​🚀 Stanford x DeepMind Hackathon: Build with Google AI Studio and Fastshot.ai

​Win up to $5M in Seed Funding* | April 12th, 10am–6pm PT

​Join GDG Stanford for an elite hackathon where you'll build cutting-edge projects with codegen tools and earn 30-minute VC pitch meetings with top-tier investors.

​🏆 The Prize

​Top teams will be judged by representatives from Stanford, Google, and multiple venture capital funds. Winners earn direct pitch access to VCs writing $500K–$5M seed checks, plus Fastshot.ai Gemini build credits, DeepMind GCP credits, and cash prizes:

• ​In-Person Track: $45K prize purse (DeepMind GCP credits + FastShot.ai Gemini Credits)

• ​Online Track: $10K prize purse (DeepMind GCP credits)

​*Investment not guaranteed. Prize is pitch access only. Winning teams gain meeting access but must earn investment through their pitch and business fundamentals.

​⭐ Judges & Investors

​Judges

• ​Omri Drory, Ph.D. — General Partner @ NFX Bio

• ​Nancy Wang — Venture Partner @ Felicis

• ​Bryan Liu — Principal @ Alumni Ventures

• ​Mohan Iyer — General Partner @ SOSV

• ​Parikshit Sharma — Partner @ SOSV

• ​Denny Gabriel — Investor @ Runa Capital

• ​Arpit Mittal — Partner @ Threshold Ventures

• ​Pramod Gosavi — Sr. Principal @ Blumberg Capital

• ​Vikram Venkat — Principal @ Cota Capital

• ​Tessa Osborne — Investor @ Plug and Play

• ​Courtney Schoeb — Investor @ Giant Ventures

• ​Matt Goldman — General Partner @ J2 Ventures

• ​Ashtan Jordan — Principal @ Precursor Ventures

• ​Prateek Joshi — Investor @ Moxxie Ventures

• ​Joanna Gough — Managing General Partner @ Pulse Impact Ventures

• ​Daniel Darling — Co-founder & GP @ Focal VC

• ​Shahram Seyedin-Noor — Founder & Managing Partner @ Civilization Ventures

• ​Angelica Parente, PhD — Investor @ Civilization Ventures

• ​Raj Shekhar Singh — Founder & General Partner @ Z21 Ventures

• ​Krish W. Ramadurai — Partner @ AIX Ventures

• ​Kaan Eren — Partner @ e2vc

• ​Yang Tran — Partner @ Zero Prime Ventures

• ​Pourya Moradi — Venture Partner @ Think + Ventures

• ​Dilan Sisu — Investor @ e2.vc

• ​Giuseppe Stuto — Founder @ Offscript VC

• ​Brian Zhan — Partner @ Striker Venture Partners

• ​Benny Liao — Principal @ Acorn Pacific Ventures

• ​Kevin Bernal — Investor @ Mighty Capital

• ​Kavon Badie — Investor @ Mighty Capital

• ​Andrew Sorohan — Investor @ u.ventures

• ​Mark Wasuwanich — Incubating @ Open Core Ventures

• ​Debojyoti (Debo) Dutta — Chief AI Officer @ Nutanix; Angel

• ​Francis Ma — ex-Sr. Director @ Google; Angel

• ​Zhen Xia — Investor @ INCE Capital

• ​Neda Emami — Investor @ Bay Angels

• ​C.C. Gong — Principal @ Menlo Ventures

• ​Wanda Wang — Partner @ Diversis Capital

• ​Anitha Vadavatha — Managing Partner @ AB Plus Ventures

• ​Denis Belyavsky — 12 Scrappy Founders; Angel

• ​Vig Sachidananda, PhD — Partner @ Gradient Ventures

• ​Thomas Shehadeh — Investor @ M13

• ​Matias Porras Paniagua — Investor @ Insight Partners

• ​Francesca Gnuva — Investor @ Audacious Ventures

• ​Gaurav Manglik — General Partner @ WestWave Capital

• ​Vincent Zhou — Investor @ Strike Capital

• ​Andy Tang — Founding Partner @ Draper Dragon

• ​Amrut Rajkarne — Investor @ Nexus Venture Partners

• ​Andrew Couillard — Investor @ Harpoon Ventures

• ​Leonard Lee — Head of Accelerator @ 500 Global

• ​Derick En'Wezoh — Partner @ Susa VC

• ​Charlotte Xia — Investor @ Fusion Fund

• ​Kayla Kavanaugh — Principal @ Afore Capital

• ​Salem Zoumot — Angel; recent exit

• ​Felicitas Binz — Angel

• ​Ishmeet Kaur — Angel; ML Engineer @ Apple

• ​Anne Dwane — Co-Founder & Partner @ Village Global

• ​Kristen Wong — Partner @ AltitudeLSV

​Stanford

• ​Prof. Nikesh Kotecha — Head of Data @ Stanford Health

• ​Taarush Grover — VP Startup Development @ Stanford Bases

​Google / DeepMind

• ​Nitya Ramani — Sr. Director, Google

• ​Amit Vadi — Head of Community, DeepMind

• ​Joana Carrasqueira — Product Lead, DeepMind

• ​Ivan Leo — DevEx, DeepMind

​Co-organisers

• ​Elvira D

• ​Dmitry Fatkhi

• ​Alexander Sukhanov

• ​Jesse (Juefang) Z.

