HHS may award up to $250,000 in cash prizes under the America COMPETES Act (15 U.S.C. § 3719), consistent with the official Challenge rules.
Prizes
Total cash prize pool
$250,000
Prizes
- 1 Grand Prize: $50,000
- 5 Excellence Prizes: $20,000 each
- 10 Impact Awards: $10,000 each
- Additional Recognition: HHS may provide non-monetary recognition and acknowledgments
Additional information and use of prize funds
HHS may, at its sole discretion, select up to 16 winning submissions across prize categories. Each participant may receive only one cash prize. HHS and the LymeX Innovation Accelerator may also provide non-monetary recognition — including certificates, challenge coins, honorable mentions, or similar acknowledgments — either independently or in addition to a cash prize.
HHS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to not award some or all prizes if submissions do not meet the published evaluation criteria or performance thresholds.
We remind participants that under this announcement, HHS is seeking to award prizes, not grants. The purpose of this challenge is to reward innovation, not provide financial assistance, and HHS does not limit how winners may use prize funds awarded to them.