Startups
Edit
https://breakthroughprize.org/
Breakthrough Prize Foundation
TrustedLast activity: 30.04.2026
Active
Breakthrough Prize
www.breakthroughprize.org
The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. The Prizes have been sponsored by the personal foundations established by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Ma Huateng, Jack Ma, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. Laureates in the fields of Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics receive $3 million dollars each in prize money, and they attend a televised award ceremony designed to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists. They also engage in a day-long symposium of lectures and discussions.
Breakthrough Junior Challenge
www.breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is an annual competition that invites students, ages 13-18, to share their passion for math and science with the world. The challenge is co-sponsored by the Breakthrough Prize founders and the Khan Academy, and the winner is announced at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony. The Challenge was founded in 2015 by Yuri and Julia Milner.
Breakthrough Initiatives
www.breakthroughinitiatives.org
The Breakthrough Initiatives were founded by Yuri and Julia Milner as part of their Giving Pledge to support scientific programs and the communication of scientific ideas. They are a suite of space science programs investigating the fundamental questions of life in the Universe: Are we alone? Are there habitable worlds in our galactic neighborhood? Can we make the great leap to the stars? And can we think and act together – as one world in the cosmos?
Where is everybody?
So wondered the great physicist Enrico Fermi. The Universe is ancient and immense. Life, he reasoned, has had plenty of time to get started – and get smart. But we see no evidence of anything alive or intelligent in space. In the last five years, we have discovered that planets in the habitable zone of stars are common. Based on the numbers discovered so far, there are estimated to be billions more in our galaxy alone. Yet we are still in the dark about life. Are we really alone? Or are there others out there?
It’s one of the biggest questions. And only science can answer it.
Breakthrough Listen is a $100 million program of astronomical observations and analysis, the most comprehensive ever undertaken in search of evidence of technological civilizations in the Universe. The partners with some of the world’s largest and most advanced telescopes, across five continents, to survey targets including one million nearby stars, the entire galactic plane and 100 nearby galaxies at a wide range of radio and optical frequency bands. Part of the Breakthrough Initiatives, Listen was launched by Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking in 2015, and is funded by the foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner.
Breakthrough Message is a $1 million competition to design a message representing Earth, life and humanity that could potentially be understood by another civilization. The aim is to encourage humanity to think together as one world, and to spark public debate about the ethics of sending messages beyond Earth.
Where can life flourish?
In August 2016, a potentially habitable Earth-like planet was discovered orbiting Proxima Centauri – the Sun’s nearest neighbor. Based on the most recent astronomical data, it is likely that there are other such planets in our cosmic neighborhood. With technology now or soon available, it will be possible not only to find them, but to analyze whether they have atmospheres – and whether those atmospheres contain oxygen and other potential signatures of primitive life.
Breakthrough Watch is multi-million dollar Breakthrough Watch is an Earth- and space-based astronomical program aiming to identify and characterize Earth-sized, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri and other stars within 20 light years of Earth, in search of oxygen and other potential signatures of primitive life. The program is run by an international team of experts in exoplanet detection and imaging.
Part of the Breakthrough Initiatives, Watch is funded by the foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner.
www.breakthroughprize.org
The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. The Prizes have been sponsored by the personal foundations established by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Ma Huateng, Jack Ma, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. Laureates in the fields of Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics receive $3 million dollars each in prize money, and they attend a televised award ceremony designed to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists. They also engage in a day-long symposium of lectures and discussions.
Breakthrough Junior Challenge
www.breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is an annual competition that invites students, ages 13-18, to share their passion for math and science with the world. The challenge is co-sponsored by the Breakthrough Prize founders and the Khan Academy, and the winner is announced at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony. The Challenge was founded in 2015 by Yuri and Julia Milner.
Breakthrough Initiatives
www.breakthroughinitiatives.org
The Breakthrough Initiatives were founded by Yuri and Julia Milner as part of their Giving Pledge to support scientific programs and the communication of scientific ideas. They are a suite of space science programs investigating the fundamental questions of life in the Universe: Are we alone? Are there habitable worlds in our galactic neighborhood? Can we make the great leap to the stars? And can we think and act together – as one world in the cosmos?
Where is everybody?
So wondered the great physicist Enrico Fermi. The Universe is ancient and immense. Life, he reasoned, has had plenty of time to get started – and get smart. But we see no evidence of anything alive or intelligent in space. In the last five years, we have discovered that planets in the habitable zone of stars are common. Based on the numbers discovered so far, there are estimated to be billions more in our galaxy alone. Yet we are still in the dark about life. Are we really alone? Or are there others out there?
It’s one of the biggest questions. And only science can answer it.
