Biohackathon.xyz 2026

​A month-long biohackathon in Kobe, Japan. Part of Mirai Tech City 🏯 In-person and remote.

​Last BioHackathon.xyz in Cambridge, UK had over $115,000 in awards. This time awards are to be announced, but we're giving grants before the biohackathon even starts.

​ 💸 Grants before the hackathon

​We know bio is not like software, where you can vibecode a project over a weekend. So this time your application doubles as an application to our partners: fellowships, grants and VCs. This way you can start building in your kitchen lab in September and arrive in Japan with a real project.

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​Primordia Grants up to $3,000 for researchers working on work that really matters

​Reactorfield a free, philanthropically funded 4-week accelerator that makes scientists and deep-tech startups AI-native, embedding frontier AI into projects and laboratory workflows

​biopunk.community biohackathon teams can receive access to labs around the world via the biopunk.community

​biopunk.house a priority review for $10k residency

​Awards for the biohackathon itself: to be announced. Watch this page! We expect bunch of cloud and AI credits, cash prizes, free lab spaces and more!

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​ 🧬 The event

​From bioinformatics to bioart, longevity, therapeutics, ai drug discovery to cyborg tech. Build a real bio project, then bring it to Japan. Both remote and in-person participants are submitted for all grants, fellowships and partners. But we strongly encourage you to fly to Kobe: community labs, wetlab workshops, the top science minds of Japan, PMDA regulators, investors — all added by Mirai Tech City You won't find better excuse to fly to Japan!

​How it works:

​1. Sign up NOW for remote participation → your application goes to all partner grants, fellowships and VCs

​2. Check flights and Mirai Tech City info → if possible fly to Japan!

​3. End of September → Join call to find your teammates, start building in your home/kitchen lab (micro-grants help fund this)

​4. October → a month in Kobe (or hack along remotely)

​5. 26 October → Demo Day: biohackathon winners present alongside curated frontier-bio companies

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​🗓️ Mirai Schedule for October in Kobe

​1–11 Oct — Japan Biotech Ecosystem

​Explore the Japanese biotech ecosystem, tour local labs, meet PMDA (Japan's FDA-equivalent regulators). You can even hunt for an affordable Akiya home if you want to buy one!

​12–18 Oct — Longevity / Bio Week

​Meet scientists like Aubrey de Grey, writers like Cremieux, and minds from Kobe University leading fields such as stem-cell research. West and East science meeting together. Plus wetlab workshops run by Shojinmeat and BioOlympia.

​19–25 Oct — Go-To-Market Week

​Learn from the top investors:
Sebastian Gero,
Patri Friedman,
Sandeep Casi,
and from Japanese regulators, on whether you can actually bring it to the Japanese market.

​You'll also meet founders who already raised millions of dollars and can advise you on next steps:

• ​Mac Davis from Minicircle — plasmid gene therapies

• ​Juliette Humer from Muse Bio — stem cells from menstrual blood

• ​Daniel Burger Eight Six Science — brain replacement with biohybrid tissue

​23 Oct: Longevity Biotech Fellowship day — top experts on making radical longevity a reality — plus Vibecoding Night, straight from the Bay Area.

​26 Oct — Demo Day + Fashion Show

​Curated companies on the edge of frontier bio present; biohackathon winners join them on stage. Followed by a fashion show where models present devices and technologies developed during the month.

​🎟️ Tickets

• ​Remote: $5 — hack from anywhere, full submission to all grants and partners

• ​In-person: $20 — plus you need a Mirai Tech PopUp City ticket for the venue hosting us (early bird ends 20 Aug — check flights and book!)

​📍 Location

​Kobe, Japan — Port Island, in the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster (KBIC), as part of Mirai Tech City. Exact venue: [TBC]

​Remote participants: everything streamed coordinated on discord, Mirai City telegram is the main place of community

​❓FAQ

​Can I really participate remotely?

​Yes — remote participants are submitted for all grants, fellowships and partner programs, same as in-person. You just miss the labs, the onsen and Japan.

​Do I need a team? What's the team size limit?

​Solo hackers and teams both welcome. Team formation happens online after sign-up and on the ground in Kobe. Teams should not be bigger than 4 people to keep it fair.

​Do I need a wet lab?

You don't need a wetlab for computational, hardware, bioinformatics and design projects are all welcome.

biopunk.community can help you access community labs across the world. The micro-grants are there to equip your home lab, and community labs + wetlab workshops will be available in Kobe, Japan.

​When does hacking start?

​As soon as you sign up. The whole point of pre-hackathon grants is that you build in September and show up with something real.

​Accommodation?

​Mirai Tech City offers hotel packages see their Luma. Groups are also arranging renting cheap accommodation together on the Mirai Tech City Telegram — join and find your housemates. Some of you might even leave with an Akiya house.

​Visa?

​Many nationalities can visit Japan visa-free for short stays — check your country's requirements. Need a confirmation-of-participation letter? Message the organizers.

​Biosafety?

​Projects must comply with the biosafety laws of wherever you're working. In Japan there will be limited access to community and university labs. biopunk.community can help you access community labs across the world.