Player select — Oct 10–11, 2026
NewGame
A 24-hour build at UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley.
— days to go
About us
Who we are
hack.dev is a student-run organization at UC Santa Cruz that builds AI hackathons in Silicon Valley.
We bring builders to the UCSC Silicon Valley campus in Santa Clara to design and ship AI projects from scratch. Our first event ran with NVIDIA and ASUS: 200 builders, 78 projects and $11K in prizes.
You will be building alongside engineers and mentors from the companies shaping AI — the people who can help take your idea past the weekend. Sponsors run workshops throughout the event, and every team gets the floor to demo at the end.
Every hack.dev hackathon is free and open to everyone, not only UCSC students. Meals are on us.
The record
Track select
Pick your track
Three tracks, one build. Pick one when you apply, or tell us you are undecided and we will help you land somewhere.
Click a track card to learn more
Timeline
Key dates
- NowApplications openLiveApply any time before the final deadline.
- Sep 9Priority deadlineApply by this date for the best shot at a seat.
- Sep 30Applications close
- Oct 10Doors openOpening ceremony, stage briefings, sponsor workshops.
- Oct 11Demos and awardsJudging by partner engineers. Winners same day, done by 5pm.
Backed by
Sponsors
Track sponsors
The networking and security backbone behind most of the internet — and the infrastructure this event runs on.
Builder of the laptops, motherboards and ROG hardware a lot of this room will be hacking on.
High-performance computing for everyone — Ryzen CPUs and Instinct and Radeon GPUs for gaming, workstations and AI.Community sponsors
The accelerated-computing company whose GPUs and CUDA platform power nearly every modern AI model.
The workflow-automation platform for wiring APIs, models and data into working agents fast.
Mock APIs and inspect requests in seconds — ship your integration before the backend exists.
Lifelike AI voice — text-to-speech, voice cloning and conversational agents behind a single API.Drink sponsors
Want to sponsor?
We work with companies on track naming, prizes, workshops, hardware and mentors. Tell us what you build and we will send the details.
hello@hackdev.orgPlayer 1 – 5
Who runs it
Preet KariaDirectorSelect
Parsh GandhiOrganizerSelect
Ember LuOrganizerSelect
Pranitha RajaaOrganizerSelect
Adhya MaddukuriOrganizerSelectIn partnership with
Insert coin
FAQ
The basics
Is it free?
Yes. Free to enter and free to attend, with food included. The only thing you pay for is getting here.
Who can participate?
Everyone. You do not need to be a UCSC student, and you do not need to have done a hackathon before.
When and where is it?
October 10–11, 2026, at UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley. The build itself runs 24 hours.
Have you run this before?
Yes. Our previous run was the NVIDIA × ASUS hackathon: 200 builders, 78 submissions and $11K in prizes.
Applying
How do I apply?
Hit Apply, RSVP on our Partiful page, then finish the short application form linked there. Both steps are required. Applications are open now. The priority deadline is September 9 and applications close September 30.
Do I need a team? How big can it be?
Teams are one to four people, so entering alone is completely fine. We run a team mixer before the build and open communication channels beforehand, so solo applicants can scout teammates and turn up with a team already formed.
What is the difference between the three tracks?
They split by where the model actually runs. Cloud AI is agentic workflows at scale, Local AI is everything running on hardware you can carry, and Physical AI is agents with bodies.
Do I have to pick a track before I apply?
No. Undecided is an option on the form, and you can change your mind up until the event.
When do I hear back?
Decisions go out on a rolling basis rather than all at once, so applying early is worth doing. You will get an email when yours changes.
On the day
What should I bring?
A laptop and its charger. There is no overnight stay, so plan for how you are getting home on Saturday night and back on Sunday morning.
Is hardware provided?
Yes — hardware will be available for the tracks that need it. We will publish exactly what is on offer closer to the event.
Is there food?
Yes. Meals are provided, along with snacks and drinks throughout.
Can I stay overnight?
Unfortunately not. We are not able to offer overnight accommodation. The venue closes at 10 PM on Saturday and reopens Sunday morning (we will post the exact time on Discord), so everyone has to leave the premises overnight. This does not affect any of the hardware or software tracks: you can keep building off site and pick up where you left off in the morning.
Do you cover travel?
Not for this event. There is no travel reimbursement, so plan on covering your own way here.
Organisers and sponsors
Who organises it?
hack.dev, a student team at UC Santa Cruz, together with the UCSC GenAI Center and Baskin Engineering.
How can my company sponsor or send mentors?
Email hello@hackdev.org and we will send the details. We work with companies on track naming, prizes, workshops, hardware and mentors.
I have a question that is not answered here.
Email hello@hackdev.org. A person reads it.