Before You Share

You get access to ConneXions, where you can find teammates across disciplines and read the competition overview. You are not signing anything. The Official Rules, the Mission Plan and the participation agreements are published by November 30, 2026, and the serious build starts then.

No. The product must be digital, but it can use human assistance, AI assistance or both. Every approach meets the same product, evidence, privacy and safety requirements, and your development and operating costs count in the business case.

The Mission Plan, program guidance, mentor matching and access to technical, research and venture resources. Some members of the Horizons Council, the journalists and educators who advised on the design, may choose to mentor. No specific mentor, customer, partner or investment is promised.

Yes. The topic is your choice and no permission is required. xFoundry recommends caution with polarizing or fast-moving topics: sources move fast and cost more to keep current, mistakes cost more, and demand can vanish after the event. A short-lived market can still be a good business if you know it is short-lived. Answer those questions in your business plan.

Your product leaves conclusions to the user. It does not decide contested claims, rank creators or outlets, assign political lean or quietly filter sources to remove bias. It shows relevant perspectives and the evidence behind them without treating every disagreement as an even split.

Individualized medical, legal or investment advice is prohibited. Explaining a source is different from telling a person what to do, and a disclaimer does not change that.

Products are private and user-controlled: no ad-supported model, no sale of usage data, no training-data resale, no biometrics, no device fingerprinting, and no individual usage reports to universities or employers. First-cycle users and research participants are adults.

Complete the four gates and the non-curable milestones, break no hard rule, and meet the Schedule A standard: 20 percent of your activated users still using the product four months later, measured on a cohort of at least 100 activated users, plus paid demand of either at least $1,000 in cumulative recognized revenue from at least 50 distinct paying users, with at least half of those payers retained at four months under the published payer rule, or at least one paid institutional or adult-family pilot of at least $5,000, with a named buyer and written scope. A letter of intent supports your case but cannot qualify you. Among qualifying teams, the judging panel scores the seven criteria above. If no team meets the standard, no winner is named.

You do. xFoundry claims no ownership of team-built IP. Your university, employer or prior agreements may have a say, so check early. Before any investment closes, your company must hold the rights to the product.

No. Sharing is one moment when context matters. Your product can help people understand something privately or make any other decision, without asking them to post anything.