• ​Arpiné Arakelyan

​📅 Event Schedule

​
10:00 AM Registration & Breakfast – Light refreshments and networking with fellow builders
10:30 AM Opening Ceremony & Rules Briefing – Official rules, competition format
11:00 – 11:15 AM Speaker Session – Fastshot.AI will give a short talk on how and why to use their codegen platform for mobile apps
11:30 AM Hacking Begins! – 3-hour intensive build sprint starts 2:30 PM Submission Deadline (Hard Stop) – All submissions must be completed
2:30 PM Late Lunch – Sandwiches/beverages and networking with fellow builders
3:30 PM Semi-Finalists Announced – Top teams selected for live pitches
4:00 PM Live Finals Presentations – Top 6 teams pitch on stage (5 min pitch + 5 min Q&A)
5:30 PM Winners Announced – Grand prize winners revealed 6:00 PM Event Wrap-Up

​🌐 Online Track

​Can't make it to Stanford on April 12th? We've got you covered.

​We've added an Online Track for remote participants:

• ​No live streaming or video conferencing – work on your own schedule

• ​Submission deadline: End of day, April 12th

• ​Same deliverables as in-person participants

• ​Judging based on traction + playcast metrics – same conditions as Phase 2

• ​Prize pool: $10K in GCP credits for Online Track winners

• ​VC pitch access for top submissions

​Build with Gemini, ship a prototype, post your demo, and let your network do the talking. Top submissions get 30-minute meetings with funds.

​📋 Submission Requirements*

​Each team must submit by 2:30 PM sharp — Google AI Studio Gemini track:

• ​One-Pager – Document describing your team and idea

• ​Hosted Prototype – A working demo link (via Google AI Studio & Google Cloud Run)

• ​2-Minute Video – Team introduction and "elevator" pitch

• ​1-Minute Video – A demo of the prototype. Playcast.

• ​Code Repository – Link to code via Google AI Studio sharing mechanics

​Each team must submit by 2:30 PM sharp — FastShot.ai mobile app track:

• ​One-Pager – Document describing your team and idea

• ​Hosted Prototype – A working demo link (via FastShot.ai sharing mechanics)

• ​2-Minute Video – Team introduction and "elevator" pitch

• ​1-Minute Video – A demo of the prototype. Playcast.

​*Data Usage & Judging Consent: By submitting your prototype playcast, you authorize the organizers to use your submission in paid social ads (e.g., Facebook). Real-world performance metrics generated from these campaigns (including but not limited to CPM, CTR, and CPC) will be collected and used as core market validation data for Phase 2 (post-event) judging. You may opt out by notifying organizers prior to submission; data sharing with sponsors and investors is a condition of participation.

​⚖️ Judging Criteria

​Projects will be evaluated on:

• ​Technical Feasibility – Does it actually work? Is it functional?

• ​Innovation & Novelty – Is the approach creative, unique, or clever?

• ​Real-World Applicability – Would people genuinely use this solution?

• ​Market Potential & Fundability – Could this become a viable, venture-backable company?

• ​Go-to-Market Traction – Social engagement on your demo video (likes, shares, views)

​Social Engagement Component

​Your demo YouTube video must be shared publicly! Social engagement counts toward your score:

• ​Phase 1: Engagement tracked during the hackathon (5pm deadline)

• ​Phase 2: Second chance – continued tracking for 2 weeks post-event (measuring viral reach and second/third-degree networks + collecting playcast metrics for 2 weeks post-event)

​🎯 Competition Format

​Semi-Finals

​All submissions undergo asynchronous review by our judging panel. Judges score based on the criteria above.

​Finals

​Top 5 teams advance to live presentations:

• ​10 minutes per team (5 min pitch + 5 min Q&A with judges)

• ​Present on stage to the full panel of VCs and special guests

• ​Winners announced at 5:30 PM

​👥 Who Should Attend

​This hackathon is perfect for:

• ​Builders with AI/ML experience or a passion for emerging technology

• ​Founders exploring new startup ideas or validating concepts

• ​Students & Developers eager to learn Google Gemini's coding capabilities

• ​Existing Teams who want exposure to top-tier VCs

• ​Fast Shippers ready to build and demo a working prototype in 3 hours

​Whether you're a solo developer, have a team, or are already building a startup (some invited participants are at Series A stage), this event offers a unique opportunity to showcase your work to decision-makers at leading venture funds.

​❓ Frequently Asked Questions

​Q: Can I pitch an existing startup? A: Absolutely! If you win, you can pitch either your hackathon project or your existing company during the 30-minute VC meetings.

​Q: What's the team size limit? A: Up to 4 people.

​Q: Can I participate solo? A: Yes.

​Q: Can I participate remotely? A: Yes! The Online Track has the same deliverables, with submissions due by end of day, April 12th. No live streaming (Phase 2 conditions). The Online Track has a $10K GCP credits prize pool.

​Q: When do VC meetings happen? A: Winners will schedule 30-minute pitch meetings with selected funds after the event.

​Q: What should I bring? A: Laptop, charger, and your best ideas!


Prerequisite Assignments
Deadline: Friday 10PM PST

​Google AI Studio Track

1. ​Follow tutorial and build a simple prototype in AI Studio (5–10 min) — [tutorial link] 

2. ​Submit results — [form link] 

​Confirms you know the GCP platform & have billing enabled.

​FastShot.ai Track

1. ​Complete the tutorial (10–15 min) — [tutorial link] 

2. ​Submit results — [form link]