Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Department of Transportation Announces Semi-Finalists in Innovation Challenge with $1 Million Prize
Department of Transportation Announces Semi-Finalists in Innovation Challenge with $1 Million Prize
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has selected 15 semi-finalist teams to advance to the next stage of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Infrastructure (ARPA-I) Ideas and Innovation Challenge (the “Ideas Challenge”). Through the Ideas Challenge, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) seeks bold, transformative solutions to enhance America’s infrastructure, improve safety, and cut costs for the Department. The winners will be awarded a total of $1 million in prizes across two stages (details below). Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, this administration is emboldened to use innovative solutions to address everyday concerns.
{snip}
For Stage 1 of this challenge, ARPA-I received 448 concept paper submissions. From those, 15 winners were selected as semi-finalists, who will be awarded $20,000 each ($300,000 total) and invited to present and further refine their ideas with business and government stakeholders at the USDOT Innovation Workshop. The Innovation Workshop (“Ideas Bootcamp”) will be held on December 9, 2025 at USDOT Headquarters in Washington D.C.
In Stage 2, semi-finalists from Stage 1 will be eligible to submit a detailed proposal and up to 10 will be selected as finalists to advance to the ARPA-I Ideas Challenge Finals in 2026. The finalists will present their project proposal to a distinguished panel of judges and audience members from the public and private sectors to compete for Stage 2 prizes that total $700,000.
The Ideas Challenge semi-finalists are:
{snip}
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has selected 15 semi-finalist teams to advance to the next stage of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Infrastructure (ARPA-I) Ideas and Innovation Challenge (the “Ideas Challenge”). Through the Ideas Challenge, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) seeks bold, transformative solutions to enhance America’s infrastructure, improve safety, and cut costs for the Department. The winners will be awarded a total of $1 million in prizes across two stages (details below). Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, this administration is emboldened to use innovative solutions to address everyday concerns.
{snip}
For Stage 1 of this challenge, ARPA-I received 448 concept paper submissions. From those, 15 winners were selected as semi-finalists, who will be awarded $20,000 each ($300,000 total) and invited to present and further refine their ideas with business and government stakeholders at the USDOT Innovation Workshop. The Innovation Workshop (“Ideas Bootcamp”) will be held on December 9, 2025 at USDOT Headquarters in Washington D.C.
In Stage 2, semi-finalists from Stage 1 will be eligible to submit a detailed proposal and up to 10 will be selected as finalists to advance to the ARPA-I Ideas Challenge Finals in 2026. The finalists will present their project proposal to a distinguished panel of judges and audience members from the public and private sectors to compete for Stage 2 prizes that total $700,000.
The Ideas Challenge semi-finalists are:
{snip}
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
