Dates

All times are Pacific Time (PT).

Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances. Account for time zone differences and submit early.

Eligibility

Who can participate

• Anyone 18 years or older at the time of submission
• Must be legally authorized to be in the United States at the time of in-person Demo Day (August 21, 2026)
• Open to students, working professionals, founders, designers, and domain experts

Teams

• Teams of 1 to 5 people
• Solo participants are welcome and eligible for all prizes
• Every team member must be individually registered on Devpost
• Each individual may participate on only one team

In-person requirement for finalists

• Online submissions are accepted from anywhere during the June 20 – August 20 window
• Finalists selected for the live pitch session must attend in-person in Milpitas, CA on August 21, 2026
• Travel, accommodation, and visa expenses are the responsibility of the participant

Project and Submission Requirements

• Projects must meaningfully use AI or machine learning — the AI must be doing real work in your solution, not just decorative
• Projects must address a real social good problem aligned with one of the hackathon themes
• Working software demos only — web apps, mobile apps, agents, browser extensions, APIs, CLIs, or hardware projects with a software component all qualify
• Use of any open-source libraries, public APIs, and sponsor APIs is allowed and encouraged
• Pre-existing personal projects can be extended at the hackathon, but the majority of new functionality must be built during the submission window (June 20 – August 20, 2026)
• All pre-existing components must be clearly disclosed in your full description and README

• Submitting an existing finished product unchanged
• Plagiarized work or projects you didn't substantially build
• Projects that violate US law, sponsor terms of service, or the event Code of Conduct
• Real sensitive personal data (PII, medical records, financial account data) in demos

All seven required components listed in "What to Submit" above must be present in your Devpost submission. Submissions missing any required component will be disqualified from judging.

A team may submit only one project. Each individual may participate on only one team.

Prizes

Best Immigration Solution $8,000 in cash

Best Immigration Solution — Presented by Partner Law Firm Complimentary O-1 Visa Filing valued at $8,000 Terms and conditions apply. Subject to law firm eligibility review.
1 winner

Best Education and Opportunity Hack — Presented by GoUpBroad

Complimentary US MS Admissions Package valued at $2,000 Terms and conditions apply. Subject to applicant qualification.
1 winner

Best Financial Inclusion Hack — Presented by OpenInvests

$500 Amazon Gift Card
1 winner

Best Career and Talent Hack — Presented by OpenHired

Free LinkedIn Premium,
1 Year 1 winner

Best Newcomer Settlement Hack — Presented by StudentsLanding

IKEA Gift Card valued at $100
1 winner

People's Choice Award Voted by Open Atlas Summit attendees during the demo expo. Prize amount TBD
$10,000 in cash
1 winner

• Sponsor swag bag and API credit packs
• Recap content featuring your team across Open Atlas channels
• Eligibility for follow-up meetings with VCs, accelerators, and partner organizations in the Open Atlas network

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Every project is evaluated across four equally-weighted criteria (25% each):

1. Impact (25%) Does this solve a real problem for a real population? How many people could it help, and how meaningfully? Is the social good benefit clear, specific, and measurable?

2. Technical Execution (25%) Does the solution actually work? Quality of the AI implementation, engineering rigor, system design, and the substance of what was built within the submission window.

3. Creativity & Originality (25%) Is the approach novel or a fresh take on a known problem? Does it apply AI in a way that's smarter or more thoughtful than existing solutions?

4. Feasibility (25%) Could this become a real product, nonprofit tool, or open-source project? Is the path from prototype to deployment clear and credible?

Round 1 — Pre-screening (week of August 18, 2026) The organizing committee reviews all Devpost submissions for completeness, theme fit, and a working demo. Finalists are notified by email and Devpost message.

Round 2 — Live Judging in Milpitas (August 21, 2026) Finalists pitch live to a panel of judges from sponsoring AI labs, cloud providers, VCs, and mission-aligned organizations. Each team presents a short live demo followed by judge Q&A.

Sponsor Track Judging (August 21, 2026) Sponsor-named track prizes are judged separately by representatives from each sponsoring company, using sponsor-specific criteria (typically: best use of the sponsor's API or platform, or strongest fit with the sponsor's mission).

People's Choice Voting (August 21, 2026) Open Atlas Summit attendees vote during the demo expo. The team with the most votes wins.

Winners Announced (August 21, 2026, 5:00 PM PT) All winners are revealed live on the main stage at the closing ceremony.

In the case of a tie on the four-criteria rubric, the head judge will cast a deciding vote based on the Impact score, giving preference to the project with the clearest path to real-world deployment.

Submissions may be disqualified for: missing required materials, failing to disclose pre-existing components, non-working demos, plagiarism, or violations of the Rules or Code of Conduct.