High Schoolers Shock Global Field with Kaizen™ Aerospace & SensoRy AI, Team Advances as Finalist in $11M XPRIZE

The Wildfire Quest Team advances to Alaska finals in autonomous wildfire response competition.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a field dominated by universities, defense contractors, and international research labs, a team of Silicon Valley teenagers has broken into the Top 5 finalists of the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track of the $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition.

Valley Christian Schools (VCS), along with its technology partners Kaizen™ Aerospace and SensoRy AI, announced today that its student engineering team, Wildfire Quest, has advanced as one of the five Finalists in the $11 million XPRIZE Wildfire competition's Autonomous Wildfire Response track, continuing a historic run as the only high school team competing at this level in the global field.

"These students aren't building science projects, they're building solutions firefighters actually need," said Danny Kim of Valley Christian Schools. "They're tackling the same problems professionals face: speed, terrain, and extreme conditions."

Finalist teams advancing in the Autonomous Wildfire Response track passed a rigorous judging process, which assessed their Technical Readiness Level (TRL) across three core areas: Smart Wildfire Detection; Autonomous Navigation & Safety; Autonomous Suppression, which then gave an aggregated TRL. Additionally, teams were assessed on their system scalability to meet the 1000km2 area.

"Globally, wildfires are becoming more frequent, more intense, more unpredictable, and more destructive," said Andrea Santy, XPRIZE Wildfire Program Director. "The technologies being developed by these Finalist teams offer meaningful solutions with the potential to fundamentally change how we detect, respond to, and ultimately prevent catastrophic wildfire events."

From Classroom to Fireline: A Valley Ecosystem Built for Breakthroughs

The team's success is powered by Valley Christian's AMSE Institute, which gives high school students access to advanced R&D tools, rapid prototyping, mentorship, and engineering resources typically found only at universities or in industry labs.

Students have spent years iterating on a next-generation wildfire platform that integrates early detection, decision-making, and suppression, designed with real-world fire behavior in mind.

Where Student Ingenuity Meets Industry Muscle

That work is reinforced by industry partners Kazien™ Aerospace and SensoRy AI, whose technologies expand the system's operational realism and performance.

"Wildfire response demands speed, autonomy, and reliability under extreme conditions," said Ziv Marom, Founder and CEO of Kazien™ Aerospace. "What impressed us about Wildfire Quest is not just the talent of the students, but their commitment to building systems that work in the real world. Our role is to bring proven heavy-lift + AI autonomous flight and operational experience to the table, and together we're demonstrating what's possible when industry and next-generation engineers work side by side to protect lives and communities." 

Together, Kaizen™ and SensoRy AI help complete the full response loop by pairing heavy-lift autonomous suppression with rapid, long-range detection and precise location reporting. The result is a system designed to move from first alert to targeted action in minutes, not hours.

"Wildfire response hinges on two things: knowing quickly that a fire exists and knowing exactly where it is", said Ryan Honary, Founder of SensoRy AI, "We've designed and field-tested our platform to deliver both. As a teenager, it's been particularly exciting to collaborate with other teens and the Kaizen team to integrate that capability into a complete suppression workflow, and exactly the kind of practical innovation this challenge is meant to surface."

What Comes Next: Alaska Finals and Real-World Testing

With this global competition culminating in Alaska this June, Wildfire Quest is poised to test its technology where it matters most, under real conditions, real pressure, and real stakes. The team's advancement signals a new model for innovation, where students, industry, and mission-driven education come together to protect lives and landscapes.

About Valley Christian Schools and the AMSE Institute

Valley Christian Schools is a faith-based, college-preparatory K–12 community in San Jose, California. Through the AMSE Institute, VCS equips students to pursue advanced STEM research through hands-on engineering, mentorship, and applied problem-solving that aims to serve communities and address global challenges. Learn more at vcs.net/amse or visit vcs.net.

About Kaizen Aerospace™: Heavy-Lift Autonomy for Aerial Suppression

Kaizen™ Aerospace contributes proven expertise in heavy-lift autonomous drones—capable of carrying payloads up to 1,000 lb—paired with AI-driven mission navigation via its xNav™ system. For Wildfire Quest, Kaizen provides flight technology, integration support, and operational experience to execute rapid, reliable aerial suppression. Kaizen has joined as a long-term partner, dedicated to advancing next-generation tools for firefighting through and beyond the XPRIZE competition.

About SensoRy AI: Detecting Fires in Minutes, From Miles Away

SensoRy AI, founded by Ryan Honary, provides its patented multi-sensor platform capable of detecting wildfires in their incipient stage from thousands of feet away and reporting them within minutes.

Developed with guidance and mentorship of Professor Kavehpour, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at UCLA, and support from Orange County Fire Authority, the system has undergone extensive field testing with real fires and has been deployed in the field for more than six months. The technology not only identifies small fires at long distances but also reports precise locations, enabling Wildfire Quest to rapidly deploy drones for suppression.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at xprize.org.

SOURCE Valley Christian Schools