The Cade Prize rewards inventors and entrepreneurs who demonstrate a creative approach to addressing problems in their field of expertise resulting in an innovative, not iterative, invention.
The Cade Prize is one of the largest cash prize competitions for innovation in the state of Florida. It is open only to Florida residents and Florida based companies. Since its launch in 2010, it has drawn hundreds of creative thinkers from Pensacola to Miami. Every year the applications are drawn from diverse sectors. Previous entries have included biomedical, healthcare, IT, tech, environmental, and agricultural ideas. The Cade Prize attracts cutting edge inventions that have a real possibility of making it to market.
The Cade Prize is in search of entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers, and early-stage companies planning to take their idea to market. $50,000 in cash prizes (provided by the Community Foundation of North Central Florida) along with in-kind incentives are awarded to the final top four finishers of the competition each year. The goals of the $50,000 prize are to provide seed capital and publicity for great ideas with market potential. For the first time, awards will be given to the top four entries. The award for first place is $25,000, $15,000 for second place, $7,500 for third place, and $2,500 for 4th place. Individuals and companies with inventions that will remain in Florida for at least one year after the Prize is awarded, are eligible to enter.