MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has officially opened applications for its Global Challenges 2027. The program selects scalable technology-based solutions addressing global challenges in climate, economic prosperity, healthcare, and education. Every selected team receives a guaranteed $10,000 grant from MIT Solve, with the total prize pool exceeding $1 million across partner awards.
Applications are open until November 2, 2026, at 12:00 Eastern Time (ET, UTC−4). For teams in Kazakhstan, this deadline corresponds to November 2, 2026, at 22:00 Astana time.
Four Main Global Challenge Tracks
- Climate Challenge: Scalable solutions for low-carbon technologies, industrial and agricultural decarbonization, circular economy, biodiversity preservation, clean energy access, and climate adaptation in frontline communities.
- Economic Prosperity Challenge: Financial inclusion, micro-enterprise empowerment, fair gig-economy platforms, sustainable supply chains, digital trade tools, and closing the income gap for informal workers.
- Global Health Challenge: Continuity of care during conflicts or health emergencies, non-communicable disease prevention, mental health, elderly care, and primary healthcare delivery for underserved and rural populations.
- Global Learning Challenge: High-impact educational technologies, teacher support tools, accessible digital education in low-resource environments, multilingual learning tech, and early developmental screening.
A fifth challenge, the Indigenous Communities Fellowship, is open exclusively to applicants within the United States and Canada.
What Selected Solver Teams Receive
- Guaranteed Non-Dilutive Grant: $10,000 awarded directly to each selected Solver team without taking any equity or warrants.
- Additional Partner Prizes: Teams are eligible for specialized awards, with typical winners securing an average of $40,000 to $150,000 in total capital during the cohort.
- Nine-Month Acceleration Program: Comprehensive capacity-building modules covering growth marketing, impact measurement, legal navigation, media visibility, and introductions to institutional venture investors and philanthropic foundations.
- In-Person Summits: Participation in the Solve Orientation at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts (April), and the Solve Challenge Finals during the UN General Assembly week in New York City (September 2027).
Featured Partner Prize Categories
- AI for Humanity Prize (Patrick J. McGovern Foundation): Up to $150,000 awarded to at least one team deploying ethical AI, machine learning, or predictive data modeling to solve humanitarian issues.
- Seeding the Future Prize: $150,000 for innovative and climate-resilient food production systems.
- Crescent Enterprises AI for Social Innovation Prize: Up to $100,000 distributed among up to four innovative teams.
- E Ink Innovation Prize: $100,000 for high-impact technologies in sustainable development and educational equity.
- Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Ocean Innovation Prize: Up to $100,000 for ocean conservation and blue economy technologies.
- Schmidt Marine Wavemaker’s Prize: Up to $100,000 for ready-to-scale marine and aquatic monitoring technology.
Eligibility Criteria and Selection Process
MIT Solve welcomes submissions from for-profit startups, non-profit organizations, social enterprises, and university spinouts globally. Solutions must be technology-based (interpreted broadly across software, AI algorithms, SMS architectures, robotics, hardware devices, or decentralized protocols) and must be at least at the working prototype, pilot, or growth stage (pure theoretical ideas are not accepted for global tracks).
Applications undergo an extensive evaluation by MIT faculty, industry leaders, and cross-sector experts based on impact potential, technical feasibility, novelty, user-centric design, and scalability. Finalists will pitch virtually before an expert judging panel in early 2027 to determine the official Solver class.
