Can Competition Solve California's Wildfire Crisis? With $11 Million Purse, XPRIZE Wildfire Aims to Find Out

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Can Competition Solve California's Wildfire Crisis? With $11 Million Purse, XPRIZE Wildfire Aims to Find Out
XPRIZE

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In 2021, the Associated Press reported that California purchased a dozen new Sikorsky Firehawk helicopters—at $24 million a piece. The helicopters can operate at night, store 1,000 gallons of water, refill the tank in under a minute and carry 13 firefighters. But considering in 2022, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection detected 7,490 wildfires throughout the state that burned over 362,000 acres from Los Angeles county all the way to the Sierra Nevada mountains, it’s still not enough.


Enter XPRIZE, a Culver City-based organization that’s using competition to spur innovation in wildfire mitigation technology. Their latest is XPRIZE Wildfire, a four year competition centered around advancing technologies to help detect and combat wildfires.

“Not enough of our best people are focused on solving hard, impactful problems like wildfires,” defense technology startup Anduril founder Palmer Luckey said. “Most engineers who are equipped to solve today's most dangerous problems are working at big technology companies on sexier products with better economic incentives and higher profit margins than most industries.”

The former Oculus VR co-founder is the first registrant to join XPRIZE Wildfire in hopes of winning the $11 million prize awarded to the most innovative team.

“Anduril has been working on anti-wildfire technology since the start of the company because I have long believed that very small amounts of money can be used to deploy new technology that ends this once and for all,” said Luckey. “The level of government involvement on this prize shows that other people finally agree!”

Established companies and teams as young as high school students can register. Early registration fee costs $500 and $1000 during the regular registration period.

To date, there are 37 teams registered with participants from all over the globe including Australia, Canada and London.

Though the initial fund for the prize money was raised by a handful of companies including PG&E, Lockheed Martin and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, XPRIZE has also opened the fund to the public to contribute.

“We've received some funds so far,”Program Director Andrea Santy told dot.LA. “That is hopefully going to continue through the end of the prize. The funds that are raised will go towards the winners and really is to be able to help incentivize the teams.”

While the prize money is enticing, Luckey said that wasn’t his biggest motivator to register.

“I own a huge 60 Blackhawk that does mostly CalFire missions,” Luckey said. “I outfitted it with an internal carriage tank that carries about 8,000 pounds of water.”

And though he believes there’s no alternative to dropping that much water on a blazing wildfire, he says, “it cannot be the backbone of every response.” In part because Blackhawk helicopters can cost upwards of $40 million and require a ton of manpower.

For its part, XPRIZE has been in the competition development business for 30 years. They’ve built competitions around space exploration, biodiversity and conservation and health. But the latest will be their first foray into wildfire detection.

The wildfire competition is split into two different tracks. The first is the space based detection track and will require teams to build a solution that will be able to detect all the fires in areas as large as some states and countries in under a minute. In addition, as part of this first track, Santy said another requirement teams need to account for is their technology needs to have the ability to transfer the data it gathers to firefighters at two ground stations within 10 minutes. Teams who opt for this track will have 22 months to complete their product.

“While detection has improved over the past decade, there's still a lot of it that's not as accurate as we need it,” Santy said. “The scale isn't as close to the resolution and so we want to be able to identify these fires in real time.”

The second option is the autonomous wildfire response track. For this one, teams have 10 minutes to suppress a high-risk fire in a 1000 km2 area autonomously, whether that’s using drones or robotics.

“There are multiple rounds of verification and testing,” Santy told dot.LA. “And so we [her team] want to make sure that we've got all of that mapped out and have everything scheduled. So that's a lot of what we're doing and safety is our top priority for this prize.”

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⚖️FTC’s "Click to Cancel" Rule and Its Ripple Effect on Tech

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday Los Angeles,

The FTC’s new “Click to Cancel” rule is shaking up subscription-based tech. Now, instead of navigating a maze of cancellation hurdles, users can cancel subscriptions as easily as they signed up—with a single click. This shift is a wake-up call for SaaS, streaming, and app-based companies, where once-hidden exit options often kept users around simply because canceling was a hassle.

