Zzapp works by using topographical maps and satellite images to find areas where water bodies meet human populations. The app uses artificial intelligence to tailor optimal strategies for each village or neighborhood threatened by the illness, and it then breaks down these strategies into clear and manageable tasks.
In second place came Aifred Health, and third was awarded to Marinus Analytics.
"After five years of hard work and dedication, XPRIZE is thrilled to announce Zzapp Malaria as the grand prize winner of IBM Watson AI XPRIZE,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE. “Zzapp Malaria, Aifred Health and Marinus Analytics are on the forefront of AI advancement, and we are looking forward to seeing firsthand the positive impact they will have on our future.”
"Each of the three finalists of the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE showcase what's possible when the power of AI is used to address some of the world’s toughest challenges,” said Daniel Hernandez, General Manager at IBM's data and AI department. “It’s inspiring to witness how the AI technologies we developed at IBM help these organizations realize and scale their good tech solutions to drive positive societal change.”
A global jury of representatives convened to determine the winner, evaluating each team based on four categories: achieved technical impact, evidenced real-world impact, scalability of real-world impact, and ethics and safety.
XPRIZE also opened up a public vote for Most Inspiring Team, and Zzapp Malaria was chosen.
Malaria killed about 400,000 in 2019, according to the World Health Organization. Children under 5 are the most vulnerable group, accounting for 67% of malaria deaths worldwide.
Zev Stub contributed to this report