Hackathons have evolved into powerful catalysts for innovation, sparking creative solutions and fostering collaborative cultures across industries. These time-bound events bring together diverse talent to address real-world challenges—whether improving internal processes, driving social impact, or revolutionizing technology.
In this article, we present 7 inspiring hackathon examples of various formats and themes —from corporate and social good initiatives to virtual and in-person events. Explore these success stories to gain valuable insights and practical lessons for designing your own breakthrough hackathon.
Example #1. Internal Hackathon: How UBS Drove Innovation and Employee Engagement
UBS, a global financial services leader, aimed to rejuvenate its workforce by breaking down internal silos and igniting innovation. The goal was to boost employee engagement and harness untapped creative potential within its diverse teams.
How It’s Done
Held simultaneously across 5 major cities—New York, London, Zurich, Singapore, and Hong Kong—the “UBS Innovate” internal hackathon examples utilized live video conferencing to connect employees altogether. Interdisciplinary teams were tasked with addressing open-ended, real-world business challenges, fostering collaboration across geographical and departmental boundaries.
The Results
With over 500 participants across 5 destinations, the hackathon generated a wave of innovative ideas, ranging from streamlined internal processes to customer-centric solutions. Winning teams had the unique opportunity to pitch their ideas directly to UBS executives and secure post-hackathon accelerator support, ensuring ideas moved swiftly from concept to execution.
Key Takeaways
- Internal hackathons are excellent for boosting employee engagement, uncovering talent and breaking down departmental silos.
- Designing challenge statements aligned to actual business needs to ensure that solutions directly support strategic goals.
- Strong virtual collaboration tools are essential to successfully connect global teams and facilitate seamless teamwork.
Example #2. Social Good Hackathon: How P&G Sparked Innovation Across a Range of Products
Focused on community impact, the hackathon examples from P&G – the giant consumer goods corporation – was designed to match business innovation with pressing social challenges, from women’s health to reimagining home experiences.
How It’s Done
Conducted across seven cities, the P&G hackathon featured distinct themes that addressed both social impact and product innovation. The “Lady Problems Series” focused on solutions for menstrual hygiene, mental health, and healthcare access, while also encouraging female entrepreneurship. The “Febreze Home Hack” challenged participants to improve home experiences using Febreze technology, resulting in creative concepts like scent-diffusing alarms and smart air filtration.
The Results
The hackathon attracted over 1000 participants with more than 230 innovative solutions, demonstrating a remarkable breadth of creativity and tangible output. Not only did this initiative enhance P&G’s reputation as an innovator, but it also underscored the value of aligning business objectives with social impact.
Key Takeaways
- Social good hackathons naturally attract participation by addressing causes that resonate with a wide audience.
- Offering multiple themed tracks within a hackathon helps engage participants with different interests and skill sets.
- Companies should ensure that solutions not only address social impact but also leverage the company’s existing expertise and resources.
Example #3. Ecosystem Development Hackathon: How Hedera Engaged 5,000+ Developers from Education to Adoption
Hedera, a leading distributed ledger technology platform, launched this hackathon examples to attract and educate a new wave of developers.The primary purpose was to energize the Hedera ecosystem, build a robust community and encourage practical, innovative technology applications.
How It’s Done
This initiative employed a multi-tiered approach: starting from a “Learn and Earn” campaign that introduced Hedera’s core concepts, followed by a competitive hackathon phase, and culminating in an incubation program where the top projects received expert mentorship and resources.
The Results
Engaging over 5,000 developers, the event not only fostered hands-on learning but also established a structured talent pipeline from education to market-ready innovation. The incubation of 7 standout projects signaled a significant step forward in ecosystem growth and practical blockchain application.
Key Takeaways
- Hackathons are highly effective for onboarding developers into specialized technologies and ecosystems.
- Combining education with competitive components enhances both learning outcomes and solution quality.
- Post-hackathon incubation or acceleration programs help ensure promising ideas receive the support needed for real-world deployment.
Example #4. Global Hackathon: AWS x AngelHack hackglobal series
AWS, the leader in cloud computing, partnered with AngelHack to become the global sponsor of the 2019 hackglobal Global Hackathon Series. The partnership provided AWS with a unique opportunity to engage developers across more than 25 cities worldwide, introducing them to AWS’s suite of cloud tools and services.
How It’s Done
The Global Hackathon Series took place in tech hubs around the world—Silicon Valley, Paris, Delhi, Beijing, Singapore, and more—attracting a diverse and highly skilled developer community. Participants were challenged to build innovative mobile and web applications using AWS cloud technologies, provided with technical resources, mentorship, and on-site support by AWS themselves.
The Results
The hackathon engaged over 2,500 participants across 25 cities, resulting in more than 350 innovative solutions. This significantly expanded AWS’s brand awareness among developers, demonstrating the power of AWS’ cloud services through hands-on exploration and application. Beyond individual projects, the event fostered a global community of developers familiar with AWS, creating long-term opportunities for product adoption and development.
Key Takeaways
- Global hackathons provide unparalleled access to a diverse, international developer community, helping companies broaden their reach and brand visibility.
- Technical support and guided mentorship enhance the developer experience, enabling deeper product exploration and fewer friction points.
- Hosting a hackathon on a global scale requires the expertise of an experienced agency like AngelHack to ensure seamless execution and meeting its ambitious goals.
