Women's Safety XPrize Competition Announce 21 Semifinalist Teams For $1 Million Prize

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November 15, 2017 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--XPRIZE, the global leader in designing incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges, today announced the 21 teams advancing in the $1M Anu & Naveen Jain Women’s Safety XPRIZE, which challenges competitors around the world to leverage technology to create accessible and affordable safety solutions that help tackle violence and harassment against women.

The competition challenges a diverse range of global teams, including several cross-country collaborations, to develop an affordable, pragmatic device that provides women with the ability to rapidly respond to threats. The solution should autonomously and inconspicuously trigger an emergency alert and transmit information to a network of community responders, all within 90 seconds. In order to help give the product maximum adoption potential, the winning technology should cost no more than US$40.

With XPRIZE, Anu and Naveen Jain conceptualized and launched the Women’s Safety XPRIZE as a response against the mounting frequency of harassment and assault women face across developed and emerging countries alike.

“According to statistics from the United Nations, one in three women have faced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, with one in five being a victim of assault on college campuses across the United States – yet 90 percent of victims don’t report the case,” said Anu Jain, philanthropist and champion for the Women’s Safety XPRIZE. “We sparked this initiative to curb the harassment epidemic against women and empower them to pursue their dreams.”

The semifinalists were chosen by an independent judging panel from a field of 85 teams following XPRIZE’s initial launch at a United Nations day celebration in October 2016. Among them are app developers, technology researchers, academic institutions and startups working toward safety for women worldwide.

“We are immensely proud of the most talented entrepreneurs and visionaries in the world who are developing the products to enable millions of women to truly live without fear,” said Naveen Jain, philanthropist and champion for the Women’s Safety XPRIZE.

The competition challenges a diverse range of global teams, including several cross-country collaborations, to develop an affordable, pragmatic device that provides women with the ability to rapidly respond to threats. The solution should autonomously and inconspicuously trigger an emergency alert and transmit information to a network of community responders, all within 90 seconds. In order to help give the product maximum adoption potential, the winning technology should cost no more than US$40.

With XPRIZE, Anu and Naveen Jain conceptualized and launched the Women’s Safety XPRIZE as a response against the mounting frequency of harassment and assault women face across developed and emerging countries alike.

“According to statistics from the United Nations, one in three women have faced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, with one in five being a victim of assault on college campuses across the United States – yet 90 percent of victims don’t report the case,” said Anu Jain, philanthropist and champion for the Women’s Safety XPRIZE. “We sparked this initiative to curb the harassment epidemic against women and empower them to pursue their dreams.”

The semifinalists were chosen by an independent judging panel from a field of 85 teams following XPRIZE’s initial launch at a United Nations day celebration in October 2016. Among them are app developers, technology researchers, academic institutions and startups working toward safety for women worldwide.

“We are immensely proud of the most talented entrepreneurs and visionaries in the world who are developing the products to enable millions of women to truly live without fear,” said Naveen Jain, philanthropist and champion for the Women’s Safety XPRIZE.

The competition challenges a diverse range of global teams, including several cross-country collaborations, to develop an affordable, pragmatic device that provides women with the ability to rapidly respond to threats. The solution should autonomously and inconspicuously trigger an emergency alert and transmit information to a network of community responders, all within 90 seconds. In order to help give the product maximum adoption potential, the winning technology should cost no more than US$40.

With XPRIZE, Anu and Naveen Jain conceptualized and launched the Women’s Safety XPRIZE as a response against the mounting frequency of harassment and assault women face across developed and emerging countries alike.

“According to statistics from the United Nations, one in three women have faced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, with one in five being a victim of assault on college campuses across the United States – yet 90 percent of victims don’t report the case,” said Anu Jain, philanthropist and champion for the Women’s Safety XPRIZE. “We sparked this initiative to curb the harassment epidemic against women and empower them to pursue their dreams.”

The semifinalists were chosen by an independent judging panel from a field of 85 teams following XPRIZE’s initial launch at a United Nations day celebration in October 2016. Among them are app developers, technology researchers, academic institutions and startups working toward safety for women worldwide.

“We are immensely proud of the most talented entrepreneurs and visionaries in the world who are developing the products to enable millions of women to truly live without fear,” said Naveen Jain, philanthropist and champion for the Women’s Safety XPRIZE.

“According to statistics from the United Nations, one in three women have faced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, with one in five being a victim of assault on college campuses across the United States – yet 90 percent of victims don’t report the case,” said Anu Jain, philanthropist and champion for the Women’s Safety XPRIZE in a press release. “We sparked this initiative to curb the harassment epidemic against women and empower them to pursue their dreams.”

If you’re interested in seeing what kind of technology is leading the pack for women’s safety, check out the 21 companies named semifinalists here.