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| 1 | +# Build with Gemini XPRIZE Hackathon |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +**Registration / submission URL:** https://www.geminixprize.com/ |
| 4 | +**Press release (source):** https://www.xprize.org/news/xprize-launches-hackathon-with-2-million-prize-pool-backed-by-google |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +## Window |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +| | | |
| 9 | +|---|---| |
| 10 | +| Registration | Open since 2026-05-19 | |
| 11 | +| Build period | 2026-05-19 → 2026-08-17 (90 days) | |
| 12 | +| Submission deadline | 2026-08-17 | |
| 13 | +| Finals competition | 2026-09-25 (in person, Los Angeles) | |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +## Prize pool — $2,000,000 total |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +| Award | Amount | Count | |
| 18 | +|---|---|---| |
| 19 | +| Grand prize | $500,000 | 1 | |
| 20 | +| Second place | $200,000 | 1 | |
| 21 | +| Third–fifth place | $100,000 | 3 | |
| 22 | +| Runner-up | $50,000 | 15 | |
| 23 | +| Category prizes | $50,000 | 5 (1 per category) | |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +## Categories (one per submission) |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +1. Education & Human Potential |
| 28 | +2. Entrepreneurship & Job Creation |
| 29 | +3. Small Business Services |
| 30 | +4. Money & Financial Access |
| 31 | +5. Professional Services |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +## Required tech stack |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +Mandatory: |
| 36 | +- **Gemini API** (any tier — AI Studio API key or Vertex AI) |
| 37 | +- **Google AI Studio** |
| 38 | +- **Google Antigravity** (Google's agentic platform) |
| 39 | +- **Cloud Run** (deployment) |
| 40 | +- **Stitch** (Google's design-to-code AI) |
| 41 | +- **Flow** (Google's video-gen AI) |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +All six must be wired into the solution somewhere. Treat the stack as the constraint, not the value. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +## ⚠️ HONEST WARNING — this isn't a demo hackathon |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +The XPRIZE rules require: |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +> "Launch a real business, **acquire real users, and generate real revenue** during the 90-day window. Projections alone won't qualify." |
| 50 | +
|
| 51 | +This is a **startup competition**, not a code competition. Differs structurally from every other hackathon Mukunda has entered in 2026: |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +| | Most 2026 hackathons | XPRIZE Build-with-Gemini | |
| 54 | +|---|---|---| |
| 55 | +| Deliverable | Working demo + repo + video | Functioning business with paying users | |
| 56 | +| Eval focus | Technical execution, fit to track | Business viability, AI-native ops, category impact | |
| 57 | +| Time horizon | Days to weeks | 90 days | |
| 58 | +| Required artifact | GitHub + Cloud Run | Live product, real users, real revenue | |
| 59 | +| Solo viability | High | Hard — needs ops, billing, support | |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +## Judging criteria (equally weighted, 3-way split) |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +1. **Business viability** — unit economics, retention, growth path |
| 64 | +2. **AI-native operations** — how deeply Gemini powers the operational layer |
| 65 | +3. **Category impact** — does it actually move the needle on the chosen category |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +## What Mukunda's existing portfolio fits or doesn't fit |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +| Existing project | XPRIZE category match | Real-user gap | |
| 70 | +|---|---|---| |
| 71 | +| `gemini-*-agent` family (ops, eval, data, search, pipeline, etc.) | Professional Services (loose) | None have users; all are demo agents | |
| 72 | +| `agent-stack` (six MCP reliability primitives) | Professional Services (developer infra) | Has npm/PyPI installs but no paying users | |
| 73 | +| `ragvitals` (RAG drift detection) | Professional Services (developer infra) | Same — library, no users | |
| 74 | +| `agentleash` / `birddog` | Professional Services / Small Business Services | Same — libraries | |
| 75 | +| `geminilens` | Professional Services | Library — no users | |
| 76 | +| `Standup Pulse`, `BookSlot`, `StreakKit`, `FlashFocus`, `HaikuMirror` (MeDo apps) | Education & Human Potential (HaikuMirror/FlashFocus); Small Business Services (BookSlot, Standup Pulse) | Closer fit — these are end-user apps, but no users acquired yet | |
| 77 | +| `inbox-agent` | Professional Services | Personal automation, no users | |
| 78 | +| `mukunda-ai` portfolio site | n/a — not a product | n/a | |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | +**Closest natural fit:** `BookSlot` (Small Business Services) or `HaikuMirror` (Education & Human Potential), wrapped into a real SaaS with paid signups + Gemini-powered operations. None of the GitHub-only libraries fit XPRIZE without major pivot. |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +## Strategy options for Mukunda |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +**Option A — Pick one existing user-facing app, productize it.** Take `BookSlot` (already deployed via MeDo per memory), give it a real billing flow, real onboarding, real customer support, and add Gemini-powered features (e.g., AI scheduling assistant that drafts emails). Target small businesses, get 10-50 paying customers in 90 days. Plausible if Mukunda treats it as full-time-equivalent for 60+ days. |
| 85 | + |
| 86 | +**Option B — Launch a new vertical SaaS on top of agent-stack libs.** E.g., an AI-powered HR onboarding assistant for SMBs that uses `agentvet` + `agentguard` + `agentleash` under the hood. Build, launch, acquire customers. Higher technical leverage, lower domain-fit. |
| 87 | + |
| 88 | +**Option C — Don't enter XPRIZE.** The 90-day "real revenue" bar means this isn't a side project. If Mukunda has day-job constraints (Southwest Airlines contract per memory) and is shipping multiple smaller hackathons monthly, opportunity cost is real. |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +## Submission preparation checklist (use when ready) |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +- [ ] Pick category (one of 5) |
| 93 | +- [ ] Pick existing project OR start fresh |
| 94 | +- [ ] Register at https://www.geminixprize.com/ |
| 95 | +- [ ] Verify all six required tools are integrated (Gemini, AI Studio, Antigravity, Cloud Run, Stitch, Flow) — Stitch + Flow are likely the gap; investigate what counts as "use" for these |
| 96 | +- [ ] Set up billing infrastructure (Stripe? Lemon Squeezy?) |
| 97 | +- [ ] Build landing page + signup flow |
| 98 | +- [ ] Define unit economics (CAC, LTV target) |
| 99 | +- [ ] Acquire first 10 paying users |
| 100 | +- [ ] Document AI-native operations (which workflows are run by Gemini) |
| 101 | +- [ ] Prepare finals pitch for Los Angeles, 2026-09-25 |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +## Open questions to resolve before committing |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +1. Does "real revenue" have a minimum dollar threshold or just non-zero? |
| 106 | +2. Are pre-orders / waitlists / free trials counted as users? |
| 107 | +3. What's the exact requirement for using each of the six tools — passing reference or deep integration? |
| 108 | +4. Are non-US founders eligible? (Eligibility not specified in press release.) |
| 109 | +5. Is in-person finals in LA mandatory for shortlisted entrants? |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +Email XPRIZE / register and read full rules to resolve. Don't commit to a category until #1-#4 are clear. |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +## Status |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +- **Status:** scouted, not yet committed |
| 116 | +- **Next action:** Mukunda's decision on Option A / B / C above |
| 117 | +- **Owner:** Mukunda Katta |
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