As stated on the XPrize Foundation site:
"The mission of the X PRIZE Foundation is to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. We do this by creating and managing prizes that drive innovators to solve some of the greatest challenges facing the world today.

The X PRIZE is viewed as the leading model to leverage the elements of public interest, entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary innovation to bring about breakthroughs that benefit us all.

We believe that a small group of people with passion for a cause can achieve that which has never been attained. This is why we stage competitions that challenge issues that matter most."

Imagine the forward progress if the government could provide funding on the scale of our federal government. $100Million, $1Billion?

With this type of funding there are very few problems that could not be answered with innovative solutions.