// HOME // SCHEDULE // PRIZES // SUBMIT // RESOURCES // RULES // JUDGES REGISTER NOW
JACHACKS SF 2026 · HACKER GUIDE

Hacker Guide.

Everything you need for the day in one place. A one-day AI hackathon hosted by Jaseci Labs with $9K in prizes.

SUN, JULY 26 · 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM · FOUNDERS, INC. · FORT MASON
LOCATION
Founders, Inc.

Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd, Building B300, San Francisco, CA 94123. A 42,000 sq ft startup campus right on the Bay.

DISCORD
Main comms channel

Announcements, schedule updates, mentor requests, and team matching. Post questions in #ask-an-organizer. Join before the event →

PRIZES
$9K in prizes

Agentic AI (up to $2K), Fintech / Open, Social Impact, plus Best JacHammer, Best Use of Jac, and AI for Defense special awards. See all prizes & tracks →

FOOD
You're covered

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks all day. Dietary restrictions? Flag them on your Luma registration or ping us on Discord.

// THE SCHEDULE

One Day. Zero Wasted Minutes.

Here's exactly how the day runs. Any day-of updates will be posted on Discord.

8:00 – 10:00 AM
Check-In, Breakfast + Networking
Grab your badge, eat, meet other builders, and start forming teams
10:00 – 10:30 AM
Opening + Keynote
JacHacks welcome, followed by a keynote from Prof. Jason Mars
10:30 – 10:45 AM
Hackathon Briefing
Rules, tracks, prizes, sponsor resources, judging criteria, and how to submit
10:45 AM
⭐ Hacking Begins
Clocks start. Build.
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
First Build Block
Finalize teams, lock in ideas, start building
1:00 – 2:15 PM
Lunch + Networking
Lunch is served! Keep planning while you eat
2:15 – 3:30 PM
Second Build Block
Mentor office hours and sponsor support continue
3:30 – 4:30 PM
Career AMA with Jeff Nguyen, Conrad Scheibye & Aaryan Khanna
Jeff Nguyen is the Founder of BobaTalks and a University Recruiter at Tesla. Resume feedback, internship recruiting advice, and open Q&A. Teams can keep hacking if they prefer.
4:30 – 5:30 PM
YC Application Workshop
With Mehul from Koyal AI (YC F25) and Vatsal (Ex-YC): how to actually apply to YC
4:30 – 6:00 PM
Third Build Block
Focused building, testing, and mentor support
5:50 PM
⭐ Partial Submission Checkpoint
Submit your draft on Devpost to be considered for judging. You can keep editing after, this just helps us organize judging.
6:00 – 6:45 PM
Dinner
Dinner runs alongside hacking so you don't lose a build hour
6:45 – 7:15 PM
Final Build + Submission Period
Finish your demo, submit, and prep your pitch
7:15 PM
🛑 Submissions Close HARD DEADLINE
To keep the event running smoothly, late submissions are not accepted
7:15 – 7:30 PM
Judging Setup
Teams move to assigned demo areas
7:30 – 8:15 PM
Project Demos + Judging
4-minute demos, judged in parallel groups
8:15 – 8:45 PM
Judges Deliberate
Network while scores are finalized
8:45 – 9:15 PM
Second Round Demos
Top teams demo again
9:30 PM
Closing Ceremony
Winner announcements, prizes, sponsor and judge recognition, group photos, and final networking
5:50 PM
PARTIAL SUBMISSION CHECKPOINT

Make your first partial submission on Devpost to be considered for judging. You can still edit after.

7:15 PM
FINAL SUBMISSIONS · HARD DEADLINE

No late submissions will be accepted. Submit early, edit often.

// PRIZES & TRACKS

$9K on the Table.

Pick one main track when you submit on Devpost, then select any special awards your project also fits. Special awards are judged separately, so you can win both.

MAIN TRACKS · pick one
FINTECH / OPEN
1ST PLACE$1,500
2ND PLACE$800

Best fintech project, or best project overall in the open track

SOCIAL IMPACT
1ST PLACE$1,500
2ND PLACE$800

Innovation with the most significant societal impact

SPECIAL AWARDS · select separately
BEST JACHAMMER
SPECIAL AWARD$400

Use jachammer.ai to build and ship a working application.

BEST USE OF JAC
SPECIAL AWARD$400

The team that hammers hardest on Jac, the most impressive use of the language

AI FOR DEFENSE
SPECIAL AWARD$500

Best defense related product wins. Must use Jac.

Prize amounts and additional sponsor tracks will be finalized before the event. Watch Discord for updates.

