Unboxing the Future: Meet the Top 10 Teams of the Next-Gen Mask Challenge

Nov 09 2020

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XPRIZE announces the ten most innovative international teams moving forward in the $1M XPRIZE Next-Gen Mask Challenge, plus a brand new $10K People’s Vote Bonus Award. 


The 10 Semifinalists represent four countries, some of the world’s brightest minds, and are comprised of young innovators under the age of 24. They were chosen based on their reinvention of the traditional face mask and its ability to overcome common barriers to regular use. 


Meet the 10 Semifinalist Teams:

  • 6Minds from Australia 
  • Cyfive from the United States | Follow on Twitter @CyfiveMask
  • Luminosity Lab from the United States | Follow on Instagram @theluminositylab
  • Merlin! from the United States | Follow on Instagram @merlinmask
  • Naija Force from Nigeria | Follow on Instagram @ifedayoh
  • Polair from the United States | Follow on Instagram @teampolair
  • PROTechThor from Cameroon
  • R&N from the United States | Follow on Twitter @rn_mask
  • TEAM idMASK from the United States 
  • The Sages from the United States | Follow on Instagram @7sagelabs


The Semifinals Round includes in-lab testing from industry experts and evaluation from XPRIZE’s Panel of Cultural Ambassadors. XPRIZE Partners 3M and Honeywell, the world’s leaders in innovation and mask manufacturing, are developing physical prototypes of the Top 10 mask designs that will be distributed to Cultural Ambassadors to try on and assess for style, comfort, and function. Anyone, anywhere can vote on their favorite Top 10 mask between November 18-25, 2020 at xprize.org/masksurvey


Additionally, in celebration of the ingenuity shown in the last round of the competition, XPRIZE has launched a $10,000 People’s Vote Bonus Award which is open to all Next-Gen Mask Challenge Top 25 Teams and will run through November 17. The social media-based competition will ask teams to defend their design and share their best elevator pitch with their friends, families and followers on social media. In the end, the team that engages and inspires the most people on social media will be awarded a $10K prize. 



Follow the teams on XPRIZE social media channels and visit xprize.org/masksurvey to vote for your favorite Top 10 team between November 18-25.