about this event
Agentic AI Hackathon at AWS Community Day Bay Area 2026. Build an agent that does real work on AWS. Two weeks. One track. Eight teams demo live on stage at AWS Community Day in front of 500+ builders. Up to $3,200 in AWS credits for the winners. First 25 teams to be formed will each get $50 AWS credits to build their ideas and bring it to life.
How it works: Register here by September 28. Every team member registers individually on this page and enters the same team name. Build from September 29 to October 11 remotely. The top 8 submissions get a 5-minute live demo slot on October 13 at the AWS Builder Loft in San Francisco, judged on the spot, with winners announced at the closing session.
Who should join: Anyone building with Bedrock, Bedrock AgentCore, Strands Agents SDK, SageMaker, or any other AWS AI service. Teams of 2 to 4. Solo builders welcome; register anyway and we'll match you with a team before September 29.
The rules in brief: Work starts September 29, not before. At least two AWS services, one of them an AI service. Public GitHub repo, MIT or Apache 2.0 license. No production data, PHI, or PII. You keep your IP. Submit by October 11, 11:59 PM PT: public repo, 3-minute demo video, one-page writeup. Submission link goes out in the September 29 start announcement.
Judging: technical depth (30%), real-world usefulness (25%), responsible AI (20%), demo and communication (15%), completeness (10%). Judges score all submissions asynchronously on October 12, then re-score the 8 finalists live.
Prizes: 1st place gets $500 in AWS credits per team member (up to 4). 2nd place gets $300 per team member (up to 4). All 8 finalists get their demo featured on the AWS Community Bay Area YouTube channel.
Full participant guide: https://www.aws-aicd.com/hackathon/ . Questions: Post in the Event Chat (you're added when you register) or use Contact the Host for anything private. Reply target is 24 hours. You must also be registered for AWS Community Day at https://events.builder.aws.com/mevA9Z and present in person on October 13. Hosted by AWS User Group Bay Area.
tracks
Agentic AI on AWS
One track: build an agent that does real work on AWS, using at least two AWS services, one of them an AI service (for example Bedrock, Bedrock AgentCore, Strands Agents SDK, SageMaker, or any other AWS AI service).
when
Registration Deadline
Deadline to register for the hackathon. Every team member registers individually on the event page and enters the same team name.
◍ OnlineHackathon Build Period Begins
Work on submissions starts September 29, not before. The start announcement includes the submission link.
◍ RemoteSubmission Deadline
Submit by 11:59 PM PT: public GitHub repo, 3-minute demo video, and one-page writeup.
◍ OnlineAsynchronous Judging
Judges score all submissions asynchronously.
◍ OnlineLive Demo Day at AWS Community Day Bay Area
The top 8 submissions get a 5-minute live demo slot at the AWS Builder Loft in San Francisco, judged on the spot, with winners announced at the closing session. Finalists must be present in person.
◍ AWS Builder Loft, San Franciscotickets
| tickets | price | Fee | Status | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackathon Registration | Free | None | Available | Free registration for the hackathon. Each team member registers individually using the same team name. Participants must also register for AWS Community Day and be present in person on October 13. |
prizes
| # | PRIZE | price |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Place | $500 in AWS credits per team member (up to 4 members) | $2,000 |
| 2nd Place | $300 in AWS credits per team member (up to 4 members) | $1,200 |
| Early Team Bonus (first 25 teams formed) | $50 in AWS credits per team | $1,250 |
| Finalists (top 8) | Demo featured on the AWS Community Bay Area YouTube channel | Non-cash |