​🔐 Build City × NEAR Legion: Private AI Hackathon NYC

​Build with AI. Protect Your Data. Ship Something Real.

​Join developers, AI engineers, founders, researchers, and entrepreneurs for a full day of learning, technical discussions, collaboration, and hands-on building with Private AI in New York City.

​Explore how confidential computing, private AI inference, data ownership, and agentic applications can shape the next generation of AI products.

​Whether you're an experienced engineer, startup founder, student, or curious builder, come with an idea or find a team and build something real.

​​🎟️ Ready to Build with Us?

​Spaces are limited. Reserve your spot and join NYC's builder community for a day of learning, collaboration, and hands-on Private AI development.

​Register now to secure your place!

​Come with an idea, bring your laptop, find your team, and let's build something real.

​​🚀 What Is Private AI?

​Most AI applications send information to cloud servers for processing. But what happens when that information is sensitive, confidential, or personally identifiable?

​Private AI introduces a different approach.

​Using Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), AI workloads can run inside hardware-isolated environments, helping keep sensitive data confidential—even from the infrastructure provider.

​At this hackathon, we'll explore:

• ​Private AI inference through NEAR AI Cloud

• ​Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)

• ​Confidential computing and data protection

• ​Privacy, data ownership, and secure information sharing

• ​Building AI agents and applications using private inference

​The goal is to move beyond discussing possibilities and start building practical applications.

​​🌎 Be Part of the Global NEAR Hackathon

​Global Hackathon: November 1–14, 2026

​Join the worldwide NEAR builder community and turn your ideas into real products.

• ​$250,000 global prize pool

• ​13 building tracks

• ​Solo builders and teams welcome

• ​Two weeks to build, experiment, and submit projects

​🔗 NEAR HACKATHON — Build What's Next: https://share.google/tUZDeF5CMBCaguZ34

​One day in NYC. Two weeks to build globally.

​The NYC event is an opportunity to learn, connect with fellow builders, explore the technology, and kick-start projects that can continue throughout the global hackathon.

​​🗓️ Event Schedule

• ​9:00–9:45 AM — Registration, Breakfast & Networking

• ​9:45–11:30 AM — Welcome, Introduction & Technical Talks

• ​11:30 AM–1:00 PM — Team Formation & Initial Building

• ​1:00–1:30 PM — Lunch & Networking

• ​1:30–4:30 PM — Building & Mentorship

• ​4:30–5:30 PM — Project Demos & Showcase

• ​5:30–6:00 PM — Closing & Networking

​​🎤 TECHNICAL TALKS & SESSIONS

​Hear from builders and industry practitioners exploring emerging technologies, practical applications, and new ideas across AI, privacy, security, and agentic systems.

​1. Build with ICM & Introduction to the Builders Cafe Community — Tony Singh

​Explore Interpretable Context Methodology (ICM), how structured folders and plain-text files can make AI workflows more transparent, inspectable, and easier to build, and learn about the Builders Cafe community.

​2. Confidential Computing — Navneet Shrivastava

​Understand confidential computing, Trusted Execution Environments, and how private AI inference can protect sensitive information during computation.

​3. Privacy, Data Security, Ownership & Sharing — TBA

​Explore the principles of data privacy, secure information sharing, data ownership, and building applications that respect user control.

​4. Agentic Commerce — Sathya Krishnasamy

​Explore how AI agents can participate in commerce, coordinate transactions, and enable new possibilities for autonomous and intelligent business workflows.

​These sessions are designed to provide practical context for the hands-on building activities.

​​🛠️ BUILD & EXPERIMENT

​Turn ideas into working prototypes.

​Build applications using private AI inference through NEAR AI Cloud.

​Potential project directions:

• ​Healthcare & Personal Data: AI applications that handle sensitive information privately.

• ​Finance & Legal: Tools that work with confidential documents and workflows.

• ​AI Agents: Agents that handle private information, credentials, or transactions.

• ​Agentic Commerce: AI-powered transactions, intelligent commerce workflows, and autonomous agents.

• ​Community & Nonprofits: Open-source tools addressing real-world problems.

• ​Business Automation: AI-powered workflows with privacy and human oversight.

​Work independently or form a team of up to four participants. Solo builders are welcome.

​Mentors will be available to help with NEAR AI Cloud, ICM, private inference, and project development.

​​🏆 DEMO & SHOWCASE

​Show the community what you've built.

• ​Present your project to fellow builders and mentors.

• ​Showcase working prototypes.

• ​Share your approach, technical implementation, and learnings.

• ​Selected finalists present their projects.

• ​Get feedback and explore opportunities to continue building.

​Your project can also be submitted to the global NEAR Hackathon.

​​👩‍💻 Who Should Participate?

​Whether you're experienced or just getting started, you're welcome.

• ​Software developers and AI engineers

• ​AI agent builders and researchers

• ​Startup founders and entrepreneurs

• ​Students and aspiring developers

• ​Data engineers and technology professionals

• ​Designers, product thinkers, and problem solvers

• ​Anyone curious about the future of Private AI

​You don't need a fully formed idea. Come with curiosity, find collaborators, and build something together.

​​🎒 What to Bring

• ​Laptop and charger

• ​Your preferred AI coding assistant: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, or another tool

• ​A NEAR AI Cloud account (we recommend creating one before the event)

• ​An idea, or simply the willingness to collaborate and experiment

​​📍 Event Details

​Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026 Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET Venue: The Wilson Address: 132 W 27th St, New York, NY 10001

​Hosted by: Build City × NEAR Legion City Node

​​🤝 About Build City

​Build City brings together developers, founders, researchers, and entrepreneurs to learn, build, and connect.

​Through technical discussions, hands-on workshops, research-driven meetups, and hackathons, we create opportunities for people to exchange ideas, experiment with emerging technologies, and build meaningful products together.

​Our focus is simple: Meet, Learn & Ship.

​​Come Learn. Build Privately. Build Together.

​One day of learning and experimentation in NYC. Two weeks of global building with NEAR.

​Let's turn ideas into working products and explore what's possible with Private AI.

​🎟️ RSVP Now — Join Us in NYC on November 11!

​Hosted by NEAR Legion City Node: Build City