The rule also requires businesses to send regular renewal reminders, ensuring customers stay informed about upcoming charges. It's more than a cancellation button—it’s about transparency and giving users control over their decisions.

For startups, the impact goes deeper than UX adjustments. Many have relied on "dark patterns," which subtly discourage cancellations by hiding the exit. Now, companies must shift toward building genuine loyalty by delivering real value, not by complicating exits.

While this might affect retention rates initially, it could lead to more sustainable business models that rely on satisfaction-driven loyalty. Investors may start prioritizing companies that emphasize transparent, long-term engagement over those that depend on dark patterns to maintain retention metrics.

The rule opens the door to more ethical UX design and a truly user-centered approach across the tech industry. It may even set a precedent against manipulative design in other areas, such as privacy settings or payment methods.

Ultimately, the “Click to Cancel” rule presents an opportunity for the tech industry to foster trust and build stronger customer relationships. Startups and established companies that embrace transparency will likely stand out as leaders in a new era of customer-centric tech, where trust—not tricky design—is what retains users.

As the tech landscape continues to evolve, LA Tech Week 2024 offers a chance to explore these shifts in real-time. Check out the upcoming event lineups to stay informed and make the most of your time:

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Ghost, a company supporting top brands and retailers with streamlined logistics and fulfillment solutions, raised a $40M Series C funding round led by L Catterton to fuel its continued growth and innovation. - learn more

LA Venture Funds
  • Assembly Ventures participated in a $27M Series A round for Monogoto, a provider of software-defined connectivity solutions that enable secure, cloud-based IoT and cellular network management on a global scale. - learn more
  • Angeleno Group participated in a $32M Series C round for REsurety, a company that recently launched an innovative clean energy marketplace aimed at providing better financial and operational insights to support renewable energy transactions. - learn more

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    🌴🧑‍💻 Your Guide to LA Tech Week 2024

    🔦 Spotlight

    Happy Friday Los Angeles,

    As many of you know, LA Tech Week is right around the corner, kicking off next Monday October 14th bringing together founders, creatives, investors, and engineers for a week of immersive events, panels, and socials across the city. From blockchain and AI to biotech and design, LA Tech Week is a chance to dive into the ideas shaping today’s technology landscape.


    What to Look Forward To

    Insights from Visionary Leaders: Hear firsthand from industry trailblazers as they share stories, challenges, and key lessons from their experiences. Expect fresh perspectives on AI, venture capital, biotech, and the ethical questions around emerging technologies.

    Interactive Panels: This week isn’t about watching from the sidelines; it’s about engaging directly with the tech community. Participate in hands-on panels discussing everything from startup scaling to ethical AI, with honest insights from those actively shaping these fields.

    Networking Mixers & Social Events: Meet and connect with founders, VCs, developers, designers, and fellow techies across LA. Rooftop mixers, lunch meetups, and creative gatherings offer the perfect chance to spark ideas and collaborate.

    Plan your week with the daily lineup, organized by location for easy navigation:

    For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

    Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!!


    🤝 Venture Deals

    LA Companies

    • Clout Kitchen, a Los Angeles and Manila based startup, has raised $4.45M in seed funding, co-led by a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV’s Surge, to develop AI-powered digital twins, which enables gaming creators to produce realistic virtual avatars for content and fan engagement. - learn more
    • MeWe, a privacy-focused social media platform, has raised an initial $6M in Series B funding led by McCourt Global to support Web3 integration and expand its decentralized network for 20 millions users. - learn more

