Announced in New York City during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81), the collaboration will bring together the complementary capabilities of the four organizations to strengthen support for innovators addressing global water scarcity. Activities are intended to be supported in part through a multi-year grant from Dalio Philanthropies.
The collaboration responds to a persistent challenge across the water innovation ecosystem: while competitions attract new talent, incentivize breakthroughs and help promising technologies demonstrate their performance and potential, innovators often require further commercial, technical and ecosystem support to translate that progress into adoption at scale.
Under the collaboration, Imagine H2O will lead accelerator and commercialization activities for selected innovators, spanning market development, technical assistance for pilot design, testing and deployment, engagement with companies and other ecosystem stakeholders, and support to strengthen commercial readiness. The program will initially focus on innovators participating in XPRIZE Water Scarcity and Al Miyah Challenge competitions, connecting the performance-driven model with continued support beyond the competition itself.
Commenting on the announcement, Ayesha Al Ateeqi, CEO of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, said: “Competitions play an important role in bringing fresh perspectives and creativity to complex challenges, creating the conditions for breakthrough innovation. But identifying a promising solution is only one part of the journey. Innovators also need the commercial capabilities, partnerships, customers and deployment pathways to turn technological progress into lasting real-world impact. This collaboration extends the innovation journey beyond the competition itself and creates stronger pathways for high-potential water innovations to advance toward commercialization, adoption and scale.”
Ray Dalio, Co-Founder of Dalio Philanthropies, added: “There is nothing more important to human survival than clean water and not having enough of it is an increasing risk. Supporting this joint approach from the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, Imagine H2O, and the XPRIZE Foundation to bring talent and technology to deal with this challenge is probably the best catalytic capital investment we can make.”
Scott Bryan, President of Imagine H2O, commented: “Better technology alone does not determine which solutions succeed in water. Adoption depends on earning the trust of the operators and buyers who bear the consequences when something fails. For more than 15 years, Imagine H2O has worked alongside entrepreneurs, water utilities, industrial users, and growers to close that gap. This partnership extends that work to a new group of innovators, connecting promising solutions with the customers and institutions that can help them scale.”
“Water scarcity is a growing global challenge, and addressing it requires turning bold ideas into practical solutions that can create lasting impact,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE Foundation. “Partnerships like this are critical to the success of XPRIZE competitions, helping bridge the gap between innovation and implementation and accelerating breakthrough technologies toward market readiness. By bringing innovators, industry leaders and communities together, we can help transform promising solutions into scalable technologies capable of addressing one of the world’s most urgent challenges.”
Through the new collaboration, the organizations will also explore opportunities for wider ecosystem activation, knowledge sharing, case studies and insights, and additional jointly agreed initiatives intended to support progress from innovation to commercial application and deployment. The approach reflects The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative’s broader focus on bridging the gap between innovation and large-scale implementation by strengthening the evidence, partnerships and pathways that promising technologies need to progress from lab to field.
The announcement followed Beyond the Prize: When Can Competitions and Awards Catalyze Change?, a closed-door high-level roundtable convened by The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative on the sidelines of UNGA81 and New York Climate Week. The session brought together leaders from philanthropy, innovation competitions, accelerators, investment and industry to examine where prizes and challenges belong within the broader innovation and philanthropic toolkit, and what additional support is required to translate breakthroughs into lasting impact.
ABOUT THE MOHAMED BIN ZAYED WATER INITIATIVE
The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative works to accelerate innovative solutions to water scarcity and support their application for the benefit of communities around the world.
The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative is dedicated to addressing global water scarcity by enabling the development and application of breakthrough technologies, raising the importance of water scarcity on the international agenda, and deploying needed water solutions to benefit people and communities around the world. In its first priority project, in March 2024 the Initiative partnered with XPRIZE Foundation to launch XPRIZE Water Scarcity – a five-year, $119 million prize made possible by a $150 million contribution from The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative. The competition is designed to drive widespread access to clean water by creating more reliable, sustainable, and affordable seawater desalination systems and membranes. In April 2025, The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative launched Al Miyah Challenge for Agriculture, an AED 8 million competition to accelerate innovation in the development of technological solutions that can reduce the consumption of water in agriculture while maintaining or improving crop yield. The Challenge is open to international participants and will require aspiring teams to test and demonstrate their technology’s applicability in the UAE, with potential for deployment in other locations with similar weather and climate conditions.
For more information about The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, please visit www.mohamedbinzayedwi.ae
ABOUT DALIO PHILANTHROPIES
Dalio Philanthropies, founded by the Dalio family in 2003, supports a diverse range of organizations to help catalyze positive change around the world across core focus areas of education, economic empowerment, arts and community, health and wellness, and the Ocean. In addition to these focus areas, Dalio Philanthropies supports three primary Operating Programs: Dalio Education, which champions education and youth development in Connecticut; OceanX, which combines science, education, and storytelling to unlock the ocean’s sustainable potential and drive global impact; and Endless, which promotes digital access and empowers people by turning passion into skills. Since Dalio Philanthropies’ inception, the family has provided over $7.5 billion in support of its mission.
To learn more about Dalio Philanthropies, visit www.daliophilanthropies.org
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