Chicago AI Forge: January Build Day

​Hi, the Chi AI Forge Team here 🚀👋🏽

​Build Club is Chicago AI Forge's build series for people who want to make something real with AI.

​For Build Chicago, we're spending three weeks building AI for the city we live in. One rule: what you build must serve 1 of the 77 Chicago Communities.

​Parking. The CTA. Civic stuff that should be easier than it is.

​Pick a real Chicago problem. Build something that helps. Show it to investors on demo day.

​What to expect:

• ​3 weeks of building with a team, Jan 7 to Jan 28

• ​Real Chicago problems: parking, CTA, civic

• ​Forge hosts in your corner while you build

• ​Kickoff Jan 7: meet builders, hear the problem brief, find your team. Applications stay open until Jan 10.

• ​Weekly check-ins and office hours while you build

• ​Demo day on Jan 28, judged by a panel of investors

• ​$5,000 grand prize for the winning team

​Who this is for:

• ​Builders, founders, and operators who live in (or love) Chicago

• ​People who've used LLMs (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) and want to ship something with them

• ​No coding experience required. Builders of all levels welcome.

• ​Apply solo or as a team. Solo builders get matched at kickoff.

​Details:

​📅 Kickoff: Thursday, Jan 7, 2027 · 6:00–8:00 PM CT

​🎤 Demo day: Thursday, Jan 28, 2027 · 6:00–8:30 PM CT. RSVP Here: https://luma.com/d3z8qw2d

​📍 Venue: TechNexus, Chicago

​👥 Teams: 2–4 people

​🏆 Grand prize: $5,000

​⚖️ Judges: investor panel, to be announced

​💻 Bring: your laptop and a problem you care about

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​👉 Apply by January 10, 2027 at 11:59 PM CT.

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​About your hosts: Reena Shah, Justin Bergeron, Patrick Flanagan, Aryan G