The X PRIZE is a series of competitions awarding $10 million or more to teams to achieve a specific goal, according to their website which have "the potential to benefit humanity. Rather than awarding money to honor past achievements or directly funding research, an X PRIZE incites innovation by tapping into our competitive and entrepreneurial spirits." They hope to use the power of competition, rather than heavy handed government subsides to wait for their goals to be met. Several times the award money though is spent developing the projects required to win the award, and it is hoped reduce the overall cost and increase the excitement in the system.
The most famous X Prize was the Ansari X Prize, awarded to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for the flight of SpaceShipOne. Designer Burt Rutan and financier Paul Allen led a private team to build and launch a spacecraft capable of carrying three people to 100 kilometers above the earth's surface, twice within two weeks.
Other X Prize awards exist including the creation of a Super Efficient Automobile, sponsored by Progressive Insurance, or the Google X Prize to have a robotic lunar rover go to the Moon and transmit data back to Earth.