ODIRILE SITOE@ODIEY

kris.co is a next-generation AI shopping agent platform that demonstrates the future of autonomous commerce powered by Arc's USDC payment rails and Google's Gemini AI. The system enables AI agents to independently browse, evaluate, negotiate, and purchase products while handling all financial transactions in real-time. At its core, kris.co features an intelligent shopping assistant that uses Gemini AI to negotiate prices with sellers, securing better deals through simulated conversational bargaining. Once a purchase decision is made, the system processes payments instantly using USDC via Arc's stablecoin-native settlement layer, which provides predictable fees and sub-second finality. The platform showcases several key innovations: (1) autonomous AI decision-making for product selection and price optimization, (2) seamless integration of AI negotiation with blockchain payments, (3) real-time budget management and spending analytics, (4) automatic invoice generation and digital record-keeping, and (5) a complete demonstration of usage-based payment flows where AI agents pay for services, data, and APIs. Built specifically for the Arc hybrid hackathon, kris.co illustrates how AI agents can interact with web services in dynamic marketplaces, paying for exactly what they use while maintaining full financial transparency. The system simulates real commerce scenarios while highlighting Arc's capabilities for fast, low-cost, stablecoin-native settlements that make autonomous agent economies viable. This project demonstrates the practical convergence of AI automation and decentralized finance, offering a glimpse into a future where AI agents can independently participate in digital economies, negotiate terms, and execute financial transactions—all powered by Arc's reliable payment infrastructure and USDC's stable value.

AutoChain Manager is a comprehensive automotive workshop management platform that seamlessly integrates traditional business operations with Qubic Network's blockchain capabilities through EasyConnect. This hybrid solution enables auto service centers to manage customer relationships, service bookings, and workshop operations while simultaneously leveraging decentralized technology for enhanced efficiency and transparency. The platform facilitates real-time cryptocurrency payments using QUBIC tokens, automating service confirmations upon successful blockchain transactions. It implements smart alert systems that notify workshops of significant transactions (whale alerts) and maintains immutable on-chain service records. By connecting to no-code automation tools like Make.com and Zapier via EasyConnect, AutoChain Manager creates automated workflows that bridge blockchain events with practical business actions—transforming how automotive services operate in an increasingly decentralized economy.

CORA is an intelligent virtual assistant built upon the IBM watsonx Orchestrate platform, designed to fundamentally transform how people and businesses accomplish their work. The core idea addresses the critical productivity drain caused by repetitive, manual tasks that are scattered across multiple disconnected applications and systems. CORA solves this by acting as a central orchestration engine. It leverages watsonx's digital skills to design and execute automated solutions for common yet time-consuming processes. For instance, instead of an employee manually gathering data from a CRM, compiling it in a spreadsheet, generating a report, and then emailing it to a distribution list, they can simply instruct CORA to "process the monthly sales report." CORA then intelligently orchestrates this entire workflow: it accesses the CRM and database, uses AI to analyze and summarize the data, generates a formatted document, and distributes it to stakeholders automatically. This extends beyond reports to workflows like employee onboarding, where CORA can coordinate account creation, IT provisioning, and training scheduling, or customer service, where it can triage and route support tickets. By automating these orchestrated workflows, CORA eliminates manual effort, reduces errors, and frees up human employees to focus on strategic decision-making, creative problem-solving, and high-value customer interactions. The result is a significant increase in operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and overall business agility.

In this hybrid hackathon powered by Arc and Circle, developers will build the next generation of Agentic economic applications using Circle’s Nanopayments infrastructure with settlement on Arc in USDC. For the first time, high-frequency, usage-based transactions between users, APIs, and AI agents can operate without gas overhead eroding margin. Arc provides stablecoin-native settlement with predictable, dollar-denominated USDC fees and deterministic, sub-second finality — enabling real-time coordination and economically viable per-action pricing at scale. 📅 April 20 – 26, 2026 • Apr 20 – 25 (Online): Submit projects by Apr 25. • Apr 25 (On-site Build – SF, CA): Teams refine projects. • Apr 26 (On-site Demos & Awards – SF, CA): Live pitches & winners announced. Get guidance from Arc and Circle experts through on-site support. 📍 On-site Venue (April 25-26): MindsDB SF AI Collective 3154 17th St, San Francisco, California, USA 🤝 Go solo or team up, it's your flow. 🏆 Compete for a $15,000+ Prize Pool. 📍 Please note: If approved for the on-site experience, you’ll also have the opportunity to showcase your project live. Travel and accommodation will not be covered. 🧑🏻‍💻 Secure your spot now – sign up before the Kick-Off Stream!

⏱️ Design, build, and deploy trustless AI trading agents. 📅 March 30 – April 12, 2026 🌐 Build AI trading agents that execute strategies using ERC-8004 or Kraken CLI. 🤝 Build solo or in teams to create autonomous trading, risk, yield, or protection agents. 💰 $55,000 prize pool, allocated and shared via Surge and Kraken. Your team should have registered project at early.surge.xyz in order to be eligible for the prize. Get access in your team profile or our discord 🔑 Access to early.surge.xyz If prompted for login credentials, use: • Username: admin • Password: JBRv2xWG7AzwVrLz88

Join our $1,000,000+ startup challenge series powered by Surge 📌 This announcement outlines the launch of a Global Human+AI Exchange — aligning universities, global cities, talent networks, and industry to accelerate human-centered AI innovation, technology transfer, and economic growth. 👉 Read more here ⏱️ 8 days to turn your idea, or existing product, into an investable demo. 📅 February 6 - 15, 2026 • Feb 6 - 14 (Online Phase) - Collaborate and build online with developers and AI innovators from around the world. All projects must be submitted by the end of the online phase on February 14th. 🕙 Doors open at 10:00 AM, first come, first served. • Feb 14 (On‑site Build Day) - Selected participants will be invited to an exclusive in‑person session to refine their projects and connect directly with mentors. • Feb 15 (On‑site Demos & Awards) - Live pitching sessions to a panel of judges and ecosystem partners, followed by the official winner announcement. 🌟 Get feedback from startup mentors and technical experts. 📍 On-site Venue (Feb 14–15): MindsDB SF AI Collective 3154 17th St, San Francisco, California, USA 📲 Real-time on-site updates (SF) For real-time announcements and information during the on-site portion (Feb 14–15), join the LabLab SF Chapter WhatsApp group: 👉 Join the WhatsApp group 🤝 Join solo or with a team. New founders and existing startups are welcome. 🏆 $1,000,000+ in credits, token prizes, perks and funding opportunity. 📍 On-site participation is by invitation only. Travel and accommodation expenses will not be covered. 🧑‍💻 Apply now to build, validate, and pitch with purpose.