Five finalists have now been selected and will share £1.5m to develop their solutions in pursuit of the £1m first prize to be awarded in 2026.
State of the art AI glasses to help people with dementia navigate their environment and a smartwatch that learns daily routines are among five groundbreaking technologies awarded £300,000 as a finalist in the £4.4m Longitude Prize on Dementia.
The prize is rewarding the creation of new assistive technologies that use AI to transform how people live with dementia after a diagnosis so that they can maintain their independence for as long as possible.
The global challenge prize announced in early 2022, funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK and delivered by us here at Challenge Works (part of Nesta), is driving the creation of personalised, technology-based tools that are co-created with people living with the early stages of dementia, helping them to live independent, fulfilled lives so they are able to do the things they enjoy. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime, with around a million people in the UK living with a form of dementia now. This is projected to rise to 1.4 million people by 2040.
24 semi-finalist teams were chosen in June 2023 and now we’re so excited to reveal the final five teams that have been selected as finalists. The five teams, who were announced on Tuesday 8th October on BBC One’s The One Show, will each receive £300,000 to develop their technologies in the next 15 months.
Dementia’s impact
“Currently, around one million people in the UK live with dementia,” explains Kate Lee, CEO of Alzheimer’s Society. “A figure projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. AI presents exciting opportunities to help those with dementia stay active and independent, to enable them to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. By harnessing the power of technology, we can support memory recall and assist individuals in maintaining their daily routines. The five finalists of the Longitude Prize on Dementia are tackling these challenges in innovative and diverse ways. I look forward to seeing how their technologies evolve over the next year.”
Stella Peace, interim Executive Chair, for Innovate UK adds: “Dementia’s impact is devastating for those who develop the condition and for their loved ones. There is much we can do to ensure that those with dementia continue to live fulfilling lives. Technology has a great role to play and the projects for which we have announced funding today have the potential to truly change lives for the better.”
The prize
“The Longitude Prize on Dementia was launched to help meet the urgent need for intuitive, AI technologies that could support independent living for people with dementia,” explains Tris Dyson, Managing Director at Challenge Works. “Last year we saw some incredible ideas come through the 24 semi-finalist entries and it was a challenge for the judges to select the five finalists announced today. This announcement proves the critical role innovation, and challenge prizes, have to play in helping to solve some of the biggest challenges of our time.”
In addition to the financial reward, non-financial support will provide crucial insight and expertise until the end of 2025. The support includes access to potential product users, mentorship, and expert advice on technical and business aspects of the innovation, to ensure products are scalable. It will also facilitate knowledge sharing between participants. All teams will be working with people with lived experience to ensure solutions are fully co-created.
In early 2026, one winner will receive a prize pot of £1 million. This will follow a judging process with the international Judging Panel and Lived Experience Advisory Panel. The prize has been funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK – the UK’s innovation agency. See Longitude Prize on Dementia partners here.
