XPRIZE has launched a $6 million global competition to accelerate foundational reading and mathematics skills among first-grade students in India, working with the British Asian Trust and ShikshaNext.
The two-year XPRIZE Accelerate Learning competition will reward solutions that demonstrate measurable improvements at costs intended to support broad adoption.
Teams must validate their approaches through an independent randomized controlled trial. The competition is designed to give governments and funders evidence of effectiveness while connecting participating innovators with potential financial supporters.
The Core Track, supported in India by the British Asian Trust, requires teams to achieve at least a 25% improvement in mastery for 150,000 first-grade students at a cost below $10 per child annually.
The Last Mile Moonshot Track, delivered through a partnership with ShikshaNext, focuses on technology-based solutions developed alongside teachers. It targets at least a 50% improvement at an annual cost below $40 per child.
The competition follows India’s prioritization of foundational literacy and numeracy since 2021. The announcement cited ASER 2024 findings showing reading levels in government schools increasing from 16% to 23%, while emphasizing the opportunity to reach more children.
Participants are expected to account for differences in children’s learning pace, language and cultural context. The two tracks combine learning outcomes with affordability requirements, making cost part of the standard against which solutions will be assessed.
Registration is open to startups, universities, individuals and other innovators. The deadline is February 15, 2027, for the Last Mile Moonshot Track and March 15, 2027, for the Core Track.
The initiative brings prize funding, independent evaluation and potential investor connections into a single process aimed at identifying approaches that can improve early learning at scale.
KEY QUOTES:
“XPRIZE Accelerate Learning reimagines what’s possible for every child, regardless of geography, income, or circumstance. We’re challenging innovators to harness the latest 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 center, we can unlock lifelong opportunities for children and families around the world.”
Anousheh Ansari, CEO Of XPRIZE
“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 confidence that their investments are driving meaningful change, while helping promising innovations reach far more children.”
Hitan Mehta OBE, Chief Executive Of The British Asian Trust
