EVOLVE is run by 8090 Solutions, Inc. at 801 Jefferson Avenue, Redwood City, CA, on Nov 13 to 14, 2026. By participating you agree to the EVOLVE Hacker Policies (Code of Conduct, Data and Privacy Notice, Event Rules) and the 8090 Hackathon Participant Agreement and Release, which you sign through the EVOLVE Hacker Agreements form. If anything conflicts, the Participant Agreement controls.
• EVOLVE Hacker Policies: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18XLGOJrWezNt0mz8b_wMZ9C8Vo7OLJvoNEJvoIWbMHc/edit
• Participant Agreement: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f52bqUmjR7B543EYv3qtdkXwIRQ-z333/view
What to build: A project on the theme "Build your own software factory": something that helps software build software, automating real parts of building, testing, shipping or maintaining code.
What to submit (by 3:15 PM PT Saturday, Nov 14):
• Project name and team members (teams of up to 3; solo entries allowed; each person on one team only)
• Project description
• Link to your public source code repository, published under the MIT License with an MIT LICENSE file and accurate copyright notices
• A short demo video (required for sponsor prizes; judges also use it to break ties, and winning videos may be played at closing)
• In your README: list the open-source libraries, APIs, AI tools and sponsor tools you used, with their licenses, and disclose anything your team made before the event
Rules to know:
• Your project must be substantially built during the event. You may plan and sketch ideas beforehand.
• No changes to the code after the code freeze at 3:30 PM PT. Late submissions are not judged.
• Never publish API keys, credentials or access tokens in your repository or anywhere else.
• To be judged, your team must present in person at its scheduled time (room and slot posted on Discord by 3:30 PM PT).
• Judges may review your repository and commit history to check what was built at the event.
Eligibility:
• You must be 18 or older, accepted through the official registration (Luma), signed up through the EVOLVE Hacker Agreements form, and checked in on site.
• Mentors, judges, 8090 employees and their immediate families cannot win prizes.
Judging
Each criterion is scored 1 to 5 (1 = weak, 3 = solid, 5 = outstanding) and weighted equally.
1. Technical execution: How well it's built and how elegant the engineering is. Works end to end in the live demo, with good use of agents, APIs and sponsor tools.
2. Enterprise impact and utility: Would a real engineering team use this? A clear user, a real pain point, and a path to running on real codebases.
3. Creativity: A fresh idea or approach, not a copy of an existing tool.
4. Demo and pitch: Clear problem, clear demo, and it's obvious what was built this weekend.
Theme fit (pass/fail): Does it help software build software? It must automate real parts of building, testing, shipping or maintaining code, not a chatbot added on top.
Judges' decisions are final.
Prizes
$10K+ in credits and prizes for the top 3 winning teams. Prizes include Mac Minis, AirPods Max and more.
1st Place: Includes a chance for the winning team to do 1:1 pitches with Chamath Palihapitiya. First place also demos on stage at the closing ceremony. Full prize details announced at the opening ceremony. Quantity 1.
2nd Place: Full prize details announced at the opening ceremony. Quantity 1.
3rd Place: Full prize details announced at the opening ceremony. Quantity 1.
Best ElevenLabs Project: For the best project built with ElevenLabs. Full prize details announced at the opening ceremony. Quantity 1.
Sponsor prizes are provided by each sponsor under its own terms. Winners may need to show ID and fill out an IRS Form W-9 or W-8, and must claim their prize within 30 days of being notified. Winners are responsible for any taxes.
• Code of Conduct: be kind, inclusive and respectful. Harassment, intimidation, and disrupting talks, judging or other teams' work are not allowed. Report issues to any organizer in person or on Discord. Adapted from the MLH Code of Conduct.
• Open source: everything your team builds at EVOLVE is released under the MIT License, and you keep ownership of it.
• Filming: EVOLVE will be photographed and filmed throughout. By attending, you agree to appear in photos and video.
• Questions: ask in the evolve-help channel on Discord (https://discord.gg/mvgbmWSz) or find any organizer. Participant Agreement questions: [email protected].