Build with OpenAI: Developer Hackathon & Workshop
Description
Join OpenAI and TokyoAI for an afternoon and evening of conversations, collaboration, and hands-on building with the latest AI developer tools.
A hands-on developer session designed for builders who want to rapidly prototype AI-native applications using OpenAI tools, APIs, and AI agents.
Participants will work in teams or individually to build practical applications across two open tracks, with support from OpenAI engineers throughout the session.
Whether you're building workflow automation tools, AI-powered enterprise solutions, creative consumer products, or entirely new experiences, this event is designed to encourage experimentation and rapid iteration.
Capacity: 40-50 people
Target Audience: developers, startup builders, engineers, and technical creators
Expected Technical Level: intermediate and advanced
Languages: English and Japanese
Hackathon Tracks
1. B2B Solutions
Build tools that help organizations streamline operations and unlock productivity with AI.
Potential areas include:
Documentation and knowledge workflows
Legacy system integration
Marketing and content operations
Legal and compliance workflows
Internal copilots and AI agents
AI-powered creative generation and asset production
Japan presents especially interesting opportunities due to highly specialized documentation, operational workflows, and language requirements.
2. Consumer & Creative Use Cases
Explore more open-ended consumer applications and creative AI experiences.
This track is intentionally broad to encourage original thinking and experimentation across entertainment, productivity, social experiences, design, media, and beyond.
Important Note for Participants
The strongest projects usually combine technical execution with a deep understanding of a specific user problem or industry workflow. Participants are encouraged to research a domain or problem space in advance.
OpenAI Technical Support
OpenAI engineers will provide:
Live demos
Technical guidance
Hands-on implementation help
Best practices for working with AI agents and Codex
Featured OpenAI Engineers
Tyler Ryu is a deployment engineer at OpenAI, focusing on Codex and related developer-facing AI systems. Based in Singapore, he works on bringing large language models to real-world software engineering workflows. His background blends applied machine learning and developer operations, with an emphasis on practical implementation of AI models.
Kaz Sera is a Developer Experience Engineer at OpenAI, known for shaping the interaction between developers and advanced AI tools. His work focuses on improving usability, documentation, and developer workflows for AI technologies, ensuring smooth integration and effective feedback loops between product engineering and developer communities.
Credits & Prizes
All participants receive:
$250 in OpenAI API credits (valid for 12 months)
3 months of ChatGPT Pro with Codex access
Hackathon prizes:
1st Place: $25,000 in OpenAI credits
2nd Place: $10,000 in OpenAI credits
3rd Place: $5,000 in OpenAI credits
Prizes will be awarded in each track.
Food and refreshments will be provided throughout the event.
Organizers
Ilya Kulyatin is an entrepreneur with work and academic experience in the US, Netherlands, Singapore, UK, and Japan. He holds a BA in Economics, an MA in Finance, and an MSc in Machine Learning. He's a 3x founder, now helping Japan grow the local AI ecosystem through a not-for-profit community, Tokyo AI (TAI), while building an AI-native system integrator and solutions provider, Foundry Labs株式会社.
Supporters
Tokyo AI (TAI) is the biggest AI community in Japan, with ~5,000 members mainly based in Tokyo (engineers, researchers, investors, product managers, and corporate innovation managers).
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