A new contest with a million-dollar prize purse and more aims to spark the creation of innovative face masks that people will want to wear.

Called the Next-Gen Mask Challenge, the contest invites young people ages 15 to 24 to “shift the cultural perspective” around mask-wearing by developing new, desirable surgical-grade consumer face masks.

Sponsored by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money on CNBC, the contest comes from XPRIZE Pandemic Alliance, a global coalition launched to address the needs of the COVID-19 crisis.

XPRIZE leaders said the mask contest is an outgrowth of widespread reluctance among Americans to wear facial coverings during the pandemic. A recent study from Pew Research showed that about one-third of the U.S. population doesn’t regularly wear a mask, even though evidence shows that doing so properly can significantly reduce transmission of some respiratory viruses and thus likely help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“We understand that masks can be ill-fitting, uncomfortable, unfashionable, and that the most effective masks are often unavailable or expensive for everyday people,” said Peter Diamandis, founder and executive chairman of XPRIZE Foundation. “We need an alternative. That's why XPRIZE is turning to the world's young innovators to help reinvent the face mask and create an accessible alternative that will help protect against the spread of COVID-19.”

For the Next-Gen Mask Challenge, participants will have to design a facial covering that, among other things, achieves filtration efficacy on par with a surgical mask; addresses at least five of the top 10 reasons people do not wear a mask (as defined by XPRIZE); and has an “X-factor” of style that will promote positive mask-wearing behavior.

The XPRIZE team, industry experts and a panel of cultural ambassadors will judge the entries. In the end, a grand prize winner, plus two additional teams, will be selected. The three teams will split a one-million-dollar prize purse and will be connected to rapid manufacturing opportunities in the U.S. to accelerate the production of their reimagined facial masks.   

In a survey, XPRIZE found that the top reasons people don’t wear masks include: fogging of glasses, get too hot, are uncomfortable, cause breathing difficulties, make conversations challenging, can't exercise while wearing, cause pain or don't fit properly, block facial expressions, can't eat or drink, aren't eco-friendly, are ugly or boring, and are difficult to acquire.  

XPRIZE’s challenge kicked off Monday, July 13. Competing teams will need to submit final design and supporting materials to XPRIZE by 06:59pm UTC on October 22, 2020. Winners will be announced in February of 2021.

Learn more https://www.xprize.org/prizes/nextgenmask