AWS Public Sector Blog
Announcing the Generative AI for Geospatial Challenge, which awards $1M in AWS credits to innovators
The Taylor Geospatial Institute (TGI) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are joining forces to accelerate geospatial data breakthroughs powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). Through the Generative AI for Geospatial Challenge, they aim to inspire and nurture groundbreaking solutions coming from the convergence of geospatial data, cloud computing, and AI models.
This initiative combines TGI’s geospatial expertise and its new GeoAI Center of Excellence with the cloud leadership of AWS. Together, they will provide a platform for innovators to access advanced technologies, cloud infrastructure, and funding opportunities to drive geospatial innovation. The challenge has a prize pool of $1 million in AWS credits, awarded to the most compelling project ideas that emerge.
Mapping the path to geospatial transformation
The Generative AI for Geospatial Challenge kicked off in St. Louis on October 29, 2024. The full-day gathering brought together scientists, innovators, industry leaders, and the largest cloud resources to explore and expand the art of the possible for big-impact applications using geospatial data. Attendees gained insights into top challenges and opportunities in the field, setting the stage for the challenge.
The event provided detailed guidelines for submitting proposals, evaluation criteria, timelines, and the process for demonstrating and showcasing awarded solutions. Submissions will remain open until November 29, 2024. Award announcements are expected in mid-December, followed by a project development period culminating in April 2025.
Forging connections between research and industry
The challenge is open to anyone building generative AI products that use geospatial data, from researchers and tech companies to startups and nonprofits. TGI researchers and collaborators focused on geospatial technologies are especially encouraged to participate.
Partnering with industry players or outlining commercialization strategies is highly recommended for all participants. This collaborative approach aims to drive impactful, scalable, and widely adopted solutions by combining diverse expertise and resources.
“I’m excited about our collaboration with AWS on this groundbreaking competition as the first initiative of the newly formed TGI GeoAI Center of Excellence,” said Nadine Alameh, PhD, executive director of the Taylor Geospatial Institute. “Partnering with industry on such transformative initiatives underscores TGI’s commitment to accelerate the commercialization of research conducted by TGI researchers. I can’t wait to see many new ideas and potentially startups spun out of this effort.”
Empowering geospatial pioneers
The Taylor Geospatial Institute, founded in 2022, is a pioneering entity designed to catalyze research, collaboration, and impact in the geospatial ecosystem. With a legacy investment from Andrew C. Taylor and the commitment of eight academic and research institutions led by Saint Louis University, TGI is working to establish St. Louis as a global center of geospatial excellence.
AWS, with its comprehensive cloud services, is at the forefront of empowering customers to develop and scale cloud-centered geospatial solutions. The Generative AI for Geospatial Challenge represents a key initiative in the broader AWS and TGI collaboration, aimed at inspiring, supporting, and scaling innovative geospatial applications.
By combining their strengths, TGI and AWS are creating a powerful opportunity for geospatial innovators to think big, turn visionary ideas into reality, and shape the future of geospatial solutions. The Generative AI for Geospatial Challenge is a catalyst for unlocking the transformative potential of combing geospatial data with generative AI.