      LA Venture Funds
      • EGB Capital participated in a $10M Series A funding round for MiLaboratories, which develops software that enables biologists to independently analyze complex genomic data, accelerating research and discovery in fields like drug development. - learn more
      • Crosscut Ventures participated in the $13.75M seed round for Airloom Energy, a company focused on developing airborne wind energy technology to harness high-altitude winds, with plans to accelerate a pilot project in Wyoming. - learn more
      • Overture VC participated in a $5.5M Seed funding round for Molg Inc., a company developing robotics and software for circular manufacturing, designed to disassemble electronics efficiently and recover valuable materials to reduce e-waste and support sustainable production. - learn more


        LA Exits

        • Options MD, a Los Angeles based telemedicine platform that provides care for people suffering from severe and treatment-resistant mental illness, is set to be acquired by Resilience Lab, an AI-driven provider focused on enhancing mental health care access. - learn more

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        LA Tech Week 2024: Saturday-Sunday Event Lineup
        tech-week

        Here’s what’s happening during the closing weekend (Oct 19 - Oct 20) of LA Tech Week 2024! Events are organized by location so you can easily catch the sessions that interest you most.

        SATURDAY EVENTS

        BEVERLY HILLS

        12:00 PM

        • BIG Showcase (Invite Only):

        BIG Showcase (Invite Only)

        2:00 PM

        Light Dao

        Struck Capital, Seahorse Express

        EAGLE ROCK

        12:00 PM

        Sunrise Integration, Shopify

        EL SEGUNDO

        9:00 PM

        Administratum, Valar Atomics

        HOLLYWOOD

        10:00 AM

        Passes

        MALIBU

        6:00 PM

        • Malibu Beachfront Investors Networking & Wine Tasting:See Details

        Gaya Ventures

        MARINA DEL RAY

        6:00 PM

        • Awaken Your Spirit: A Journey of Transformation (Invite Only)

        Sagos Distro, Alma Wellness

        SANTA MONICA

        7:00 AM

        Founders Running Club

        8:30 AM

        Techstars

        9:00 AM

        Magic Mind

        StartupStarter, Inc., City of Santa Monica

        10:00 AM

        Gen She

        AI LA

        Crea, Barry's, Unsubscribe

        10:30 AM

        Plantologist

        11:30 AM

        • Pickleball Palooza (Invite Only)

        YouTube

        1:00 PM

        • Realfren Games: From strangers to an inner Realfren within 52 weekends: See Details

        Office for Humanity and Circuit Works

        • Talking blockchain technology with special guests: See Details

        LadyDayDao

        5:00 PM

        KARD, What's Plots

        THE VALLEY

        7:00 AM

        Camino5

        VENICE

        9:00 AM

        Westside Yogis

        11:00 AM

        Open App

        1:00 PM

        Ripe and Teddy's Hot House

        4:00 PM

        • Fashion Forward: How AI is Redefining the Fashion Industry: See Details

        VIAVIA, BNTO.RENT, ALMA.AI

        VIRTUAL

        11:00 AM

        BLCK UNICRN

        WEST HOLLYWOOD

        7:00 PM

        Next Sequence

        SUNDAY EVENTS

        INGLEWOOD

        12:00 PM

        Entrepreneur Ventures, VCPE GROUPS

        PLAYA DEL RAY

        2:00 PM

        AI LA, DELL, NVIDIA

        SANTA MONICA

        10:00 AM

        • Women Founders, Cold Brew & Beach View, Rooftop: See Details

        Clutch Talent

        11:00 AM

        11DollarSunglasses.com, Less Litter Foundation

        12:00 PM

        Data in LA, Amplitude

        12:30 AM

        New Moon, Warner UK Innovations

        TOPANGA CANYON

        3:00 PM

        Dreamore

        VENICE

        8:00 AM

        • Surf session with founders, investors, creators: See Details

        Surfed Club, Bow Shock

        12:00 PM

        • Podcast Panel and Brunch: LA Tech Community Builders: See Details

        WeAreLATech.com, Blankspaces.com

        VIRTUAL

        2:00 PM

        BLCK UNICRN


        For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

        Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!


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