Overview
The Qloo Agentic Hackathon is an online software-building competition focused on giving AI agents cultural understanding. Participants are challenged to create an agentic tool or agent-powered application, or integrate Qloo into an existing agent, so it can make recommendations grounded in what people actually like rather than relying on generic guesses. The event is hosted by Qloo and presented on Devpost.
Qloo’s API and taste graph cover more than 250 million entities across areas including music, film and television, dining, fashion, and travel. Projects should make this cultural intelligence central to their value: the organizers are seeking applications whose recommendations or decisions are meaningfully better because they use Qloo, not demonstrations that would work just as well without it.
What to build
Submissions must be working software that integrates the Qloo API and either functions as an agentic tool, is built using an agent framework, or connects Qloo to an existing agent. The page encourages participants to explore practical, specific problems. Examples include helping customers choose room lighting that suits their mood and taste, recommending meals for seniors while accounting for relevant needs and constraints, or helping people on rare-disease journeys find useful information, community, and next steps.
The goal is to show how cultural intelligence can turn an application from merely functional into genuinely useful for its intended audience. An API key and developer guide are linked from the event page for participants getting started.
Submission requirements
Each eligible project must include a live, working demo that judges can try end to end; a public code repository on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket containing the source, assets, and run instructions; and a written explanation of the project’s features and what makes it Qloo-powered. The application must be externally hosted and fully published, such as a live website or web app, hosted APK, or TestFlight build. Local-only projects and demos requiring private access do not qualify. The repository must also display an open-source license. A demo video is not required; the stated preference is for judges to use the application directly.
Dates and format
The hackathon runs online from September 30, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. EDT through the submission deadline of October 30, 2026, at 11:45 p.m. EDT. No in-person venue is listed. The page does not provide a session agenda or scheduled workshops.
Prizes and judging
The event lists $25,000 in cash prizes: $15,000 for first place, $6,000 for second place, and $4,000 for third place, with one winner per placement. Judges include Jason Calacanis, Mike Diolosa of Qloo, Nicole Seligman of the OpenAI Board of Directors, Todd Boehly of Eldridge Industries, Cedric the Entertainer, and Michael Abrams of Live Nation Entertainment.
Projects are assessed on technological implementation and use of Qloo, the completeness and coherence of the product experience, potential impact for a real audience, and the creativity and quality of the idea.
Who can participate
Participants must be above the legal age of majority in their country of residence. Participation is open across countries and territories, subject to listed exclusions: Brazil, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Quebec, and Russia. The page directs entrants to the full rules for details.
