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Agentic AI Hackathon with IBM watsonx Orchestrate

Build AI agents with IBM watsonx Orchestrate to transform how people and businesses get work done.

Leverage Orchestrate’s digital skills to design solutions that automate repetitive tasks, orchestrate workflows across tools, and empower employees to focus on high-value work.


⏳ Complete your project in just 48 hours and showcase your innovation.


🚀 Gain hands-on experience building with IBM watsonx Orchestrate.


💡 Develop practical AI agents that reshape the way teams and organizations operate.


⭐ Learn directly from experts who will support you throughout the event.


🤝 Team up or work independently to bring your vision to life.


💰 Prize pool: $10,000


🧑🏻‍💻 Sign up before the Kick-Off Stream and start shaping the future with IBM watsonx Orchestrate!

Agentic AI Hackathon with IBM watsonx Orchestrate event thumbnail

Hackathon Overview

Our AI hackathon brought together a diverse group of participants, who collaborated to develop a variety of impressive projects based on:

7809

Participants

778

Teams

199

AI Applications

This event has now ended, but you can still register for upcoming events on lablab.ai. We look forward to seeing you at the next one!

Check out Upcoming Events →

Registration Deadline

⚠️ Please Note:

Registrations will close on November 21st, 2025 at 9:00 PM CET.
After this time, no new participants will be able to enroll or be approved for the hackathon.

Thank you for your understanding.

About IBM 

IBMa pioneer in the tech industry, has been at the forefront of innovation for decades. Their contributions span across various fields, including AI, cloud computing, and quantum computing. IBM's cutting-edge technology and research continue to drive advancements in multiple sectors:

  •  AI and Machine Learning: Leading the charge in AI development with powerful tools and models.
  •  Cloud Solutions: Providing scalable and flexible cloud services.
  •  Quantum Computing: Pushing the boundaries of computing with quantum technology.
  •  Research and DevelopmentContinuously advancing technology with extensive research and high-quality datasets.
  •  Open-Source Commitment: Promoting collaboration and innovation through open-source projects.
Challenge
Challenge

Build the Next Generation of Agentic AI with watsonx Orchestrate

Your challenge is to design and develop an AI agent powered by IBM watsonx Orchestrate that helps people and businesses achieve more with less effort. By combining digital skills, integrations, and workflow automation, participants will create agents that can act, decide, and collaborate in real-world scenarios.


Important:
All submissions must clearly demonstrate how IBM watsonx Orchestrate is used in the solution. Projects that do not show or explain this will not pass judging.
Submissions must also align with the challenge statement and stay on theme.


What’s Expected?


 Harness watsonx Orchestrate: Use its orchestration features, integrations, and digital skills to build agents that connect across apps, tools, and workflows.

 Focus on Real-World Impact: Create agents that solve common pain points in areas such as HR, sales, customer service, finance, or procurement.

 Innovate for the Future of Work: Demonstrate how agentic AI can augment human potential, reduce friction, and redefine productivity.
 Show Use of the IBM Technology: Clearly explain which features, skills, integrations, or workflows of watsonx Orchestrate your solution uses.


Inspiration & Use Cases Explore how watsonx Orchestrate is already being applied:  Customer Service: Deliver faster responses, automate ticket handling, and improve customer experiences.  Finance: Streamline approvals, reporting, and risk analysis to enhance financial operations.
 HR: Simplify onboarding, manage employee requests, and improve HR efficiency.   Procurement: Automate supplier management, purchase orders, and procurement cycles.   Sales: Support sales teams with CRM updates, scheduling, and lead follow-up.

Technologies

The hackathon centers around IBM watsonx Orchestratean AI-powered orchestration engine for building agentic workflows, automations, and task skills.

To access and use watsonx Orchestrate, you must request an IBM Cloud account at the start of the hackathon. This account also provides access to optional IBM services, including:

  •  watsonx.ai - for model experimentation 

  •  Natural Language Understanding (NLU) 

  •  Speech-to-Text 
     Text-to-Speech
     
    Cloudant 


  • Some services are available only for functionality support and are not intended for full hackathon usage.
    📘For complete setup instructions, service details, and watsonx Orchestrate usage steps, refer to the official IBM Hackathon Guide (linked in step 4 in the below section).




    Explore Before the Hackathon

    We recommend familiarizing yourself with watsonx Orchestrate through these resources:

     Product Overview
     Demo Experience
     Integrations
     Resources & Support


Opening Words & Agentic AI Orchestration for Business Workshop


Get inspired by Ronen Siman Tov, Certified Thought Leader & IT Architect at IBM, as he shares opening insights and explains how agentic AI orchestration can transform modern business workflows.

