Dates

  • Doors open: Fri Dec 4, 2026, 8:00pm ET
  • Hacking starts: midnight on Fri Dec 4 (12:00am ET Sat Dec 5)
  • Submissions close: Sun Dec 6, 11:30am ET
  • Demos: Sun Dec 6, from 12:00pm ET
  • Winners announced: Sun Dec 6, by 3:00pm ET

Eligibility

  • Open to accepted applicants only. Apply on Luma.
  • You must be 17 or older. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian has to sign our consent form before you can check in.
  • Enter solo or as a team of up to 3. Every team member must be an accepted applicant, and each person can only be on one team.
  • This is an in-person event. You need to be at the Stan office (100 Queens Quay E, Toronto) to take part, present and win.
  • Stan employees can't compete for prizes.

Project and Submission Requirements

Your project

  • New projects only. All work starts after hacking begins at midnight on Fri Dec 4, and projects started before that aren't eligible.
  • It has to fit the theme: make people known, not just connected. Tracks: matchmaking and warm intros, proof-of-work reputation, community memory, or something we haven't thought of.
  • Projects are judged on a live demo, so build something that runs.
  • Any language, framework, platform, API or AI tool is fine. List everything you used in "Built with".
  • One project per team.

Your submission (on Devpost by Sun Dec 6, 11:30am ET)

  • A project name and short description
  • A video explaining the project and showing it working, 2 minutes max, vertical or horizontal, on YouTube (unlisted is fine), Instagram, LinkedIn or X
  • A link to a public GitHub repo
  • One line on who your project makes known
  • Your stack and tools, in "Built with"

Late or incomplete submissions won't be judged. Every team that submits presents live: 3 minutes plus 1 minute of judge questions.

Judging

Judges score every project on:

  • Works live: does the demo actually run in front of the judges?
  • Fits the theme: does it make people known, not just connected?
  • Keeps going: could this keep going on Monday morning?
  • Our five rules: IRL-first, known not connected, proof over self-report, warmth over volume, it compounds

Judges pick the winners after demos, and their decisions are final.

Prizes

  • 1st place: $20,000 CAD
  • 2nd place: $3,000 CAD
  • 3rd place: $1,000 CAD
  • Build-In-Public: $1,000 CAD

Prizes are paid in Canadian dollars. Winners fill out tax and payment forms before prizes are paid.

Credits and Travel

  • Every accepted builder gets up to $200 CAD in AI tool and API credits.
  • Accepted builders flying in from outside Ontario can get up to $200 CAD back on their flight, with a receipt.

Your Work and Filming

  • You own what you build.
  • By submitting, you let Stan share your project's name, video and description to promote HackAI Toronto.
  • We're filming and photographing the whole weekend. By attending, you agree that Stan can use photos and video of you to promote HackAI Toronto.

Code of Conduct

All attendees, volunteers and staff at HackAI Toronto have to agree to this code of conduct. Organisers will enforce it throughout the event. We expect everyone's cooperation to keep the event safe for everybody.

Our hackathon is dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable environment and harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of the following:

  • gender
  • gender identity and expression
  • age
  • sexual orientation
  • disability
  • physical appearance
  • body size
  • race
  • ethnicity
  • nationality
  • religion
  • political views
  • previous hackathon attendance or lack of
  • computing experience or lack of
  • chosen programming language or tech stack

We do not tolerate harassment of hackathon participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate at any hackathon venue, including:

  • hacks
  • talks, presentations, or demos
  • any parties associated with the hackathon
  • social media
  • any other online media

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or political views, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, photography or audio/video recording against reasonable consent, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

Photography is encouraged, and Stan will be filming all weekend. Don't take photos or video where people expect privacy, such as bathrooms or where participants are sleeping.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. The projects built at HackAI Toronto are subject to this policy too.

If you're being harassed, see someone else being harassed, or have any other concerns, tell any Stan staff member right away, or contact Jay Chopra at +1 (647) 904-0282. Staff can help you contact local security or police, walk you where you need to go, and make sure you feel safe for the rest of the weekend.

If a participant harasses anyone, organisers may take any action they think is appropriate, including a warning, removal from the event and loss of prize eligibility, or reporting it to the police. These rules apply at the venue and at any HackAI Toronto social events.

Based on the Hack Code of Conduct.

Changes to These Rules

We'll only change these rules if we have to, and if we do, we'll tell every registered participant on Devpost.