XPRIZE and the British Asian Trust partner to launch $6 million race for low-cost solutions to accelerate learning
India has prioritised foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) since 2021, and ASER 2024 shows reading levels in government schools rising from 16% to 23%. With momentum building, there is now a significant opportunity to reach many more children. To close this gap, XPRIZE today launched XPRIZE Accelerate Learning, a US$6 million, two-year global competition with the British Asian Trust and ShikshaNext bringing it to India.
The competition aims to help Grade 1 students (around six years old) in India build foundational reading and maths skills faster.
Unlike conventional grant-funded interventions, the competition is outcomes-driven. Teams compete for prize funding and must validate solutions through an independent randomised controlled trial, giving funders and governments clear evidence of what works.Participants also gain connections to funders and investors.
The competition has two tracks :
Core Track (US$5 million): With the British Asian Trust as the strategic partner in India, teams must achieve at least a 25 percentage-point improvement in mastery for 150,000 first-graders at a cost of less than US$10 per child per year.
Last Mile Moonshot Track (US$1 million): Driven through a strategic partnership with ShikshaNext in India, teams build technology-based solutions alongside teachers, achieving at least a 50 percentage-point improvement for under US$40 per child per year.
“XPRIZE Accelerate Learning reimagines what’s possible for every child, regardless of geography, income, or circumstance,” said Anousheh Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, XPRIZE. “We’re challenging innovators to harness the latest in technology and learning sciences to develop solutions for each child’s pace, language, and cultural context. By putting the child and their learning ecosystem at the center, we can unlock lifelong opportunities for children and families around the world.”
“Our work to strengthen foundational learning in India has shown that achieving change at scale requires us to think beyond conventional approaches and bring together ambition, innovation and investment. By putting measurable outcomes at the centre, we can give funders greater confidence that their investments are driving meaningful change, while helping promising innovations reach far more children,” said Hitan Mehta OBE, Chief Executive, British Asian Trust.
Registration is open to everyone, from start-ups to universities and individuals, and closes 15 February 2027 (Last Mile Moonshot) and 15 March 2027 (Core).
To register, visit xprize.org/competitions/accelerate-learning
