Overview
HackFW: MADE Challenge is presented as Fort Worth, Texas’s flagship hackathon. It aims to strengthen the city’s innovation ecosystem by giving young people and the workforce hands-on experience developing technical products in data and software engineering. Participants work on real-world challenges, with industry mentorship intended to help develop local technical talent, broaden access and inclusion, and support Fort Worth’s growth as a technology hub. The event is public and hosted by Fort Worth DAO.
The challenge centers on techno-industrialism: practical technology for manufacturing and supply chains, including AI-first tools, processes, data infrastructure, and embedded systems. Entrants are encouraged to choose an industrial problem and build a working system that a plant, supplier desk, railroad, or other relevant operator could actually use.
Challenge tracks and project ideas
The listed areas include AI for Manufacturing, Supplier Relationship Management, AI for Transportation, Tokenized Industrial Real Estate, and an Open Forum for other technology, manufacturing, and AI problems. Example manufacturing projects include computer vision for detecting missing parts, defects, unsafe movement, or production delays; factory robotics and mapping; generative CAD for manufacturable parts; and converting designs into production instructions. Supplier-focused ideas include supplier and order-state knowledge graphs, systems that connect manufacturing and enterprise software, and tools for vendor payments and reconciliation. Transportation examples include rail-track inspection, defect prioritization, and predictive maintenance. The real-estate track focuses on searchable industrial property records, asset suitability, tokenized interests, and auditable transaction histories. Open Forum projects should address an overlooked industrial or civic problem and identify who would operate the solution.
Submission requirements
Teams must identify the problem track for their submission, provide a public GitHub repository, and include a brief video showing the system running end to end. Every participant must register in the Fort Worth DAO Talent Database. Teams are also required to attend Demo Day in person for judging. Projects should be runnable and maintainable, with a README and a working demonstration; the challenge favors a complete path from capturing information to making a decision and taking action.
Dates, place, and participation
The listing gives a challenge period from October 1 through October 30, 2026, with submissions due October 30. The page lists Fort Worth, Texas, and a location address of 600 Bryan Ave #220, Fort Worth, TX 76104, USA. It specifies in-person attendance for Demo Day, while further venue or program details are not provided here. The page does not list a session-by-session schedule or named speakers. Participation is open to people above the legal age of majority in their country of residence, subject to stated country and territory exclusions.
Awards and judging
The page lists $1,900 in prizes: $1,000 for first place, $600 for second, and $300 for third. Judging criteria include technical and product strength. MADE is listed as a judge. Sponsors shown include Moonshot, LiquidAcre, BNSF, Cephlo, MADE, TechFW, and Y2.
Questions can be directed to the hackathon manager at tobal o@fwtx.city (contact address shown on the page: tobal o@fwtx.city).
