The purpose of the A-PRIZE is to put development of artificial life forms in the open where it should be. Today, many efforts at developing artificial life are not well publicized. The A-PRIZE serves as a clearing house for information about the race to "Break the Carbon Barrier". With mega-universities and companies racing to create nonbiological life, now is the time for such a clearing house.

With the reality that Nanobiotechnology (in its various guises including Synthetic Biology, Artificial Life, Biological Engineering, etc.) is pouring billions per year into the global race to break through the Carbon Barrier, now is the time to focus on this issue. The A-PRIZE was developed by Dr. Alan Goldstein who coauthored the National Research Council's triennial review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).