1. What is the AI 4 ALL Global Hackathon?

Perlin in collaboration with the Indian Government Think Tank NITI Aayog, is looking for developers, students, startups and established companies to develop AI solutions to advance India socially and economically via the use of privacy preserving AI and distributed computing. Perlin is also working with PT Telkom to explore how these solutions can be launched in Indonesia.

2. What is the Hackathon challenge question?

The hackathon challenge question is “How can AI be used to make significant positive social and economic impacts to advance India?”. Over 20% of the world’s population is situated in India and Indonesia, and is therefore a compelling case for AI developers and companies to create a positive and meaningful real-world impact.

3. Who can participate?

Anyone can participate, but students, startups and established companies from all around the world can apply.

4. What is the format of the Hackathon?

The hackathon will be run in 2 stages:

Stage 1 – Invitation for Idea Submissions
Stage 1 Idea Submissions are invited addressing how any AI use case can be used to meet the Hackathon Challenge. These may cover any AI use case application, but participants are encouraged to explore use cases that involve some element of either privacy preserving AI and/or distributed computing. Only Stage 1 Idea Submissions that contain these elements will be invited to progress to Stage 2.

Stage 1 Prize: The best Stage 1 Idea Submissions will share in a total prize pool worth USD $12,500 in cash and non-cash rewards. A short-list of best Stage 1 Submissions that include privacy preserving AI and/or distributed computing will also be selected to advance to Stage 2.

1st Place: USD $5,000 cash & USD $3,000 equivalent in cloud compute services on Perlin.
2nd Place: USD $2,500 cash & USD $1,000 equivalent in cloud compute services on Perlin.
3rd Place: USD $1,000 equivalent in cloud compute services on Perlin.

Stage 2 – Invitation for Idea Submissions
A short-list of the best Stage 1 Idea Submissions will be invited as finalists to make Stage 2 Hack Submissions comprising a developed AI application that benefits needy communities and to advance India. All Stage 2 Hack Submissions must include an element of privacy preserving AI and/or distributed computing.

Stage 2 Prize: The best Stage 2 Hack Submissions will share in a total prize pool worth USD $37,500 in cash and non-cash rewards. Stage 2 finalists will also be provided early access to the Perlin compute layer testnet and invited to develop their Stage 2 Hack Submission. Mentoring and support will be provided to finalists by the hackathon sponsors.

1st Place: USD $10,000 cash & USD $10,000 equivalent in cloud compute services on Perlin.
2nd Place: USD $5,000 cash & USD $5,000 equivalent in cloud compute services on Perlin.
3rd Place: USD $2,500 cash & USD $5,000 equivalent in cloud compute services on Perlin.

All Submissions in both Stage 1 and 2 must address the specific Assessment Criteria.

4. Where is the Hackathon?

The hackathon is conducted entirely online, and is therefore available to AI teams globally.
Entrants simply need to provide a Stage 1 Idea Submission outlining their proposal using the online form. The Perlin team and experienced judges will help refine and select the most viable/valuable ideas for the Indian context. Winning teams will partner with Perlin, NITI Aayog and Telkom for further development and implementation.