Visit our website: https://www.forgehacks.dev/
Join the discord: https://discord.gg/HmS3CHYAv6
About the challenge
ForgeHacks is a student-focused online hackathon dedicated to AI for Real World Problems. We challenge you to forge practical, impactful AI solutions that address genuine challenges people and communities face today, whether in healthcare, education, or everyday life.
This is about building something that could realistically be used, tested, or extended beyond the hackathon. You will work across six specialized tracks (), each with a focused problem space. Track prompts will be released closer to the event so everyone starts on equal footing.
Tracks:
- AI + Healthcare
- AI + Education
- AI + Climate
- AI + Business
- AI + Cybersecurity
- AI + Creativity
Find the released prompts at https://forgehacks.dev
What makes ForgeHacks special
- Pure focus on real-world applicability of AI
- Student-led organizing team
- Emphasis on learning, mentorship, and building something that lasts
- EDIT: New Sponsor Featherless.ai -> giving Free API Access to opensource LLMs (like Deepseek, Llama, etc.) to all participants during building time. Join the Discord for more info.
Get started
- Register on Devpost
-
Join the ForgeHacks Discord:
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Form a team of 1–4 students (solo is welcome). Find team members on the Discord
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Watch for track prompts and kickoff announcements
Whether this is your first hackathon or your tenth, come forge something real.
Requirements
What to Build
Build a working AI-powered project that addresses a real-world problem within one of the six official tracks. Your solution should demonstrate clear use of AI/ML (models, APIs, agents, computer vision, NLP, recommendation systems, etc.) and show how it could create tangible value for users or communities.
What to Submit
-
Project title and short description (clear problem + solution)
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Track selection (Mention one of the six official tracks)
- Public demo video (2–4 minutes max) that shows:
- The problem you are solving
- How the project works
- Posted online like on Youtube
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GitHub repository with source code and a clear README
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Written project description covering:
- Problem statement and target users
- Technical approach and technical components used
- How the solution creates real-world impact
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Screenshots, architecture diagram, or deployment link for testing
Incomplete submissions (missing video or code) will not be eligible for judging.
Prizes
1st Place
$100 Cash
$300 Featherless Credits
$2,000 Momen Credits
$1,000 Adaption Credits
$50 AoPS gift card
5 Saily 3GB plans
2-year CodeCrafters VIP membership for each team member ($720 each, 4x = $2,880)
1-year DevSwarm Pro for each team member ($96 each, 4x = $384)
CleanShot X license for each team member ($29 each, 4x = $116)
⚠️ Total value includes non-cash items. Cash portion is $100. The remainder consists of sponsor-provided credits, memberships, licenses, and gift cards.
2nd Place
$50 cash
$25 AoPS gift card
5 Saily 3GB plans
1-year CodeCrafters VIP membership for each team member ($360 each, 4x = $1,440)
1-year DevSwarm Pro for each team member ($96 each, 4x = $384)
CleanShot X license for each team member ($29 each, 4x = $116)
⚠️ Total value includes non-cash items. Cash portion is $50.
3rd Place
$25 cash
$25 AoPS gift card
5 Saily 3GB plans
6-month CodeCrafters VIP membership for each team member ($180 each, 4x = $720)
1-year DevSwarm Pro for each team member ($96 each, 4x = $384)
CleanShot X license for each team member ($29 each, 4x = $116)
⚠️ Total value includes non-cash items. Cash portion is $25.
Track Prizes
Certificate for each track
Recognition on ForgeHacks website and socials
Prizes for each track winner
Details to be announced
All Participants
$500 in Adaption platform credits
$100 in Momen credits
1 month of n8n Cloud Pro ($65)
$40 in Kariaa credits
$25 in Featherless AI credits — a full month of unlimited access to 40,000+ open-source AI models including MiniMax M2.5, Kimi K3, GLM 5.2, Llama, and Qwen. No token limits.
1 month of DevSwarm Pro ($8)
Total: $738 per participant
Credits are distributed at the start of the hackathon so you can build with them during the event.
Certificate of participation for every team that submits.
⚠️ THIS IS NOT A CASH PRIZE. This consists of sponsor-provided product credits and non-cash benefits and cannot be exchanged for cash.
All Teams
$299 in Tin Computer credits per team. One month of the Growth plan ($299 value), distributed after the event.
⚠️ THIS IS NOT A CASH PRIZE.
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Aditya Shrivastava
Nevasini Sasikumar
Sashank Agarwal
Senior Cloud Software and Infrastructure Engineer - NVIDIA
Viraj Sabhaya
Prakshal Doshi
Esha Tariq
AI Researcher & Software Engineer - MIT Critical Data / The Islamia University of Bahawalpur
Saylee Mhatre
Director of Engineering - Electronic Arts Inc.
Sharath Chandra Kampili
Staff Enterprise Architect - Cockroach Labs
Dwiken Kirtania
RatnaKumar Bonagiri
Tamim Sangrar
Senior Product Manager - AI Identity Governance - Microsoft
Aishwarya Kannoth Putlumbath
Business Analyst - AMD
Aditi Patodiya
Sachin Gurjar (Mentor)
AI Researcher - Apexlayer Technologies
Anudeep Bonagiri (Mentor)
CEO & Co-founder - Cruze Maps
Sai Prasad Saladi (Mentor)
Senior Software Engineer / Technology Leader - U.S. Bank
Swapneswar Sundar Ray (Mentor)
Assistant Vice President | Principal Machine Learning Engineer - U.S. Bank
Aatishkumar kumardhami (Mentor)
Nilesh Dhage (Mentor)
Director Product Management - Financial Services
Ujwal Vanjare (Mentor)
Software Engineer - BNSF Railway
Saiprasad Charudatta Shrikhande (Mentor)
Senior Manager - Cognizant Technology Solutions
Akshay Talathi (Mentor)
Pragati Ingole (Mentor)
Judging Criteria
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Real-World Impact & Relevance
How clearly the project addresses a genuine problem. Potential for actual use or meaningful benefit to users/communities. -
Technical Implementation & AI Use
Quality of the AI/ML components, technical depth, correctness, and thoughtful integration of AI (not just a wrapper). -
Innovation & Creativity
Originality of the idea or approach. Fresh combinations of technology or novel application to the problem space. -
Execution & Completeness
Working demo, polish, usability, and how much was actually shipped during the hackathon. -
Presentation & Communication
Clarity of the video, README, and written description. Ability to explain the problem, solution, and impact simply.
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
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