The AI Grand Prix invites university teams and independent engineers worldwide to compete in a global autonomous drone challenge.
Anduril has launched the AI Grand Prix, a global autonomous drone racing competition designed to test cutting edge autonomy software under real world flight conditions. The competition offers a prize pool of $500,000 and the opportunity for top performers to interview directly for roles at the US defence technology company.
Open to university teams and independent engineers worldwide, the AI Grand Prix challenges participants to compete using fully autonomous drones with no human pilots involved. All competitors will fly identical drones built by Neros Technologies, a leading American unmanned aerial systems manufacturer, with no hardware modifications permitted. This ensures performance advantages are driven entirely by software capability.
The race series is operated by the Drone Champions League, the world’s leading professional drone racing organisation, with its AI vector module integrated into the competition platform. Anduril founder Palmer Luckey said the challenge is aimed at identifying engineers capable of building autonomy systems that outperform existing solutions.
The competition will begin with a remote qualification phase in spring 2026, during which teams will submit their autonomy software to compete in a virtual environment. The strongest performers will progress to in person training and qualification, where systems will be adapted from simulation to real world flight.
The series will conclude with a live, head to head autonomous drone race in November 2026, hosted by Anduril in Columbus, Ohio, in partnership with JobsOhio. The event builds on Anduril’s investment in Central Ohio, including its Arsenal 1 manufacturing facility.
