AI Hackathons
AI Hackathons in Europe
Europe's AI hackathon ecosystem is growing fast. Since AI runs the continent's most execution-focused AI hackathon — 72 hours, real partner challenges, production mentorship, and post-event support.
This page covers what makes a great AI hackathon, the Since AI Hackathon 2026, and how to get the most out of these events.
Upcoming AI hackathons
Since AI Hackathon 2026
Partner challenges from Google for Developers, Bayer, Sandvik, Kongsberg, Valmet. Free to attend. Open globally.
What makes a great AI hackathon
Real partner challenges
The best AI hackathons give you actual engineering problems from real companies, not synthetic prompts. The Since AI model: partners co-design challenges with us before the event so every track is feasible, production-relevant, and commercially meaningful.
Production-focused mentorship
Great hackathons have mentors who push you toward deployable code, not demo polish. Look for events where mentors include domain engineers from the sponsoring companies.
Post-event support
Most hackathons end on Sunday. The best ones continue: architecture review, deployment guidance, integration support. This is the difference between a portfolio project and a production system.
Serious talent density
The quality of your team and the teams around you determines the output quality. Seek events that filter for builders who ship — not just networking events branded as hackathons.
Since AI Hackathon vs the typical event
| Feature | Since AI Hackathon | Typical AI hackathon |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 72 hours (Fri–Sun) | 24–48 hours |
| Challenges | Co-designed with partners | Submitted day-of |
| Post-event | Production support program | None |
| Partners | Google, Bayer, Sandvik, Kongsberg, Valmet, ElevenLabs | Variable |
| Venture path | Antler partnership | Rare |
| Cost | Free | Free to £100+ |
What is an AI hackathon?
An AI hackathon is a time-limited event — typically 24 to 72 hours — where teams of developers, engineers, and researchers build AI-powered solutions to specific challenges. At the best events, those challenges come directly from industry partners with real production problems.
Participants work in teams of 2–6, with access to APIs, compute credits, datasets, and mentorship. At the end of the event, teams demo their projects to a panel of judges from partner companies and the AI industry.
The best AI hackathons differ from general hackathons in their focus on frontier models, deployment challenges, and the gap between research and production. At Since AI events, the focus is explicitly on building systems that work in production — not just demos.
How to succeed at an AI hackathon
Who organizes Since AI Hackathon?
Since AI is a non-profit organization based in Turku, Europe's execution-focused AI innovation ecosystem — connecting 10,000+ AI builders across Europe with leading AI companies, research groups, and investors.
Since AI Hackathon 2026 is our flagship annual event. It is backed by Google for Developers, Bayer, Sandvik, Kongsberg, Valmet, ElevenLabs, Aiven, Lovable, Antler, Inventure, Wave Ventures, and the universities of Turku and Aalto.
How to find AI hackathons in Europe
Beyond Since AI events, several resources aggregate European hackathons and developer events:
- —Since AI Discord & Telegram: We share notable AI hackathons across Europe in our community channels. Join here.
- —Devpost: Largest hackathon aggregator. Filter by region and prize type to find EU-based events.
- —LinkedIn Events: Following AI labs, incubators, and innovation programs in your target region surfaces events early.
- —University AI societies: Aalto AI, HankenAI, and equivalent groups at top European tech universities run or aggregate local hackathons.
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Last updated: April 2026