Example #5. AI Hackathon: Databricks’ Generative AI World Cup
Databricks’ AI hackathon, the Generative AI World Cup, centered on showcasing cutting-edge GenAI solutions using its Mosaic AI technologies. It was tailored specifically for data professionals and developers, aiming to cement Databricks’ role as an industry innovator.
How It’s Done
The competition employed a robust global marketing campaign, leveraging digital outreach, developer networks, and targeted promotions to attract top talent worldwide. This was followed by a selective vetting process to ensure participants were skilled data professionals, guaranteeing high-quality submissions. Finally, the StackUp hackathon platform was utilized to facilitate seamless registration, team coordination, and project submissions, creating a streamlined experience for participants.
The Results
Over 1,500 data professionals from 18 countries participated, resulting in several standout projects. The compliance track developed AI tools that automate regulatory checks and ensure adherence to evolving policies. Legal tech participants built RAG systems to simplify legal research, while the biotech track figured out how to accelerate image analysis for biocontrol agent development. Not only did the event advance practical AI applications, it also fostered a dedicated community of AI experts.
Key Takeaways
- Focusing on one technology or domain encourages deeper exploration and more technically advanced solutions.
- Curating participants through a vetting process ensures higher quality submissions, though it may hinder diversity in ideas and perspectives.
- Collaborating with the right hackathon platform will deliver a smooth, engaging, and well-supported experience for all participants.
Example #6. Virtual Hackathon: How Consensys Unleashed Web3 Innovation
Consensys’ virtual hackathon was designed to leverage the software company’s powerful suite of Web3 tools—including Infura, MetaMask, and Linea—to drive blockchain innovation on a global scale. The event also aimed to create an inclusive virtual community for developers and designers passionate about decentralized technologies.
How It’s Done
The Consensys virtual hackathon ran over three months and was fully conducted online, providing flexibility for participants worldwide. Consensys’ Discord server served as the central hub where participants could connect, collaborate, and receive mentorship. The challenges were intentionally diverse, spanning themes like privacy-first social media platforms, decentralized identity management, and blockchain-powered learning tools.
The Results
The hackathon attracted over 1,600 participants from around the world, generating more than 70 project submissions. Many of these projects directly addressed pressing issues in Web3, such as privacy preservation and decentralized identity. One team created a blockchain-powered social media platform that stores data on-chain while preserving user privacy through zero-knowledge proofs. Another team developed a decentralized credentialing system that allows users to store and manage their academic and professional achievements securely. Moreover, the virtual format played a big role in fostering a vibrant and self-sustaining community of developers passionate about Web3.
Key Takeaways
- Virtual hackathons excel at enabling global reach and democratizing access for participants anywhere in the world.
- Companies should blend community-building efforts with innovation challenges to create a lasting ecosystem beyond the event.
- Clear communication channels and strong technical infrastructure are critical to maintaining momentum in fully remote settings.
Run Your Best Virtual Hackathon
Bring developers and innovators together in an online competition where participants from anywhere collaborate to build innovative solutions
Example #7. In-Person Hackathon: Lyf Collaborated with Top Teams at the hackglobal Grand Finals
Lyf, a co-living brand under The Ascott Limited, provides vibrant living spaces for digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and creatives. By hosting the hackglobal Grand Finals at its Singapore property, Lyf’s goals are to incubate an innovation lab and reinforce its reputation among the tech community.
How It’s Done
The hackathon took place over two days, gathering top teams from seven countries who had previously won regional hackathons. Set in Lyf’s dynamic co-living space, the event included direct interactions with Lyf staff, immersive property tours, and hands-on workshops. Participants worked on challenge statements tied directly to Lyf’s business needs—enhancing community building, improving operational efficiency, and driving sustainability within shared living spaces.
Results
The hackathon produced 30 creative solutions aligned with Lyf’s vision. Projects ranged from AI-powered concierge services and multilingual guest support to gamified sustainability platforms that encouraged residents to track and reduce their carbon footprint. The winning project, GreenGO!, stood out for its innovative approach to sustainability, combining personalized eco-tasks for guests with real-time property-wide carbon tracking. Beyond the solutions themselves, the event strengthened Lyf’s reputation as a forward-thinking, innovation-friendly brand while giving participants a platform to showcase their talents to global industry leaders at SWITCH, Singapore’s premier innovation festival.
Key Takeaways
- Bringing together teams from seven countries created a diverse exchange of ideas, resulting in more creative and globally relevant solutions.
- By actively participating in innovation rather than just sponsoring it, companies strengthen their reputation as innovation leaders.
- By allowing hackathon participants sufficient time to thoroughly examine the business operations and challenges, the hackathon ensures that their proposed solutions are more relevant and effective.
Final words
Whether your goal is to engage employees, crowdsource creative solutions, or build a thriving developer ecosystem, these 7 hackathon examples show how the right approach can deliver exceptional results. And their ultimate key to success? All these hackathons started with a clear alignment between the set-out challenges, and the company’s strategic and technological vision.
At AngelHack, we’ve spent 14 years helping companies design and execute hackathons that drive real innovation and impact. You just need to focus on defining the right challenges – leave the organizing, logistics, and expert facilitation to us. Get in touch with AngelHack for a consultation and start shaping your next hackathon today!
