OceanTech Hackathon
What happens when AI engineers meet marine biologists?
Most technical builders care about climate but rarely work alongside marine biologists, ocean policy experts, or communities dealing with coastal flooding. Most ocean hackathons stay abstract because teams lack domain context.
This event is different.
We're deliberately mixing technical builders with ocean scientists, policy practitioners, and people whose businesses are affected by coastal change. One day of grounding in real ocean constraints, then hacking on AI-powered solutions that could actually work in salt water.
Format: Morning talks from ocean experts → design workshop → afternoon hacking in mixed teams → demos and judging
https://www.oceantechhackathon.org
👥 Who Should Join
This works best with a mix:
Technical Builders
AI/ML engineers, developers, data scientists who want to apply tools to real ocean challenges. No ocean expertise required — domain experts will be on your team.
Ocean Domain Experts
Marine biologists, oceanographers, coastal scientists, researchers with deep knowledge of maritime systems. No coding required — technical builders will help prototype your ideas.
Policy & Practitioners
People from ocean nonprofits, climate organizations, coastal resilience programs, or communities affected by sea-level rise and coastal issues.
Ocean Tech Companies
Teams building real maritime infrastructure who want to advise or recruit.
🗓 Schedule (One Day)
Morning: Ground in Reality
9:00 — Check-in, breakfast
9:30 — Opening: why this format, what we're building toward
9:45–10:45 — Short talks (8-10 min each):
Confirmed: Ulysses (autonomous ocean vehicles) on what it takes to build for maritime environments
Marine scientists on ocean health challenges and data gaps
Policy/nonprofit leaders on where technology could help
Communities affected by coastal change on lived experience
10:45–11:00 — Break, team formation begins
11:00–12:30 — Design workshop: MRV challenges, problem framing, team finalization
Afternoon: Build
12:30–1:15 — Lunch
1:15–5:00 — Hacking/prototyping session
AI tools available for rapid prototyping
Ocean expert mentors available
Focus on real, specific problems (not generic concepts)
5:00–6:00 — Demo presentations (5 min per team)
6:00–6:15 — Judging deliberation
6:15–6:30 — Winners announced
6:30–7:00 — Networking for ongoing collaboration
🔍 Focus Areas (Not Rigid Tracks)
Teams can work on any ocean challenge. Here are areas where we see high need for AI-powered tools:
1. Ocean Monitoring, Reporting & Verification (MRV)
Build tools to measure and verify ocean health and climate impact — water quality, biodiversity tracking, ocean-based carbon projects.
Core question: If someone claims they helped the ocean, how do we prove it?
2. Coastal Resilience & Climate Adaptation
Tools that help coastal communities prepare for flooding, harmful algal blooms, wildfire runoff, and extreme weather events.
Core question: What early warning systems or adaptation tools could actually get used?
3. Pollution Prevention & Tracking
Solutions to prevent pollution before it reaches the ocean, or improve cleanup, tracking, and accountability once it does.
Core question: How do we make plastic/pollutant flows visible and actionable?
4. Nature-Based Restoration & Blue Carbon
Support kelp, eelgrass, wetlands, and habitat restoration through better monitoring, forecasting, and impact measurement.
Core question: How do we make restoration projects measurable and scalable?
Hack Pack: Detailed problem statements, datasets, and APIs will be shared before the event.
🏆 Judging
Projects evaluated by a mixed panel of ocean experts and technical judges:
Real-world ocean impact — Could this address an actual maritime challenge?
Measurability / MRV rigor — Can we verify this works?
Technical feasibility — Can this be built with available tools and data?
Usability — Could an ocean nonprofit, research org, or coastal community actually pilot this?
We're not looking for polished products. We're looking for prototypes grounded in real ocean constraints that teams want to keep working on after the event.
🤝 Confirmed Partners & Speakers
Organized by:
Pebblebed VC (early-stage technical fund) + [partner VC]
Confirmed Speakers:
Ulysses — Autonomous ocean vehicles keeping our oceans safe and prosperous
Additional speakers and judges: Being finalized (marine biologists, ocean policy experts, coastal practitioners)