Application Deadline: August 17, 2026, @ 9:00pm GMT+1
LOCATION: USA
AI is transforming everything, including what small teams can build. Operations that used to take entire engineering departments can now be written in plain English and executed by AI agents. By some estimates, the world’s 45 million software developers will grow to over a billion in the next few years. Everyone will be a developer, and they want to start now, with you. So show them: build a real business that makes real impact.
ELIGIBILITY:
No purchase or payment necessary to enter or win. A purchase or payment will not increase your chances of winning.
Submission of any entry constitutes agreement to these official rules as a contract between the entrant (and each individual member of the entrant), the hackathon sponsor, and Devpost.
The Hackathon IS open to:
Individuals who are at least the age of majority where they reside as of the time of entry (“Eligible Individuals”);
Teams of Eligible Individuals (“Teams”); and
Small organizations with fewer than 25 employees (including corporations, not-for-profit corporations and other nonprofit organizations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other legal entities) that exist and have been organized or incorporated at the time of entry.
An eligible individual may join more than one team or organization, and an eligible individual who is part of a team or organization may also enter the Hackathon on an individual basis. If a team or organization is entering the Hackathon, they must appoint and authorize one individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and enter a submission on their behalf. By entering a submission on behalf of a team or organization, you represent and warrant that you are the representative authorized to act on behalf of your team or organization.
Entrants may enter by visiting xprize.devpost.com (“Hackathon Website”) and following the below steps:
Register for the Hackathon on the Hackathon Website by clicking the “Join Hackathon” button. To complete registration, sign up to create a free Devpost account, or log in with an existing Devpost account. This will enable you to receive important updates and to create your submission.
Entrants will obtain access to the required developer tools/platform and complete a Project described below in Project Requirements. Use of the developer tools will be subject to the license agreement related thereto. Entry in the Hackathon constitutes consent for the Sponsor and Devpost to collect and maintain an entrant’s personal information for the purpose of operating and publicizing the Hackathon. Free credits are accessible on relevant websites for Google AI Ultra and Google Cloud.
Complete and enter all of the required fields on the “Enter a Submission” page of the Hackathon Website (each a “Submission”) during the Submission Period and follow the requirements below.
Individuals who are residents of, or Organizations domiciled in, a country, state, province or territory where the laws of the United States or local law prohibits participating or receiving a prize in the Hackathon (including, but not limited to Russia, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea and any other country designated by the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control)
Project Requirements:
What to Create: Build a business that operates with AI (each a “Project”). The Project must fall within at least one of the following Categories.
Education & Human Potential: Transforming how we learn, grow, and achieve our best.
Entrepreneurship & Job Creation: Fueling the tools that help new founders and economies thrive.
Small Business Services: Powering everyday businesses with tools to compete and win.
Money & Financial Access: Breaking down barriers to banking, capital, and financial freedom.
Professional Services: Connecting everyday people with the expert guidance they need.
Functionality: The entry must demonstrate / explain how AI is transforming workflows in their business. This must be depicted in the video and/or expressed in the text description. Examples include how an AI agent is used for customer support or how AI tools are used to create marketing assets.
Platforms: A Project must use at least one product from Google Cloud. The Project must run on the platform for which it is intended and which is specified in the Submission Requirements.
New Projects Only: Projects must be newly created by the Entrant after the start of the Hackathon Submission Period. If pre-existing templates, frameworks, boilerplates, or code was used to build the final project, Entrants must explain how their Project utilized pre-existing work.
Third Party Integrations: If a Project integrates any third-party SDK, APIs and/or data, Entrant must be authorized to use them in accordance with any terms and conditions or licensing requirements of the tool.
LLM Model Use: Projects that include LLM functionality must use the Gemini API for at least one LLM call in the deployed application. Teams may use additional LLM providers alongside Gemini at their discretion.
BENEFIT:
Prizes:
| Winner | Prize | Eligible Submissions |
| 1st place | $500,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions |
| 2nd place | $200,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions |
| 3rd – 5th place | $100,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions |
| Runner Ups X15 | $50,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions |
| Category Prizes | ||
| Education & Human Potential | $50,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions within the Education & Human Potential Category |
| Entrepreneurship & Job Creation | $50,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions within the Entrepreneurship & Job Creation Category |
| Small Business Services | $50,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions within the Small Business Services Category |
| Money & Financial Access | $50,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions within the Money & Financial Access Category |
| Professional Services Access | $50,000 in USD | All Eligible Submissions within the Professional Services Access Category |
