JacHacks SF is a one-day AI hackathon hosted by Jaseci Labs at Founders Inc. on July 26, $9,000 in prizes, and a room full of builders shipping real projects in under 9 hours.

This is the third event in the JacHacks series. Our first two brought together 500+ hackers who shipped 150+ projects, and now we're bringing it to SF with sponsors including NVIDIA, Base44, Lovable, Koyal AI, and NSF.

What makes JacHacks different is it's built around Jac, an AI-native programming language designed for exactly the kind of agentic AI projects everyone's trying to build right now. You don't need to know Jac walking in. We run a workshop that takes you from zero to shipping in an hour. Total beginners, students, professionals, and founders are all welcome, and you don't need a team to sign up. Come solo and we'll match you at team formation.

Beyond the build, the day is stacked: a keynote from Prof. Jason Mars, a resume review + big tech recruiting workshop with Jeff Nguyen, and a YC application workshop with Mehul from Koyal AI (YC F25). Plus meals and snacks all day and merch for every builder.

About the challenge

Build something real in one day. Every project is eligible for track prizes. Judging is live and in person: 4-minute demos in parallel groups, with top teams doing a second-round demo before the closing ceremony. Working demos beat slide decks.

Get started

  • Register on Luma — this is your official RSVP for the event. [https://luma.com/9x1573sw]
  • Join the Discord — all announcements, schedule updates, and team matching happen there. Post questions in #ask-an-organizer.
  • Get familiar with Jac — optional, but a head start never hurts. Check out jaseci.org and the open-source repo at github.com/jaseci-labs/jaseci. We'll teach you the rest at the workshop.
  • Brainstorm ideas — thinking ahead is allowed and encouraged. Just remember all actual building happens during hacking hours (10:45 AM–7:15 PM).
  • Register your team on Devpost — up to 4 people. No team? Come anyway, we'll match you at the event.

Requirements

What to Build

Build a working software project using Jac, the AI-native programming language from Jaseci Labs. That's the one requirement: your project must meaningfully use Jac.

Beyond that, build whatever you want. Agentic AI systems, fintech tools, social impact projects, something weird. Pick the track(s) that fit what you built when you submit.

Never touched Jac? We run a workshop that takes you from zero to shipping in an hour, and mentors are available all day. Get a head start at jaseci.org or github.com/jaseci-labs/jaseci.

What to Submit

Submit your project on Devpost before 7:15 PM PT on Saturday, July 26 (hard deadline). Your submission must include:

  • Project name and description - what it does, what problem it solves, and how it uses Jac)
  • A link to your public GitHub repo (at least 40% Jac) - all code must be written during hacking hours (10:45 AM–7:15 PM). We will check your commit history.
  • Track selection - pick one main track, then select any special awards your project also fits
  • A short demo video (1:30 minutes long)
  • Host on jachammer.ai (highly encouraged — makes it easier for judges to check out your project; use "sandbox" to host for free)
  • Star the Jac repo: github.com/jaseci-labs/jac

Do the partial submission checkpoint at 5:50 PM - submit a draft with your project name and team so we can organize judging, then keep editing until the deadline.

Judging happens live and in person: 4-minute demos to a judging panel, with top teams doing a second-round demo. At least one team member must be present to demo.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$8,900 in prizes
Agentic AI Track 1st Place
$2,000 in cash
1 winner

Agentic AI Track 2nd Place
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

Fintech/Open Track 1st Place
$1,500 in cash
1 winner

Fintech/Open Track 2nd Place
$800 in cash
1 winner

Social Impact Track 1st Place
$1,500 in cash
1 winner

Social Impact Track 2nd Place
$800 in cash
1 winner

Special Awards Best JacHammer
$400 in cash
1 winner

Special Awards Best Use of Jaclang
$400 in cash
1 winner

AI for Defense
$500 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Ponita Ty

Ponita Ty

Dheeraj Pailla

Dheeraj Pailla

Nicole Grossmann

Nicole Grossmann

Ivan

Ivan

Vatsal Shah

Vatsal Shah

Joey

Joey

Sacchit Mittal

Sacchit Mittal

Shivang Raisurana

Shivang Raisurana

Adit Srivastava

Adit Srivastava

Aditya Jain

Aditya Jain

Nahom Seyoum

Nahom Seyoum

Ashesh Kapasi

Ashesh Kapasi

Shashank Sharma

Shashank Sharma

Shmeelok Chakraborty

Shmeelok Chakraborty

Antonio Coppe

Antonio Coppe

David Kupyn

David Kupyn

Conrad Scheibye

Conrad Scheibye

Kunj Raval

Kunj Raval

Kumar Saurabh

Kumar Saurabh

Aaryan Khanna

Aaryan Khanna

Judging Criteria

  • Technical Execution
    Does the project work? Is the code clean, the architecture sound, and the demo stable? We're looking at overall engineering quality, from how well the pieces fit together to how gracefully it handles edge cases.
  • Use of Jac and Jaseci
    How deeply does the project leverage what makes Jac unique? Projects that take full advantage of by llm(), walkers, graph-native data modeling, and single-file full-stack development will score significantly higher than those that use Jac superficially.
  • Creativity and Innovation
    Is this a fresh idea? Does it approach a problem in a way we haven't seen before? We're not looking for another todo app. Show us something that makes us rethink what's possible with agentic AI.
  • Presentation and Demo
    Was the 4-minute pitch clear, engaging, and well-structured? Could someone who knows nothing about your project walk away understanding what it does and why it matters?
  • Impact and Novelty
    Does the idea matter? Is the approach fresh? We're looking for projects that solve a real problem in a way we haven't seen before. Specific, grounded, and genuinely interesting.
  • Depth of Agentic Behavior
    Does your project actually behave like an agent? Show us real autonomous behavior: planning, memory, tool use, or multi-agent coordination. Wrapping an API call doesn't count.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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