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DrivenData · Paid competitionDrivenData competitions
Machine-learning competitions run for mission-driven organisations — over $5,304,000 in prize money paid out to date. Only a handful run at once, so the field entering any one of them is a fraction of the size of the big platforms.
Dates & timeline
Prizes
- $5,304,000+ in prize money paid out across the platform to date
- Lost in Transcription (closed 2 Oct 2026): $20,000 across three independent language tracks — $4,000 for 1st and $2,000 for 2nd in each, plus a $2,000 bonus for the best average across all three
- GEMS Prize Challenge: $300,000, but US citizens and permanent residents only
- Prizes are set per competition — confirm the currency and split on the competition page
- $5,304,000+ in prize money distributed
- 266,000 submissions to date
- Competitions usually run 2–3 months and only a few are open at once
Why it's worth your time
DrivenData runs online data-science competitions on behalf of mission-driven organisations — its stated purpose is using "data science & AI to help mission-driven organizations offer more impactful services." Challenges come from research bodies, foundations and public institutions rather than from a single sponsor, and the platform has paid out over $5,304,000 in prize money across 266,000 submissions.
The practical argument for a student is scarcity of competitors. Where the largest platforms run dozens of competitions attracting enormous fields, DrivenData typically has only a few open at any moment, each with a well-defined problem and a published prize table. The honest position as of 5 October 2026 is that none of them is open to you: Mozilla Data Collective's Lost in Transcription ($20,000) closed on 2 October, the €25,000 DaT Parkinson's Challenge closed on 16 September, and the only competition still running is restricted to US residents (below). This is a row to bookmark and check, not one to act on this week.
What to watch for: DrivenData billed Lost in Transcription as "the first of three challenges on the Mozilla Data Collective Platform", so two more speech-recognition challenges are expected but have not been announced, with no dates or prizes published. Lost in Transcription itself was a good model of the shape to look for — three independent language tracks, each paying $4,000 and $2,000, plus a $2,000 best-average bonus, so six paying positions rather than one podium. Prizes are set per competition and not all are quoted in USD, so check the currency and the split on the competition page before you commit. One you will see on the list and should skip: the $300,000 GEMS Prize Challenge, run for the US Department of Energy and open until 3 December 2026, is restricted to US citizens and permanent residents, so students in India cannot enter it.
How to apply
Open the competitions page and read the problem statements — pick one where the data type is something you have actually worked with.
Read that competition's official rules for eligibility and prize terms before investing time; terms are set per competition, not platform-wide.
Get a baseline submission on the leaderboard early, then iterate — the 2–3 month window rewards steady work over a last-week sprint.
Right now nothing on the platform is open to a student in India — Lost in Transcription closed 2 October and GEMS is US-only. Check back for the next two Mozilla Data Collective challenges, which DrivenData has said are coming.
Write up your method properly. Several DrivenData competitions require a solution write-up before a prize is awarded at all.
Frequently asked questions
Does it cost anything to enter a DrivenData competition?
No. Competition rules state "NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS COMPETITION."
Can students in India take part?
The competitions are online and open to residents of any country where participating or receiving a prize is not prohibited by US or local law; specific jurisdictions can be excluded per competition, so read the official rules of the one you enter.
What can you actually win?
Prize pools are published per competition. As of 5 October 2026 the only open competition is the $300,000 GEMS Prize Challenge, which is open only to US citizens and permanent residents; the last one open to students in India, Mozilla Data Collective's $20,000 Lost in Transcription, closed on 2 October 2026. DrivenData has paid out more than $5,304,000 in total.
How is this different from the largest competition platforms?
Far fewer competitions run at once, so each field is much smaller. The problems are also socially motivated and unusual in shape, which rewards careful thinking over brute-force ensembling.
Is it realistic for a 2nd-year student?
Winning is hard, but the smaller fields make placing meaningfully more achievable than on the biggest platforms, and several competitions require a written solution report — which leaves you with a public, citable artifact whether or not you place.
Official links
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