// SUBMISSIONS

Ship It on Devpost.

Submissions happen on Devpost. First partial submission at 5:50 PM, final at 7:15 PM sharp.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
Project name and description: what it does, the problem it solves, and how it uses Jac
Public GitHub repo link (code must be at least 40% Jac)
Host your project on jachammer.ai (highly encouraged, easier for judges to check out)
Track selection: one main track, plus any special awards your project genuinely fits
Demo video
⭐ Star the Jac repo: github.com/jaseci-labs/jac
OPEN DEVPOST
HOW JUDGING WORKS

Judging happens in person after submissions close. You'll give a short live demo to a panel of judges. The detailed rubric will be shared on Discord, but broadly:

  • Hosting on jachammer.ai is highly encouraged, it makes it easier for judges to check out your project
  • Working demos beat slide decks
  • Clear problem-solution stories beat feature dumps
  • 4-minute demos, judged in parallel groups
  • Top teams demo again in a second round
// RULES

The Fine Print.

To be eligible for prizes, your team and project must follow all of the below.

01

All members of your team must have registered and checked in to JacHacks SF.

02

At least one member of your team must be present to demo your project to judges.

03

All hacking and building must take place during hacking hours (10:45 AM – 7:15 PM). Brainstorming beforehand is allowed and encouraged, but all coding must happen during the event. We WILL check your GitHub repo.

04

Your team cannot have more than 4 people.

05

You cannot have more than 1 project.

06

Submit your project on Devpost before the deadline. Late submissions are not eligible for prizes.

07
★ BUILD WITH JAC

Must build a working software project using Jac, the AI-native programming language from the Jaseci ecosystem. Your project must meaningfully use Jac, with at least 40% of your code in Jac. Explore Jac at jaclang.org →

08
★ HIGHLY ENCOURAGED

Highly encourage to host your web app / product through Jac Hammer so that judges can easily view your submissions (use “sandbox” to host for free). Host at jachammer.ai →

09

Be kind, be respectful, and build in good faith. Misrepresenting what your project actually does is grounds for disqualification.

// RESOURCES

Start Here.

Everything you need to go from zero to shipping in Jac. Bookmark these before you start building.

// GETTING THERE

Fort Mason, on the Bay

Founders, Inc. sits right on the San Francisco Bay between Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge. Look for the JacHacks signage when you arrive.

MUNI

The 28, 30, 43, 47, and 49 lines all stop within a short walk of Fort Mason.

BART

Take BART into downtown SF, then transfer to a Muni bus or grab a ~15-minute rideshare.

DRIVING

Fort Mason has an on-site paid parking lot. Street parking in the Marina is limited, so budget extra time.

RIDESHARE

Drop pin: "Founders Inc" or "Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd." Both work.

// PACKING LIST

It's One Day. Pack Light.

💻 Laptop + charger (non-negotiable)
🔌 Phone charger
🪪 Government-issued ID or student ID for check-in
🧥 Layers! Fort Mason means wind and fog, especially in the evening. Bring a jacket even if the forecast looks warm.
🚰 Water bottle
🎧 Headphones for lock-in mode
🔧 Any hardware you want to hack with (nothing oversized, dangerous, or illegal)
// WHAT TO EXPECT

First Hackathon? Perfect.

What is a hackathon?

A short-timeframe building event. To "hack" means to create. Meet fellow builders, learn new tools, and ship a project in a single day with free food, swag, workshops, mentorship, and prizes along the way.

I've never been to one and I'm nervous.

Excellent! You'll find yourself right at home. Total beginners, students, professionals, and founders are all welcome.

Do I need to know how to code?

No programming experience is necessary. Workshops and mentors will help you throughout the day, including a Jac intro workshop that takes you from zero to shipping.

Do I need a team?

Nope. Come solo and we'll help you find a group at team formation. Teams max out at 4 people.

// OUR JUDGES

The Judging Panel.

JacHacks SF 2026 is judged by the following panel. We're grateful to every one of them for supporting the event and giving their time to review projects.

Dheeraj Pailla
Nicole Grossmann
Ivan
Joey
Ponita Ty
Vatsal Shah
Sacchit Mittal
Shivang Raisurana
Aditya Jain
Adit Srivastava
Nahom Seyoum
Ashesh Kapasi
Shashank Sharma
Shmeelok Chakraborty
Antonio Coppe
David Kupyn
Conrad Scheibye
Kunj Raval
Kumar Saurabh
Aaryan Khanna
// QUESTIONS?

We've Got You.

Post in #ask-an-organizer on Discord, or find any organizer on-site. Happy hacking 🧡