▶️ Watch Video

Getting Started With IBM watsonx Orchestrate

All participants must complete the steps below to prepare IBM watsonx Orchestrate access in their IBM Cloud account.




🟦 1. Create Your IBMid (Required)

You must have an IBMid to access your IBM Cloud services. 

Create your IBMid using the same email address you used to register for the hackathon.

👉 Go here to create Your IBMid (3 minutes, free)



🟦 2. Request Your Cloud Account at Hackathon Start

When the hackathon opens, follow the "Request your hackathon IBM Cloud account" instructions in the hackathon guide to request your free IBM Cloud account, which includes:

  •  watsonx Orchestrate

  •  Optional supporting services: watsonx.ai, NLU, Speech-to-Text, and others

🔹 Access will be enabled at the start of the hackathon.
🔹 Some services are provided only to support Orchestrate’s built-in functionality.




🟦 3. Team Account Rules

  •  Each team collaborates using one IBM Cloud account

  •  Only one team member should request the cloud account

  •  Participants cannot add or remove team members within the IBM Cloud accoun

  •  All work must be done within the shared team workspace




🟦 4. Download the Full Hackathon Guide

👉 Download the IBM Hackathon Guide 

This guide contains all setup instructions, service details with important notes and limitations highlighted, and watsonx Orchestrate usage steps - everything you need to get started quickly and build a winning solution. By following this guide, you’ll save time, avoid common pitfalls, and unlock the full potential of IBM’s AI tools to create innovative, impactful submissions.
It is highly recommended to review the guide thoroughly to leverage IBM technologies enabled for this hackathon.

Note: All participants must request and access the hackathon-provisioned IBM Cloud account by following the instructions in the guide to work with watsonx Orchestrate and other supporting products. You may use any framework or technology to build your solution, provided you adhere to product usage policies. However, to be eligible for judging, your solution must showcase IBM watsonx Orchestrate as a core component.
 
Prizes
Winner

💰 Cash: $5,000
☁️ $500 IBM Cloud credits per team member

2nd Place

💰 Cash: $3,000
☁️ $300 IBM Cloud credits per team member

3rd Place

💰 Cash: $2,000
☁️ $300 IBM Cloud credits per team member

Please be aware that participation in lablab.ai hackathons is voluntary and subject to the specific rules and conditions outlined for each event. While we strive to provide a fair and rewarding experience for all participants, we cannot guarantee entry or success in securing prizes. All prizes and opportunities are subject to availability and participants must meet the established criteria to qualify. lablab.ai is not responsible nor held liable for any commitments or offers - including programs, giveaways, or prizes - made by third-party sponsors or partners of the hackathon. The availability and delivery of third-party prizes or benefits are solely at the discretion of the respective sponsors and are not guaranteed by lablab.ai. We reserve the right to make amendments, modifications, or cancellations to any part of the hackathon (including full cancellation of the event itself), including prizes and terms of participation, at our sole discretion. Whenever possible, we will endeavor to notify participants of significant changes within a reasonable timeframe. All submissions by participants must be original work, open source, and compliant with the MIT License unless specified otherwise. By participating, you agree to these terms, the overall event terms, and the lablab.ai general terms and are encouraged to review all event-related information carefully. Prize Distribution: lablab.ai and its partners reserve the right to distribute all prizes within a 90-day period following the end date of the hackathon. This period allows for the proper processing and verification needed to award prizes appropriately.

What to submit?

📋 Basic Information

• Project Title

• Short Description

• Long Description

• Technology & Category Tags

📸 Cover Image and Presentation

• Cover Image

• Video Presentation

• Slide Presentation

💻 App Hosting & Code Repository

• Public GitHub Repository

• Demo Application Platform

• Application URL

For further details and guidance, please visit Submission Guidelines


lablab.ai

Topic: Hackathon Submissions Process

▶️ Watch Video
Judging Criteria
Application of Technology
How effectively the chosen model(s) are integrated into the solution.
Presentation
The clarity and effectiveness of the project presentation.
Business Value
The impact and practical value, considering how well it fits into business areas.
Originality
The uniqueness & creativity of the solution, highlighting approaches and ability to demonstrate  behaviors.

Hackathon Details

Join lablab.ai hackathon and innovate using the latest models in the market. Discover all the relevant details below.

🗓️ Where and when

The start date of the hackathon is mentioned according to the date specified on the hackathon page, cover and schedule. The hackathon will take place on the lablab.ai platform and lablab.ai Discord server.

🦸🏼‍♂️ Who can join?

Everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of previous AI or coding experience! We encourage anyone with a passion for AI or an interest in exploring how it can be used in their field to join.

😅 What about teams?

If you don't have a team, don't worry! You can connect with other participants from all over the world on our dashboard or Discord server. We also recommend checking out our Discord server to find teammates and bounce around ideas. You can join the server here.

🛠️ How to participate

The hackathon will take place online on lablab.ai platform and lablab.ai Discord Server. Please register for both in order to participate. To participate click the "Enroll" button at the bottom of the page and read our Hackathon Guidelines and Getting Started Guide.

🧠 Get prepared / Use Lablab.ai to Learn About AI

To get ready for the hackathon, visit our AI Tech pages and read up on all the available technologies. You can also check out our tutorials page for more information on how to use them. Get a head start on your project by using the resources on lablab.ai!

Speakers, Mentors & Judges

Pawel Czech
Pawel Czech
CEO
NativelyAI
Dennis Bly
Dennis Bly
Principal Manager, Call for Code and IBM Coding Challenge Team
IBM
Ryan Soliveres
Ryan Soliveres
Learning Web Developer
IBM
Gaurav Ramakrishna
Gaurav Ramakrishna
AI Developer Advocate
IBM
Ronen Siman Tov
Ronen Siman Tov
Certified Thought Leader IT Architect
IBM
Jennifer Judge
Jennifer Judge
Senior Content and User Experience Manager, Call for Code
IBM
Charles Johnson
Charles Johnson
Senior Cloud Developer
IBM
Surendra Reddy Kamasani
Surendra Reddy Kamasani
Customer Success Manager - Data & AI Architect
IBM
Orly Sorokin
Orly Sorokin
AI Technology Advocate
IBM
Theophilus Ijiebor
Theophilus Ijiebor
Senior Cognitive Engineer Consultant - Data Scientist
IBM
Daniel Rudnitski
Daniel Rudnitski
Software Engineer at IBM
IBM
Dan Palmer
Dan Palmer
Advisory IT Architect
IBM
Yaniv Alon
Yaniv Alon
Affiliates' Programs Lead
IBM
Dana Hady
Dana Hady
Digital Strategy and CX Senior Managing Consultant
IBM
Lauren Merritt
Lauren Merritt
Front-End Software Developer
IBM
Sarin Jacob Sunny
Sarin Jacob Sunny
Software Architect
IBM
Isaac Duraisingh
Isaac Duraisingh
Business Development Executive
IBM
Bhavnish Walia
Bhavnish Walia
Sr. Risk Manager AI/ML
Amazon
Muhammad Inaamullah
Muhammad Inaamullah
Technical & Business Mentor
lablab.ai
Vishal Paul
Vishal Paul
Senior Software Engineer, AITech Team
PayPal
Hari Kanagala
Hari Kanagala
Group Product Manager AI/ML
RB Global
Emily Chin
Emily Chin
Customer Success Architect Manager - Data & AI
IBM
Pavan Gondhi
Pavan Gondhi
Sr Vice President
JP morgan
Vaibhav Misra
Vaibhav Misra
Director - Distinguished Engineer
CapitalOne
Theodoros Ampas
Theodoros Ampas
Mentor & Judge
lablab.ai
Dheeraj Chakilam
Dheeraj Chakilam
Product
Shapeshifter Technologies
Justin Nichols
Justin Nichols
Dedicated Instructor
IBM
Ken Huang
Ken Huang
Adjunct Professor
University of San Francisco
Tingting Lin
Tingting Lin
Lead Product Manager
SAP
Prachi Tomar
Prachi Tomar
Technical Services Engineer
Rokt
Aparna Penumatcha
Aparna Penumatcha
Commerce Architect
IBM
Sherry Murray
Sherry Murray
Senior Managing Consultant, Enterprise Change & Transformation
IBM
Banani Mohapatra
Banani Mohapatra
Senior Manager, Data Science
Walmart
Sasha Aptlin
Sasha Aptlin
Founding AI Engineer @ ReachRx.ai
lablab.ai
Emmanuel Iriarte
Emmanuel Iriarte
AI Architect
New Native
Jonathan Rundberg
Jonathan Rundberg
AI Automation Lead
New Native
Jens Ingelstedt
Jens Ingelstedt
Global Head of Accelerators
New Native

Event Schedule

  • To be announced

Submitted concepts, prototypes and pitches

Submissions from the teams participating in the Agentic AI Hackathon with IBM watsonx Orchestrate event and making it to the end 👊

Band of Agents Hackathon

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Band of Agents Hackathon

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