponsoring an additional $1 million bonus prize for top-performing entries demonstrating accuracy speed.
For further details about XPRIZE Wildfire visit www.xprize.org/wildfire.
