Fig AI Design Makeathon 2026
FIG AI Design Makeathon 2026
November 7–11 5-Day Online Makeathon
November 14 Online Winner Announcement · 9pm
November 16 Winner Demo + Mixer Day · San Francisco
Five Days to Explore, Experiment & Have Fun Building! Potential hiring opportunities are live. Join us on: https://events.figstudio.vc/e/fig-ai-design-makeathon-2026
AI is creating new products, behaviors, workflows, and creative possibilities faster than ever.
Join a five-day online makeathon to tackle emerging challenges created by AI, experiment with new tools, and bring your ideas to life.
We’re extending the makeathon to five days and introducing two exciting tracks, giving you more time to explore, collaborate, create, and most importantly, have fun building.
This is not another design exercise.
Form a team, explore a real-world challenge, and turn your creativity into something people can actually experience.
Big thanks to our sponsors: Lovable, Pika, Storyverse, Lovart, AWS and SSG accelerator. Also grateful to have supportive partners: Design Meetup, Emergences Labs and UX Hub.
Who Should Join
Design and HCI design professionals, graphic designers, filmmakers, videomakers, storytellers, marketers, creative technologists, builders, and anyone interested in exploring what’s possible with AI.
Whether you’re interested in designing AI-powered products or creating with generative video, there’s a place for you.
Join solo or form a team of 2–5. No coding experience required.
All experience levels are welcome to participate. Competition award eligibility is subject to the requirements outlined below.
The Challenge
Track 1 — Product Design for AI Agents
Design and build new experiences for emerging AI products, autonomous agents, and human-AI collaboration.
Explore real-world design challenges, including:
How should humans interact with multiple AI agents?
How can users understand, monitor, and control autonomous AI workflows?
How do we design AI systems people can understand and trust?
What new interfaces are needed when software becomes increasingly autonomous?
Go beyond static concepts to create functional prototypes that demonstrate meaningful AI-powered experiences.
Vibe coding tool credits supported by Lovable will help participants turn ideas into working prototypes.
Prizes & Opportunities
$180,000 in AWS credits in total for the top 6 teams to help turn their ideas and prototypes into real products. *AWS credit prizes are only available to teams or individuals with an incorporated company.
$100–$200 in NetMind Model API credits for the top 3 winning teams.
Track 2 — AI Video & Creative Storytelling
Featuring Pika & Storyverse
Explore AI-powered video creation, filmmaking, and storytelling. Bring your ideas to life, experiment with generative video tools, and create stories that connect with an audience.
Prizes & Opportunities
Pika Credits
1st place: $1,000 in Pika credits
2nd place: $750 in Pika credits
3rd place: $250 in Pika credits
Storyverse Incubator Program
A place in the Storyverse Incubator Program for the winner, with support from its professional studio team to:
Develop their story
Co-create a 3–5 minute demo
Build a pitch deck to share with potential partners, including DramaBox、NewsBreak and TikTok
No existing script or original IP is required for the Makeathon winner. They can enter the program with the idea developed during the event.
Final challenge briefs, submission requirements, and track-specific judging criteria will be shared with registered participants before the event.
Track 3 : Visual & Brand Design
Featuring Lovart
Explore how a clear creative direction can become a cohesive set of visuals that communicate an idea, connect with an audience, and work across different formats.
Lovart is offering a one-month Pro upgrade for participants. To claim access, you’ll need a registered Lovart account and its associated email address. Eligibility and redemption instructions will be shared on 1st day of the event.
Prizes & Opportunities
$500 cash prize
Extended Lovart Pro access for winners, with duration and allocation to be announced
Track 4: Hiring
Partnered with Emergences Labs to bring in hiring companies.
How It Works
Register → Meet Teammates → Explore & Build → Submit → Judging
The full competition runs through the FIG Event Platform, from registration and team matching to submission and judging.
Along the way, join workshops, panels, and office hours for practical tool guidance, creative inspiration, product feedback, and industry perspectives.
Five days to explore ideas, experiment with AI tools, collaborate with teammates, and build something exciting!
Meet the Judges
Lewis Liu — Product Lead @ Microsoft, building agents and knowledge systems; ex-Google (Gemini); startup advisor
Xinyu Qu — Applied AI Engineer @ OpenAI; ex-Amazon AI Engineer
Fred McHale — Executive Director of Product Design @ Academy of Art University; Figma Educator Advisory Board 2026–2027; ex-Design Manager @ Cisco
Neha — UX Designer @ Amazon
Hao Wang — Chief Strategy and Business Growth Officer @ NetMind.AI
Ziyuan “Zoey” Zhu — Creative Technologist and Project Lead @ IDEO AI Lab; co-founder of FuturePIXEL
Xuyan Zhao — Principal Product Manager, AI @ Turo; ex-Collectors and eBay
Yitong Wang — User Experience Designer @ Lenovo
Heewon Moon — Product Designer @ Microsoft
Kaushal Patel — Software Engineer @ Reflection AI; ex-OpenAI, Meta, and Google
Claire Huang · AI Interaction Designer @ Samsung Electronics
Zoe Y. Zheng · Product Designer @ Adobe
Youyang Hou · Research Manager @ Notion AI
Nishaanth Reddy · Senior Machine Learning Engineer @ Apple
Yao Du · Research Associate @ HAI Lab, Northeastern University
Dan He · Co-founder & Product @ FIG Studio
Kaashyap Murali · Applied Scientist @ Microsoft
Benny Liao · Partner @ AIC
Brett Liu · Investment Lead @ Sixty Degree Capital
Emery Han · GTM @ Stripe
Sylvia Wang · Partner @ SSG Accelerator
More judges will be announced soon.
