​Virtual • 2 hours structured + 1 hour optional deep-dive

​Skip the BBQ. Build the Future.

​Join AI Collective's 80,000+ global community for an intensive team formation and brainstorming session for the OpenAI Open Model Hackathon ($30K+ in prizes). This hackathon focuses on OpenAI's newly released gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b models.

​Prize categories include: Best Overall ($10K), Weirdest Hardware, Most Useful Fine-Tune, Wildcard, and For Humanity.

​Note: Hackathon participation restricted in certain regions (Brazil, Quebec, Russia, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, OFAC-listed areas)

​The Game Plan

​Part 1: Structured Sessions (2 hours)

• ​30 min: Lightning intros - name, location, your superpower

• ​20 min: "Worst Ideas First" warmup (trust us, it works)

• ​10 min: Category deep-dives - pick your prize track

• ​30 min: Speed matching - find your perfect teammates

• ​20 min: Rapid-fire project pitches with feedback

• ​10 min: Team formation & next steps

​Part 2: Optional Deep-Dive (1 hour)

​Stay for unstructured networking, technical discussions, and project refinement.

​Who Should Join?

• ​Got skills but no idea? We'll match you with visionaries.

• ​Got ideas but can't code? Meet your technical co-founder.

• ​Never done a hackathon? Perfect - beginners often win.

• ​Just curious about open models? Come learn and get inspired.

​Connect with builders from NYC, SF, KC, DC, Austin, and beyond. Past AI Collective hackathon teams have gone on to launch startups, land jobs, and build lasting partnerships.

​What You'll Need

• ​Basic understanding of what LLMs can do (we'll handle the rest)

• ​Willingness to share half-baked ideas

• ​Open mind for unexpected collaborations

• ​Coffee (lots of coffee)

​Special Guests: Mentors and judges from the hackathon to be announced.

​All mentors and judges are participating in this event in their personal capacity. They are not representing their employers or organizations, and any views or feedback they share are their own.

​Can't make it live? Register anyway - we'll share team formation resources and connect you async.

​​Please be advised: Unfortunately, space is very limited at these community events and we can not always accept everyone we would like to. If you are not accepted to this event, please keep applying! We appreciate your application tremendously and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future event very soon!

​The AI Collective is a global non-profit community uniting 80,000+ pioneers – founders, researchers, operators, and investors – exploring the frontier of AI in major tech hubs worldwide. Through events, workshops, and community-led research, we empower the AI ecosystem to collaboratively steer AI’s future toward trust, openness, and human flourishing.

​All attendees and organizers at events affiliated with The AI Collective are subject to our Code of Conduct.