2026 is shaping up to be the biggest year for AI hackathons in India. From on-device LLMs to education AI, here are the most innovative AI hackathons happening right now that every builder should know about.
1. iQOO Hackathon 2026 — Phone-First AI Sprint
Date: June 6, 2026 | Location: COWRKS, DLF Cybercity, Gurugram
Prize Pool: INR 1,80,000 | Format: 8-hour in-person sprint
India’s first phone-first AI hackathon. Every participant gets an iQOO flagship phone and builds AI-native apps that run on-device. The unique Red Light/Green Light format forces mobile-first thinking — 60% of the sprint is phone-only.
Tracks: AgentKit (multi-agent student productivity), CampusOS (intelligent campus life), BrandForge (autonomous social media engine), Open Innovation.
Why it’s innovative: On-device LLM execution, HackTracker scoring, iQOO Office Kit integration, and hardware provided to every participant.
🔗 Register at iqoo.reskilll.com
2. SahAI for Shiksha Hackathon — AI for Education
Organizer: Wadhwani AI × Reskilll
Focus: AI solutions for Indian education challenges
The SahAI for Shiksha Hackathon tackles one of India’s most critical challenges — making quality education accessible through AI. Participants build solutions for personalized learning, teacher assistance, assessment automation, and multilingual education delivery.
Why it’s innovative: Real-world impact focus. Solutions are evaluated not just on technical merit but on deployability in Indian schools and colleges. Wadhwani AI brings deep expertise in AI for social good.
🔗 Learn more at wadhwaniai.reskilll.com
3. Build with AI × Google Cloud — Campus Bootcamp Series
Organizer: Reskilll × Google Cloud
Format: Free 4-hour hands-on sessions across 50+ campuses
India’s largest AI campus bootcamp series. Participants build and deploy live AI agents using the Gemini API on Google Cloud Run. You leave with a deployed URL, Google Cloud credits, and an official certificate.
Why it’s innovative: Not a competition — it’s a build-and-ship session. Every participant deploys something real in 4 hours.
🔗 Register at buildwithai.reskilll.com
4. Meta Llama AI Hackathon — Open Source AI
Organizer: Reskilll × Meta
Focus: Building with open-source Llama models
One of the few hackathons focused entirely on open-source AI. Participants build applications using Meta’s Llama models — from fine-tuning to deployment. Previous editions saw 625 teams and 95 qualifying for finals.
Why it’s innovative: Open-source first approach. No vendor lock-in. Real enterprise use cases with Meta engineers as mentors.
5. GitHub Code Innovation Series — Open Source + AI
Organizer: Reskilll × GitHub
Focus: Open-source projects using Git, GitHub Actions, and AI
Exclusive to GitHub Campus Partner colleges. Participants build open-source projects leveraging GitHub Copilot, Actions, and the Student Developer Pack. The intersection of open-source culture and AI tooling.
Why it’s innovative: Combines open-source contribution with AI-assisted development. Projects live on GitHub forever.
How to Get Started
All these hackathons are organized or powered by Reskilll — India’s #1 hackathon platform with 5000+ hackathons delivered. Browse all upcoming events at reskilll.com/discover.