Reflecting on the Gen AI Exchange Hackathon by Google
The Gen AI Exchange Hackathon by Google, supported by MEITY Startup Hub and Startup India, was a 3-month long online hackathon that aimed to bring together brilliant young minds from across the country to innovate using generative AI. Over the course of the hackathon, participants from different backgrounds, be it student developers, professionals, and even entrepreneurs, collaborated to solve some of growing India’s biggest challenges.
This event brought together partners from across the Indian startup ecosystem, from VCs like Lightspeed and Peak XV, software companies like Sarvam.ai and RateGain, to consumer brands like BigBasket and PolicyBazaar, a lot of whom provided real-world business challenges to the hackathon participants.
The first stop in the journey to main hackathon was a multi-city roadshow organized by Google. These roadshow events were replete with hands-on workshops, technical guidance from leaders, and sessions that gave the participants insights into the challenges that AI can solve.
It provided hackers a unique chance to dive into Gemini, Google’s cutting-edge generative AI, equipping them with essential skills and inspiring them to craft groundbreaking projects that unlock the transformative potential of AI.
Looking back to when it all began
The hackathon kicked off on the 12th of August 2024 and lasted until the 18th of October. Participants had to choose a problem statement that they will build their proposed solutions for. These problem statements were submitted by some India’s leading tech-first companies from across the business landscape of India, spanning numerous sectors, such as manufacturing, quality control, finance, teaching, hospitality, cybersecurity, air travel, insurance and much more.
These problems, as well as how Gen AI could begin to solve them, were discussed in the roadshows. Google organized these roadshows in emerging & major tech hubs of the country like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Delhi, and Bengaluru. These roadshows gave participants a chance to learn about Gemini AI, Google’s flagship Gen AI product, and how they could begin solving the problem statements that they chose to solve.
Apart from learning, the roadshows were also a golden opportunity for participants to engage with other solution-makers, learn from industry stalwarts, and be part of an environment which was teeming with young Indian builders looking to build a better tomorrow.
Fine-Tuning: It’s Not Just LLMs Who Need It
Out of the 800+ projects submitted, the top 5 teams from each problem track were given the golden opportunity to receive mentorship for their projects. Mentors included industry experts who knew the problem deeply, VC representatives to recommend potential business plans, and engineers from Google who advised our finalists on the technical forefront.
The finalists’ access to these workshops allowed them to fine-tune their solution and address any challenges that they may have experienced throughout the process of building. It also gave them a chance to explore if their project had the potential to turn into a business.
And Now, For the Ones who Scaled the Peak
The Gen AI Exchange Hackathon had multiple problem tracks submitted by the hackathon’s partners, encompassing a wide variety of problems from various sectors.
We received close to 800+ project submissions from 2,000+ participants for these problem tracks.
From all these submissions, the top team from each track was invited to attend the final Demo Day, an event held at Google India’s office in Gurugram, where the winners were felicitated with their certificates for making it to the top of the table (no football reference intended).
They also had a chance to network and interact with partners, engineers from Google, and top VCs to hone their project idea and explore the possibilities of turning it into a business.
The Google Gen AI Exchange Hackathon set the stage for future innovation, proving that the intersection of AI and human creativity holds tremendous promise. The ideas and prototypes forged in this crucible will continue to inspire and evolve, leaving a lasting impact on how India’s future. The hackathon not only highlighted the vast scale of AI talent but also demonstrated how events like these can be powerful incubators for the next generation of AI-powered solutions.
Congratulations to all the winners and thank you so much to everyone who participated. We can’t wait to see how your projects evolve and make a dent in some of India’s biggest problems.
We hope to see you around at upcoming Devfolio hackathons! :)
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Until then, Never Stop Building 🛠️