Hackathon
The Hackathon at The AI Summit New York
The Hackathon is a dynamic three-day fringe event featuring an eight-hour data-driven challenge!
It’s a fantastic opportunity for young talent to showcase their skills, network with industry experts, and connect with leading global organizations, regardless of academic background.
Applications will be open soon to participate in an experience that bridges innovation and opportunity.
Pre-requisites for Participation
To effectively compete, participants should have the following prerequisites:
Technical Skills:
- Programming: Proficiency in languages like Python or Java.
- AI/ML Knowledge: Understanding of machine learning concepts and frameworks.
- Data Analysis: Skills in data manipulation and visualization.
Domain Knowledge:
- AI Agents: Awareness of how AI agents operate.
Problem-Solving Skills:
- Analytical Thinking: Ability to evaluate problems and devise innovative solutions.
- Creativity: Openness to developing unique AI applications.
Who is the AI Hackathon for?
- Any current university student based in the United States – Undergraduate, Masters, or PhD – interested in AI and data science or
- Any early-career professionals (1-3 years into their first job) in technology-related fields
- Applicants must be 18 or older.
- Applicants must be available in-person on December 9, 10 and 11, and able to travel to Javits Center, New York City.
What's the Process?
Step 1
Apply for The Hackathon. If selected you'll receive an email from The AI Summit New York team.
Step 2
Join the pre-event masterclasses to prepare and develop your skillsets.
Step 3
Get hacking onsite at The AI Summit New York on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 December, 2026.
Step 4
Discover on December 10 if you are crowned a WINNER for The Hackathon 2026.
Day Zero Recap
If you weren't able to join the action in 2025, now is your chance to get the full insights into what took place at our 10th Hackathon, and what you can be part of in 2026.
From an overview of DELL Pro Max with GB10, industries and use cases, the challenge was on the build visual agents for visual search and summarization.
Hackathon Challenge Statement
Unleash your creativity and innovation by designing a groundbreaking AI application live on the show floor. This is your chance to push the boundaries of what’s possible in AI to create solutions that redefine industries and inspire the future.
Categories:
Best App for Agentic AI:
Showcase your ability to create an AI application that embodies autonomy, adaptability, and decision-making at its finest. Whether it’s revolutionizing workflows, enhancing user experiences, or driving intelligent automation, this category celebrates applications that empower AI to act as a true agent of change.
Best App for Computer Vision:
Dive into the world of visual intelligence and create an AI application that transforms how machines perceive and interpret the world. From advanced image recognition to real-time video analytics, this category highlights innovations that harness the power of computer vision to solve complex challenges and unlock new possibilities.
More than a competition, this challenge is an opportunity to showcase your talent, creativity, and technical prowess on a global stage. Are you ready to shape the future of AI?
Judging Criteria
Technology: How technically sound the use of technology is?
- Efficiency: How well the project takes use of technology? Could there have been more efficient ways of doing the same solution?
- Practicality: Is the project practical from business point of view?
- Scalability: Is there a demand for this solution in the chosen market?
- Impact: How impactful the project is? Both options to be evaluated - large number of people with low impact or small amount of people with profound impact.
2025 Hackathon Judges
Andrea Hippeau
Andrea is a Partner at Lerer Hippeau where she has been an investor for 10 years. Prior to Lerer Hippeau, she held operating roles at The Dodo and Bark & Co. She has your MBA from Columbia University.
Chris Wiggins
Chris Wiggins is an associate professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University and the Chief Data Scientist at The New York Times. At Columbia he is a founding member of the executive committee of the Data Science Institute, and of the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics as well as the Department of Systems Biology, and is affiliated faculty in Statistics.
Logan Lawler
Logan has worked in various roles at Dell for almost two decades; including sales, marketing, merchandising, services, and e-commerce. Logan currently leads AI Solutions for Dell Pro Max. Before joining Dell, Logan grew up in Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri (MIZ!). Logan lives in Round Rock with his wife Ally, daughter Calloway, and labradoodle Truman.
Kelly Zou
Kelly H. Zou, Ph.D., PStat, FASA, is CEO, AI4Purpose Inc. Kel is President, American Statistical Association (ASA)'s New York City Chapter, and Executive Committee Member and Incoming Chair, Caucus of Industry Representatives, ASA, Health Information Technology Advisory Committee, Membership Council, and AI Expert Group Member, AcademyHealth.
Paul Logan
Paul Logan is a Senior Product Marketing Manager for Enterprise Game Development at NVIDIA, where he works with leading game studios on GPU-accelerated AI and modern development pipelines. He previously founded a generative AI consultancy and has held engineering and developer advocacy roles at Slack, Postman, and Acryl Data. Paul holds an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a BS in Computer Science from Indiana University.
Hackathon Partners
Google Developer Student Clubs are university-based community groups for students interested in Google developer technologies, welcoming students from all undergraduate or graduate programs. Students grow their knowledge in a peer-to-peer learning environment and build solutions for local businesses and their communities.
GDSC UKI is the largest cohort in Europe, encompassing over 60 leads across 44 chapters, with a women-to-men diversity ratio of 40%.
Chapters Participating:
The University of Derby is a public university in the UK, offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses across various disciplines including Big data analytics and AI related subjects, within its School of Computing and Engineering. With a focus on providing a high-quality education, practical experience, and career opportunities, the university has over 28,000 students from around the world.
Thank You to All Our 2025 Sponsors & Partners
