Hackyardpresents Build 2026Start anywhere. Build anything. Explore ideas, scope your build, prepare and see what matters to the jury, all in one guide. Applications: 14 September–10 October 2026.
Drop your ideaTell us what you want to build or what you can bring. Applications are online, free to enter, and open to everyone from 14 September to 10 October 2026.
Submit an idea, problem or skill you’d bring to a build. No finished product or polished pitch deck required. Have a prototype? Include a public link in the optional work-link field. Don’t have one? That’s fine.
Developers, designers, founders, researchers, students, operators and anyone who wants to build are welcome. Apply solo or with a team, then form or join a team before the physical build.
Drop your ideaBring a startup idea, solve something you have experienced, build an AI agent, make a useful tool, or try something weird. These are starting points, not limits. Build whatever you think should exist.
Start with a real task, give the system meaningful agency, and make its work visible enough to test and trust.
Choose one concrete workflow, remove its biggest friction, and build an end-to-end experience people can actually use.
Ground the build in direct experience, test it with the people who face the problem, and improve what matters.
Bring a startup idea, make a useful tool or try something weird. The suggested directions are starting points, not limits.
Name the person you are helping and the task they need to finish. Make that task work end to end before adding another feature.
Test with realistic inputs and an awkward case, not only the happy path. Make failures understandable. Be honest about assumptions and limitations.
Use synthetic, public, or authorized data. Think through privacy and accessibility as part of the product, not as a slide at the end.
Plan your buildBring a laptop and your curiosity. An idea is optional. Come ready to experiment, collaborate, fail, rebuild, and ship.
Explore build ideasStart with something worth making: an idea, a problem or a question. You do not need the whole answer.
Make the smallest version that actually works. Do not spend the weekend making slides.
Use it. Break it. Improve it. Find what does not work and fix what matters.
Do not tell us what it could do. Show us what it does.
Show the problem, then the working flow. Say what you built, what depends on an external service, and what still needs work. Test the demo path and be ready to explain your technical decisions. When it is time to present, show what the product does, not only what it could do.
Good builds deserve a fair look. What matters is what you built, the problem, the ingenuity of your approach, and its potential.
Final judging guidance will be shared before the physical build.
How much did you actually make? Does the core experience work?
Does it solve a real or meaningful problem?
Is there something clever, original, or thoughtful about the approach?
Is there a reason to keep building it after the event?
Judge the build, not the pitch.
Drop your idea, get selected, find your people, then build in person at IIT Guwahati on 24–25 October 2026.
14 September → 10 October
Bring an idea, a problem or a skill. No finished product required.
Describe your idea, the problem you want to solve or the skills you bring. A rough starting point is enough.
After applications
We review applications and invite selected builders to the physical build.
Applying is not a guarantee of selection. Hackyard will contact selected builders with the next steps.
Before the build
Find your people. Form a team. Prepare your build.
Come with a team or meet other selected builders. Find complementary skills and refine what you want to make together.
24–25 October 2026
In person at IIT Guwahati. Build. Ship. Show.
Make the smallest version that actually works.
Use it, break it and improve what matters.
After the event
Get seen. Get opportunities. Keep building.
Selected builders can receive a badge, public profile and Build 2026 credential.
Projects can be showcased and builders can access selected future Hackyard opportunities.
The physical build is at IIT Guwahati on 24–25 October 2026. Event entry, build space, and internet are free. Food and accommodation are available at a very nominal participant fee.
Ask the organizing team about access or participation. Detailed arrival information and exact food and accommodation fees will be shared with selected builders before they travel, so you can plan your stay. Travel is not listed as an included event benefit.
Ask the teamA builder experience where ideas, problems, skills and ambitious people come together to make something real.
Yes. Applications are free, open to everyone and run online from 14 September to 10 October 2026.
No. Submit an idea, problem or skill you would bring to a build. No finished product or polished pitch deck is required. If you already have a prototype, you can include a public link in the optional work-link field.
After applications close, Hackyard reviews submissions and invites selected builders to the physical build. Before the build, you can meet other selected builders, form a team and prepare. The physical build is at IIT Guwahati on 24–25 October 2026.
Yes. You can apply solo or with a team, then form or join a team before the final build.
No. Building is not limited to code. Designers, researchers, operators, founders and people with strong problem-solving skills are welcome.
If selected, your team gets $100 in AI Build Credits. Applicants who are not selected do not receive credits. Selected teams may also get access to selected AI, API, cloud and developer tools from our partners.
Anything worth building. Follow one of our suggested directions or build something completely your own. AI is a powerful building layer, not a requirement.
The physical build is at IIT Guwahati on 24–25 October 2026. It will run for approximately 12–24 hours. Event entry is free; food and accommodation will be available at a very nominal participant fee, shared before travel.
Final prize details will be announced as they are confirmed. Final judging criteria will be announced before the physical build.