AI Ready ASEAN Youth Challenge: How AI Singapore Ran an Ideathon Across ASEAN

Southeast Asia is adopting AI faster than almost any other region, yet much of that progress has not reached the communities that stand to benefit most. AI Singapore set out to close that gap through the next generation and partnered with us to run the AI Ready ASEAN Youth Challenge, a regional ideathon inviting young innovators across all 11 ASEAN member states to build AI solutions for public good. Organised by AI Singapore with Google.org, IMDA, and the ASEAN Foundation, the program set out to:

🌟 Raise AI literacy and innovation skills among Southeast Asian youth
🌟 Turn that skill into practical AI solutions for pressing community problems
🌟 Strengthen regional collaboration across ASEAN’s young innovators
🌟 Give participants exposure, mentorship, and recognition on a regional stage

How AngelHack Designed and Ran The Challenge

Running one challenge across 11 countries needs a shared standard. Our job was to hold a single bar for quality while welcoming everyone from AI newcomers to experienced builders. We ran the program end to end across four roles:

#1 Design the challenge

We set the challenge around Google.org’s three focus areas of Knowledge, Skills and Learning, Scientific Progress, and Stronger Communities and defined the multi-stage format. Each team had to prove feasibility, plan outreach to at least 1,000 community members, win public backing, and submit a five-page proposal and a three-minute pitch video.

#2 Recruit participants

We drove registration across all 11 ASEAN countries, working with AI Singapore and country-level partners to reach a wide range of youth, from AI newcomers to experienced builders.

Facilitate mentorship and support: We ran a virtual opening ceremony, workshops on structuring proposals and pitches, and consultation sessions with advisors from AI Singapore and partner organisations. Each national winner was then paired with an advisor to sharpen their showcase before the finals.

#3 Submission and judging management

We managed 618 submissions through national judging, public voting, and national winners, with the 11 strongest teams advancing to the Regional Grand Finals hosted in Singapore.

Who Showed Up, and What They Delivered

The AIRA Youth Challenge attracted 2,661 participants, aged 18 to 35, from every ASEAN country. The total 618 submissions spread across all three focus areas and addressed pressing problems their communities live with. Among them, three outstanding teams took the Regional Grand Finals:

“AngelHack was a valued partner in the AI Ready ASEAN Youth Challenge, bringing both expertise and energy to the programme. Their team played a key role in designing and delivering a high-quality hackathon experience for youth innovators across the region, ensuring that participants were well-supported throughout their journey. From programme management to participant engagement, AngelHack consistently demonstrated professionalism, responsiveness, and a strong commitment to excellence.”

— Chandra Gunawan, Head of Programmes & Partnerships, AI Talent Development, AI Singapore

The successful delivery of the AI Ready ASEAN Youth Challenge across all 11 ASEAN countries reflects our ability to execute innovation programs at regional scale, under the trust of national agencies and government partners. Organisations planning similar initiatives can expect the same reach and reliability when partnering with us.