Artificial intelligence is evolving into a driving force behind global innovation, transforming industries like healthcare, finance, and logistics while powering everyday digital interactions. With rapid advancements in large language models, generative AI, and cloud computing, companies are increasingly adopting AI-driven solutions to enhance efficiency and unlock new possibilities.
With Southeast Asia earmarked as a hub for AI adoption, the demand for collaborative platforms is growing. In response, Alibaba Cloud is set to host a two-day AI hackathon in Singapore, aiming to fuel innovation and deepen its footprint in the region’s expanding AI ecosystem.
Set for April 10–11, the competition will be held in person at Alibaba Cloud’s international headquarters at Lazada One. Developers, startups, and AI enthusiasts will be challenged to build solutions using the company’s cloud-based tools and proprietary AI models. Participants will have access to Model Studio, a generative AI platform; Platform for AI (PAI), a machine learning development tool; Elastic Compute Service, which offers secure, high-performance virtual cloud servers; as well as Qwen (also known as Tongyi Qianwen), Alibaba’s large language model, and Wan, a visual generation model.
This event is part of Alibaba Cloud’s “Global AI Hackathon” series and aims to tap into Singapore’s deep pool of tech talent to address challenges across industries such as finance, healthcare, smart cities, and sustainability. It builds on last year’s inaugural edition, which drew 117 participants who formed 21 competing teams.
Prizes and incentives
The hackathon offers a prize pool exceeding USD 30,000, including cash awards and cloud credits.
The winning team will receive SGD 10,000 (USD 7,500) in cash and USD 10,000 in Alibaba Cloud credits, along with opportunities for global exposure facilitated by Alibaba Cloud. Second- and third-place teams will also receive similar prizes.
Hackathon format and details
- Registration deadline: April 3, 11:59 p.m. (GMT+8).
- Online briefing: April 8, covering essential details and guidance. Details to be announced.
- Participation requirements: Participants must sign up with an Alibaba Cloud individual account and add a payment method to receive cloud credits for hackathon use.
- Team structure: Open to individuals or teams of up to four members. Teams can be formed in advance or during the event.
Judging criteria
Submissions will be evaluated on April 11 based on the following:
- Innovation and creativity: Originality and the novel application of AI technology.
- Technical implementation: The robustness, scalability, and effectiveness of the solution, including adherence to AI best practices, ethical design, and data security.
- Impact: Potential for commercial or social impact, market viability, scalability, and contributions to the public good.
- Presentation and pitch: Clarity and effectiveness in communicating the team’s ideas to the judges.
The hackathon offers a chance to bring AI-driven ideas to life, collaborate with top talent, and compete for exciting prizes. For startups, it’s an opportunity to showcase capabilities, gain exposure, and potentially attract investment or partnership opportunities.
Interested in participating? Find more details on the official website and sign up here.
This article was published in partnership with Alibaba Cloud.