FIDO Tech named winner in 2026 Earth05 prize
In a world that traditionally awards the “lone inventor,” Earth05 is turning the trophy room upside down. Today, the organization announced the Edition II collective winners of the Earth05 Co-Creation Prize, the world’s first award dedicated exclusively to collaborative intelligence rather than individual achievement.
The 2025 winners represent a tectonic shift in how we solve planetary crises. From AI Agents that predict whale migrations to “circular” desalination plants that cool data centers while harvesting minerals, these solutions were not born in a vacuum. They are the result of Co-Creation: a radical model of radical transparency and shared engineering between competitors, tech giants, and infrastructure pioneers.
“Individual innovation is too slow for the climate crisis” says Maria A. Dahrieh, Founder of Earth05. “The Co-Creation Prize celebrates the ‘Power of Plus’ where AI meets infrastructure to solve the unsolvable. This is the transition from individual ego to collective intelligence, and it is the only way to move the needle on planetary survival.”
The Water Detective: AI Diagnostics (by FIDO Tech)
FIDO Tech is transforming water resilience through AI-powered leak detection and validated water replenishment. By deploying advanced sensors and AI across water networks, the company enables large-scale water management, capacity planning, and sustainable infrastructure development. In collaboration with partners such as GAP Inc., FIDO Tech’s initiatives are strengthening communities in regions of water stress, providing measurable economic and social benefits.
The Visionary: Victoria Edwards.
The Circular Alchemy: Desolenator + Water Globe Consultants (WGC)
Desalination doesn’t have to mean environmental harm. This partnership proves it. By fusing Desolenator’s waste-heat driven thermal desalination with Water Globe Consultants’ selective membrane technology, saline water becomes ultrapure water while providing cooling back to data centres and industry. What’s left isn’t toxic brine, but valuable minerals like magnesium and sodium – closing the loop and turning a cost into a circular revenue stream.
The Visionaries: Nikolay Voutchkov, Alexei Levene & Alp Katalan.
The Building’s “Immune System”: WINT + Droople
What if buildings could “feel” a leak before it happened? By merging WINT’s leak prevention with Droople’s granular AI intelligence, they have created a digital immune system for hospitals and schools, eradicating Legionella risks and ensuring that in high-stress environments, not a single drop is wasted or contaminated.
The Visionaries: Oliver Wren & Ramzi Bouzerda.
The Guardian of the Deep: The WhaleAgent (by Cognizant)
Every year, it is estimated 20,000 whales die from vessel strikes. To solve this, Cognizant aren’t just building a map; they are setting the ambitious target of building an AI-orchestrated “agent” that predicts where whales will be before the ships arrive. This open-source consortium allows the global shipping industry to move from collision to coexistence.
With an estimated 20,000 whales lost to vessel strikes annually, Cognizant’s ‘AI for Good’ initiative is moving beyond static mapping to active prevention. By developing an AI-orchestrated ‘agent’ capable of predicting whale movements before ships arrive, Cognizant is leading an open-source consortium designed to transform the shipping industry. This initiative marks a definitive shift for global maritime trade: moving from a history of collision to a future of coexistence.
The Visionary: Isabella Lindholt.