Hacksocial 2026 — Social Good Hackathon, $2,500 (₹2.3L) Prize Pool

Hacksocial 2026 is a fully virtual hackathon built around technology that does some good in the world. It runs across the whole of August 2026 and is hosted on Devpost, which means there is no venue to travel to and no geography to worry about.

The brief is deliberately loose. Rather than handing entrants a fixed problem statement, the organisers let each team pick a social-impact challenge of its own choosing and build a solution around it. Projects that lean on machine learning or artificial intelligence are actively encouraged, but the theme stays open-ended.

Indian developers, designers, students and entrepreneurs can take part on exactly the same terms as anyone else, entering either individually or as part of a team. No cap on team size has been announced.

The reward on offer is a total prize pool of $2,500, which is roughly ₹2,30,000 at the stated conversion rate of 92 INR per US dollar. The event is run by Hacksocial, an organiser whose programmes centre on social impact, and registration happens through its public Devpost listing.

• Fully online social-good hackathon on Devpost, running August 1–31, 2026.
• $2,500 prize pool, roughly ₹2,30,000 at 92 INR per US dollar.
• Open worldwide, including Indian individuals and teams, with no restrictions stated.
• Open-ended theme: pick your own social-good problem; machine learning and AI projects encouraged.
• No team size limit, and no DPIIT, MSME or company registration needed.
• Submit by August 31, 2026 via hacksocial2026.devpost.com.

Entry is not fenced off by geography, background or company stage. Anyone anywhere in the world may take part, Indian applicants included, and the organisers have published no eligibility conditions beyond that.

• Individuals and teams are both welcome, and no team size limit has been stated.
• The hackathon is pitched at developers, designers, students and entrepreneurs.
• There is no DPIIT recognition, MSME registration, incorporation or funding-stage requirement attached to entry.
• The event is entirely online, so no travel or physical presence is needed.

Hacksocial 2026 — Social Good Hackathon, $2,500 (₹2.3L) Prize Pool is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.

The most recent application window for Hacksocial 2026 — Social Good Hackathon, $2,500 (₹2.3L) Prize Pool closed on 31 Aug 2026. Many programmes run repeat cohorts, so it is worth checking the official site for the next round.

This is a competition rather than a funding scheme, so the reward takes the form of a cash prize and not an investment. Nothing is diluted, repaid or shared with the organisers.

• Total prize pool: $2,500, equal to approximately ₹2,30,000 at the stated rate of 92 INR per US dollar.
• The split between ranks and winners has not been published — only the overall pool is stated.
• Entrants also finish the month with a working project and a public Devpost submission behind them.

There is no screening round or shortlisting stage here — this is a build-and-submit competition, judged on the finished project.

• Register on Devpost to enter Hacksocial 2026.
• Build during August 1–31, 2026, at whatever pace suits your team, on a social-good problem you choose yourself.
• Submit before August 31, 2026 — that date is both the final day of the event and the project deadline.
• Judging weighs four things: innovation, impact, technical execution, and alignment with the social-good theme.
• Because the event is fully online with no physical venue, evaluation is carried out remotely.

Before you apply to Hacksocial 2026 — Social Good Hackathon, $2,500 (₹2.3L) Prize Pool, keep the following documents ready:

• A pitch deck or short business plan describing the problem, product and traction
• Company registration documents and PAN
• Founder identification (PAN / Aadhaar) and brief profiles
• Recent financial statements or projections
• Product details — a demo, prototype or working link if available

Exact requirements are confirmed on the official application portal — treat this as a preparation checklist.

Hacksocial 2026 — Social Good Hackathon, $2,500 (₹2.3L) Prize Pool is best suited for startups in India seeking non-dilutive funding of ₹2.3L. If that describes your startup, review the eligibility criteria above before applying.