Additional judges may be announced for each track.
Prizes & Rewards
Potential rewards include AI tool credits, product access, partner-sponsored prizes, swag, and opportunities to showcase your work across the FIG community.
Selected winning teams will also be invited to present their projects at our in-person Winner Demo + Awards + Mixer Day in San Francisco.
Confirmed prizes, rewards, and track-specific award categories will be announced before the event.
Agenda | All times PST · Online
Day 1: Saturday, November 7, 2026 ·
10:15–10:30 AM: Opening & Challenge Brief Reveal
FIG Team · FIG Studio · Hosts
10:30–11:15 AM: Designing Multi-Agent Experiences
Lewis Liu · Product Lead, Microsoft · Panelist
Xinyu Qu · Applied AI Engineer, OpenAI · Panelist
Fred McHale · Executive Director of Product Design, Academy of Art University · Panelist
Youyang Hou · Research Manager, Notion AI · Panelist
Dan He · Co-founder, FIG Studio · Moderator
1:30–2:00 PM: Show & Tell: From AI Output to Real-World Impact
Heewon Moon · Product Designer, Microsoft · Speaker
Dan He · Co-founder, FIG Studio · Host
2:00–3:00 PM: From Challenge to Creative Concept
Yitong Wang · User Experience Designer, Lenovo · Workshop Lead
Heewon Moon · Product Designer, Microsoft · Workshop Mentor
Dan He · Co-founder, FIG Studio · Host
Day 2: Sunday, November 8, 2026
11:00–11:45 AM: Panel 2: When AI Gets It Wrong: Designing Trust and Recovery
Kaashyap Murali · Tech Lead, Copilot, Microsoft · Panelist
Jian Wang · Former Head of AI, TikTok · Panelist
Yitong Wang · UX Designer, Lenovo · Panelist
Xuyan Zhao · Principal Product Manager, AI, Turo · Panelist
Dan He · Co-founder, FIG Studio · Moderator
4:00–5:00 PM: Lovart Office Hour for Track 3: Visual & Brand System
Lovart Team · Host
Day 4: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
3:00–4:00 PM: Storyverse Office Hour · Track 2: AI Video & Creative Storytelling
Storyverse Team · Host
November 11 — Final Build & Submit
Complete and submit your project through the FIG Event Platform.
November 12–13 — Online Judging
Judges review submitted projects asynchronously.
November 16 — Third Coast Foundry Winner Demo + Mixer Day
Selected winning teams will be invited to present their projects in person, celebrate their achievements, and connect with judges, partners, and fellow builders.
The event will feature live demos, awards, industry conversations, and a community mixer.
Attendance is limited to selected teams and invited guests.
Travel and accommodation are not currently provided. Further participation details will be shared with selected teams.
Who We Are
FIG Studio is a Bay Area–based AI incubator and community bringing together designers, engineers, founders, researchers, and investors to explore and build what’s next in AI.
Through hackathons, makeathons, demo days, and mixers, we connect emerging talent with industry practitioners, help turn ideas into working products, and give teams a stage—and a path forward.
We run the FIG Event Platform, supporting the full journey from registration and team matching to submission, judging, and post-event project discovery.
FIG Event Platform: https://events.figstudio.vc/e/fig-ai-design-makeathon-2026
Participants will have the opportunity to help shape the platform through their experience and feedback.
Important Notes
The event is in active planning. Challenge details, sessions, tool access, judges, rewards, participation rules, submission requirements, and schedules may change. Registered participants will receive confirmed details and material updates before the event.
Track 1 Award eligibility: We’ll reserve at least one award for a team that includes an young professional who graduated after November 2024. We welcome participants of all ages and experience levels to build with us and collaborate with the next generation of designers. AWS credit prizes are only available to teams or individuals with an incorporated company. AWS credits are subject to AWS eligibility, approval, and redemption requirements. Additional conditions, including minimum spend, may apply. Final eligibility and credit allocation are determined by AWS.
Sponsor Prizes: Each sponsor’s prize is subject to its own eligibility criteria.
A listed judge’s affiliation does not imply organizational sponsorship.