← The AI Conference Hack Day 2026
YOUR BUILDER HANDBOOK

Builder Guide

Get set up. Build something useful. Make your submission count.

Submission & judging

Open your project

Turn your work into a submission judges can review.

Submission deadlineNot announced yet — check with the event team.

Prepare your project

  1. Add your project name, description, repository link, and the technologies you used.
  2. Check your team roster and complete the required fields in the project form.
  3. Save your project, then record and save a video demo in the project form.
  4. Submit for judging and check that your project shows as submitted.

Saving a draft does not submit it. After submitting, you can keep saving updates; judges see your latest saved version.

Event-specific instructions

The organizers haven’t added extra submission or demo instructions yet. Check the Rules tab and ask the event team about demo length and any additional deliverables.

How your work is judged

Final round

A detailed rubric isn’t published for this judging stage. Check the event instructions or ask the organizers what judges will focus on.

Round A

A detailed rubric isn’t published for this judging stage. Check the event instructions or ask the organizers what judges will focus on.

Prizes

  • Overall First Place — Crusoe

    $5,000 cash prize

    Awarded to the first-place overall project at The AI Conference Hack Day 2026. Projects MUST use Crusoe to qualify for this prize. The overall cash prize pool is funded exclusively by Crusoe. The first-place team also receives the opportunity to pitch live on the conference main stage at the Startup Showdown.

  • Overall Second Place — Crusoe

    $3,000 cash prize

    Awarded to the second-place overall project at The AI Conference Hack Day 2026. Projects MUST use Crusoe to qualify for this prize. The overall cash prize pool is funded exclusively by Crusoe.

  • Overall Third Place — Crusoe

    $2,000 cash prize

    Awarded to the third-place overall project at The AI Conference Hack Day 2026. Projects MUST use Crusoe to qualify for this prize. The overall cash prize pool is funded exclusively by Crusoe.

  • Best Use of BAND

    $1,000 prize

    Awarded for the best meaningful use of BAND. Agent coordination must occur through a Band room, such that removing Band would break the coordination. Demonstrate at least one of: dependent handoffs, runtime recruitment, enforced cross-account or visibility boundaries, or a critic that can veto an outcome. Show the live room and execution events in the demo and explain how the agents work together. Status posting or logging an externally orchestrated workflow does not qualify. Full criteria: https://www.band.ai/hacker-guide

  • Best Agent Overall — DuploCloud

    $750 gift card

    Awarded by DuploCloud to the best agent based on what it actually does end to end. The agent must run and perform its promised task live during judging; a pitch or slide presentation alone is insufficient.

  • Prize

    Prize

  • Best Use of Neo4j

    $500 in Neo4j Aura credits

    Neo4j's first prize, awarded for the best use of Neo4j in a hackathon project. The award is provided as Neo4j Aura credits.

  • Best Technical Implementation — Neo4j

    $400 in Neo4j Aura credits

    Neo4j's second prize, awarded for the best technical implementation using Neo4j. The award is provided as Neo4j Aura credits.

  • Most Creative Use Case — Neo4j

    $300 in Neo4j Aura credits

    Neo4j's third prize, awarded for the most creative use case using Neo4j. The award is provided as Neo4j Aura credits.

  • Best Use of Plaud

    $1,000 cash prize

    Awarded to the project demonstrating the best use of Plaud at The AI Conference Hack Day 2026. This is Plaud's first-place sponsor award.

  • Prize

    Prize

  • LEGO Set Prize — Vultr

    LEGO set

    A LEGO set prize provided by Vultr for The AI Conference Hack Day 2026.