Breakthrough Listen is a $100 million program of astronomical observations and analysis, the most comprehensive ever undertaken in search of evidence of technological civilizations in the Universe. The partners with some of the world’s largest and most advanced telescopes, across five continents, to survey targets including one million nearby stars, the entire galactic plane and 100 nearby galaxies at a wide range of radio and optical frequency bands. Part of the Breakthrough Initiatives, Listen was launched by Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking in 2015, and is funded by the foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner.
Breakthrough Message is a $1 million competition to design a message representing Earth, life and humanity that could potentially be understood by another civilization. The aim is to encourage humanity to think together as one world, and to spark public debate about the ethics of sending messages beyond Earth.
Where can life flourish?
In August 2016, a potentially habitable Earth-like planet was discovered orbiting Proxima Centauri – the Sun’s nearest neighbor. Based on the most recent astronomical data, it is likely that there are other such planets in our cosmic neighborhood. With technology now or soon available, it will be possible not only to find them, but to analyze whether they have atmospheres – and whether those atmospheres contain oxygen and other potential signatures of primitive life.
Breakthrough Watch is multi-million dollar Breakthrough Watch is an Earth- and space-based astronomical program aiming to identify and characterize Earth-sized, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri and other stars within 20 light years of Earth, in search of oxygen and other potential signatures of primitive life. The program is run by an international team of experts in exoplanet detection and imaging.
Part of the Breakthrough Initiatives, Watch is funded by the foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner.
Overview
Location
United States, California, Menlo Park
Employees
11-50
Mentions in press and media 38
| Date | Title | Description |
| Sign up to see | Sign up to see | Sign up to see |
| Dec 20, 2025 | Is AI implementation being rushed to expand billionaires’ lifespans? (Opinion) | Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Ron Sandgrund Since humankind’s earliest days, many have feared dying and sought immortality. The billionaire technologists driving our AI research and implementation certainly are not immune to... |
| May 23, 2025 | The VinFuture Prize: A Beacon of Scientific Excellence | In the heart of Hanoi, Vietnam, a remarkable phenomenon is unfolding. The VinFuture Prize, a global science and technology award, has become a lighthouse for innovation. With 1,705 nominations from around the world, the fifth season has see... |
| May 23, 2025 | The IRS Under Fire: Billy Long's Confirmation Hearing and Its Implications | The IRS is a battleground. At the center of this storm is Billy Long, President Trump’s nominee for IRS Commissioner. His confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee has sparked a fierce debate. The stakes are high, and the imp... |
| May 22, 2025 | VinFuture 2025: 1,705 nominations worldwide – twelvefold increase in nominating partners over five seasons | HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 22 May 2025 – The VinFuture Prize, a global science and technology award, has officially concluded the nomination period for its fifth season with a total of 1,705 nominations submitted from around... |
| Apr 6, 2025 | David Liu receives Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences | Gene editing pioneer David Liu, a core member at the Broad Institute where he is the Richard Merkin Professor and director of the Merkin Institute for Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, has been named a laureate of the 2025 Breakthr... |
| Jan 14, 2025 | VinFuture Prize Officially Opens Call for Nominations for the 2025 Season | HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 14 January 2025 – VinFuture Prize announces the launch of its 2025 season and officially opens nominations until 2:00 p.m. on April 17, 2025 (Vietnam time, GMT+7). After 4 seasons, the Prize has se... |
| May 22, 2024 | Venus Williams among sporting figures to get own Barbie doll | Previous Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini poses with a Barbie doll, in Verona, Italy, in this undated handout image. Mattel/Petra Rajnicova/Handout via REUTERS Venus Williams attends the Breakthrough Prize awards in Los Angeles, Californ... |
| May 8, 2024 | Google’s AlphaFold 3 AI predicts the very building blocks of life | Join us in returning to NYC on June 5th to collaborate with executive leaders in exploring comprehensive methods for auditing AI models regarding bias, performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Find out how you can a... |
| Dec 7, 2023 | The tech billionaires trying to hack longevity and live forever | From Sam Altman (from top left, clockwise) to Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Sergey Brin, many of the world's wealthiest billionaires seem to be on a quest for the fountain of youth. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters/Marco Bello/Getty I... |
Show more
Reviews 0
FAQ about Breakthrough Prize Foundation
What has the press written about Breakthrough Prize Foundation?
Parsers VC has collected 38 articles mentioning Breakthrough Prize Foundation, among them “Is AI implementation being rushed to expand billionaires’ lifespans? (Opinion)” (Dec 20, 2025) and “The VinFuture Prize: A Beacon of Scientific Excellence” (May 23, 2025).
Is Breakthrough Prize Foundation still active?
Yes, Breakthrough Prize Foundation is active; its latest activity on Parsers VC dates from Apr 30, 2026.