Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative Launches $1M AI Competition To Accelerate Global Dementia Research

In Brief

Bill Gates is sponsoring a $1 million competition for AI tools that analyze Alzheimer’s data, with the winning solution to be freely accessible to researchers.

Global non-profit coalition dedicated to advancing scientific research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, the Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative announced its support for innovative AI solutions aimed at accelerating progress in the field. The initiative is offering a $1 million first prize for an agentic AI system capable of significantly enhancing the speed, scale, and scope of research into Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Currently, over 55 million people worldwide live with these conditions. While recent advances in diagnostics and treatments offer hope, there remains substantial potential to accelerate scientific discovery and therapeutic development. The initiative seeks to harness agentic AI—AI that can autonomously plan, reason, and act—to drive transformative improvements in the efficiency and impact of research efforts in this area.

Alzheimer’s Research Competition Opens Applications For Global AI Innovation Pitch Events

The competition’s application portal is now open, with submissions due by September 12th, 2025, at 11:59 PM PT. Applications must be submitted through the web portal in written form.

Up to eight semi-finalist teams will be chosen to present at a pitch event held in conjunction with the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) Conference during the week of December 1st, 2025, in San Diego, California, USA. Each team will deliver a 10-minute pitch, which includes a brief demonstration of their product prototype, followed by a five-minute Q&A session with the judging panel. Teams may have up to two presenters, and travel as well as presentation support will be provided for the live event. Semi-finalists will be announced on October 3rd, 2025, and their demos are due by November 21st, 2025, at 11:59 PM PT.

Following the semi-final stage, up to three finalist teams will be invited to present at the AD/PD International Conference during the week of March 16th, 2026, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Finalist presentations will consist of a 10-minute product demonstration followed by a 10-minute Q&A with the judging panel, with a maximum of two presenters per team. Travel and presentation support will be provided for the live event. Finalists will be announced on December 5th, 2025, and the winner will be declared during the conference week of March 16th, 2026, in Copenhagen.