Ascendant Agents — ₹22,000 GenAI Hackathon by D'Code NSUT — Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions founders most often ask about Ascendant Agents — ₹22,000 GenAI Hackathon by D'Code NSUT — who qualifies, the funding amount, required documents and how the application works.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is Ascendant Agents?
It is a generative AI hackathon organised by D'Code NSUT, the coding and technology community of Netaji Subhas University of Technology in Delhi. The event is part of Oblivion'26 and is hosted on Unstop. Teams are asked to build AI-first products powered by autonomous agents that can reason, plan, collaborate and solve practical problems with minimal human intervention.
How much money can a winning team take home?
The total cash pool is ₹22,000. The first-placed team receives ₹10,000, the runner-up gets ₹7,000 and the third-placed team earns ₹5,000. On top of the cash, all winners are given certificates.
What is the last date to register?
Registration closes on August 16, 2026. The wider hackathon window runs from July 21 to August 22, 2026, so it is worth registering well before the deadline to leave time for the first-round submission.
Who is allowed to participate?
Ascendant Agents is aimed at students and early-stage builders who are interested in generative AI, agentic systems and autonomous workflows. There is no stated geographic restriction — the competition is hosted on Unstop from India, so Indian participants are welcome. The only hard requirement is that you enter as a team of two to four members.
Do I need DPIIT recognition, MSME registration or a registered company?
No. The organisers list no DPIIT or MSME requirement, and no company or entity type is mandated either. This is a student-facing hackathon, so the eligibility bar is simply a team of two to four members with an interest in agentic AI.
Does the programme take equity in my project?
No equity arrangement is mentioned anywhere. The rewards here are competition prizes and certificates rather than an investment, so winning does not hand the organisers a stake in anything you build.
What kind of projects should we build?
The hackathon encourages AI-first ideas that go beyond conventional applications. Suggested directions include autonomous research assistants, AI copilots, multi-agent ecosystems and workflow automation, though the organisers also welcome any groundbreaking innovation that shows off what modern AI can really do. The unifying thread is autonomy — the agent should be doing the work, not a human clicking through screens.
How will our submission be judged?
Four things carry weight: the innovation behind the idea, the technical complexity of what you built, the real-world impact it could have, and the degree of autonomy in your agentic system. Building something genuinely agentic, rather than a thin wrapper around a chatbot, is likely to matter most.
How is the hackathon structured?
There are two rounds. The first round is likely to be an online, submission-based stage. The second is an offline final round held in New Delhi. The full event runs from July 21 to August 22, 2026.
Is there a registration fee, and how do I apply?
No registration fee is mentioned. Applications go through the Unstop listing for Ascendant Agents — Oblivion'26 by D'Code NSUT, and you need to complete your registration before the August 16, 2026 deadline.
Who is eligible to apply for Ascendant Agents — ₹22,000 GenAI Hackathon by D'Code NSUT?
Ascendant Agents — ₹22,000 GenAI Hackathon by D'Code NSUT is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.
← Back to Ascendant Agents — ₹22,000 GenAI Hackathon by D'Code NSUT overview