Healthcare company-building profile
Grand Challenges
Gates Foundation
AcceleratorGovernment or nonprofit acceleratorNonprofitActive
Source-based profile
Program at a Glance
- Program type
- Accelerator
- Program category
- Government or nonprofit accelerator
- Organization
- Gates Foundation
- Organization type
- Nonprofit
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
- Company stage served
- Research or idea stage to Seed
- Cohort or participation model
- Structured challenge rounds with published topics; Grand Challenges Explorations historically awarded seed grants with follow-on funding for successful projects
- Investment or funding offered
- Yes
- Published investment terms
- Non-dilutive; philanthropic grant funding, no equity taken
- Equity or fee model
- No equity
- Clinical or hospital connection
- Not publicly documented
- Application status
- Active
- Founded
- 2003
Public description
About the program
Grand Challenges is the Gates Foundation's family of open innovation programs, launched in 2003 and expanded through Grand Challenges Explorations, which fund bold ideas in global health and development from researchers and innovators worldwide. Awards run in structured rounds against published challenge topics, with follow-on funding for projects that show promise. Recent rounds have funded projects on equitable access to AI, women's health and related priorities.
What the program publicly emphasizes
Focus areas and features
Global healthMaternal and newborn healthInfectious diseaseAI for health equityWomen's health
- Category: Government or nonprofit accelerator
- Program structure: Structured challenge rounds with published topics; Grand Challenges Explorations historically awarded seed grants with follow-on funding for successful projects
- Published terms: Non-dilutive; philanthropic grant funding, no equity taken
Sources
External source links open in a new tab.