Verizon today officially launched its first-ever Powerful Answers contest, which offers $10 million in prizes to innovators around the world for solutions to "the world's biggest challenges."
The mobile carrier is seeking ideas on how to use its mobile, broadband, and cloud platforms to drive change in three categories: health care, education, and sustainability, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said at a launch event Tuesday in New York. Verizon will be giving out $1 million to the top 10 contenders in each category. The contest is open to anyone who is at least 18 years old; winners will be announced at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show.
"I hope that these innovative ideas that come up will just blow people away," McAdam said. "I think the power of the networks, frankly, out limit our ability to think about them today."
The contest will run in three phases. During the first phase, competitors have until June 30 to submit their concepts on the Powerful Answers website. Submissions should spell out: which social problem you're trying to solve, how you will use Verizon's network capabilities, and why there is a need for this in the market.
Verizon is assembling a panel of judges who will review all submissions, and select those "with the greatest potential to create social benefit," Lowell said. Those selected by the judges will move on to phase two, which runs until Aug. 15. During the second phase, Verizon will ask for more detailed business cases and marketing plans describing the viability of proposed innovations.
Judges will then evaluate remaining submissions based on their creativity, originality, commercial feasibility, and potential to have a significant global impact and narrow it down to 10 finalists in each category. Finalists will be able to interact with Verizon experts and receive help finalizing their proposal, which they will present to the judges in person.
The top five winners in each category will all receive cash prizes. The top prize in each category is $1 million, with the other four winners in each category receiving $850,000, $700,000, $500,000, and $285,000, respectively. The prize is not tied to intellectual property, meaning winners will retain ownership of any IP rights they may hold.
"This award is designed to give seed money to people who have ideas that would have a hard time bringing them to market," McAdam said. "It does not indicate an exclusivity with Verizon."
Winners will be able to work with Verizon to explore how to commercialize the innovation. The carrier will then evaluate whether it makes sense to bring the winning products to market.
Verizon first announced the contest at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Since then, thousands of people have signed up and expressed their interest in submitting ideas, McAdam said.
"The need of society in these areas of healthcare, education, and sustainability are very well known," McAdam said. "We're hopeful … that we'll really make some changes for society's overall good."
