Congratulations to all our Innovators and Teams on completing the submissions for Stage 2 of the GoAERO Prize! The technical prowess and enthusiasm to change the world are evident in the quality of the entries. This exciting moment marks the next step in our collective mission to revolutionize emergency response technology and the world as we know it!

On December 3rd, GoAERO will announce the Stage 2 winners and award $40,000 USD each to up to 8 winning teams. What form will those winning flyers take? We are as eager to find out as you are!

As we plan for GoAERO, we are meeting with the NASA Ames team to finalize dates for our 2027 Fly-Off -- and we could not be more excited to bring you the programming, mentorship, and three-day Fly-Off festival to help you showcase your life-saving flyers, with all the partners, CEOs, investors, government officials we will assemble for you.

Quite simply, the best part of GoAERO is the Fly-Off and the lead up to it.

And remember: You do NOT need to win or participate in Stage 2 in order to compete in GoAERO now. While we are looking forward to celebrating these Stage 2 winning Teams, all innovators are encouraged to compete. The Fly-Off winners can still come from anywhere, and do not need to have participated in or won a previous stage to enter and win the next top prizes.

There are still almost $2,000,000 in prizes available.  Fly-Off prizes include not only a $1,000,000 Grand Prize but also an Autonomy Prize, a RTX Disruptor Prize, a Productivity Mission Prize, an Adversity Mission Prize, and a Maneuverability Mission Prize.  Teams can compete for all prizes or can choose to compete for only one or two mission prizes.

Registration is easy.  

  • If you have already registered as an Official Stage 2 Team (signed Master Team Agreement, the Media Rights Agreement, and provided a Certificate of Insurance), you are all set.  There is nothing more you need to do at this time.
  • If you have not already signed the documents, you will need to sign the Master Team Agreement, the Media Rights Agreement, and provide a Certificate of Insurance.

All documents and information can be found here.

For all Teams who submitted in Stage 2, while Judges’ scores will not be released, GoAERO will continue to provide support to participants, including upcoming opportunities for technical discussions and feedback. All participating teams will also be provided with a primary mentor, should the team desire to have one.

Our expert judges carefully evaluate each individual aspect of every Stage 2 submission in accordance with the official Technical Rules and published judging criteria. The judging process involves several stages of evaluation with multiple judges.

Stay tuned for more updates—and should you have any questions, please reach out to us at info@GoAEROprize.com.

Ready. Set. GoAERO!