Hackachusetts takes place October 24–25, 2026. The main hackathon will run on Saturday, October 24 from 8:00 AM–8:00 PM EST, with project submissions due by 8:00 PM EST. Judging and finalist selection will take place that evening, with finalists notified by midnight. Approximately 50 finalists will be invited to present at WHOOP headquarters on Sunday, October 25 from 11:00 AM–2:00 PM EST.
Eligibility
Hackachusetts is open to students enrolled at educational institutions in Massachusetts. Participants must register with a valid .edu email address and present a valid student ID at check-in. Students may participate at any of the nine Hackachusetts campus locations, regardless of which Massachusetts institution they attend. Participants may compete individually or as part of a team.
Project and Submission Requirements
Projects must address one of four Hackachusetts challenge tracks: Biotech & Healthcare, Robotics & Hardware, Energy & Climate Tech, or Civic Action.
Projects must be submitted through Devpost by 8:00 PM EST on October 24 and include a project description, technologies used, working prototype or demonstration, and supporting materials necessary for judges to evaluate the project.
Participants may use open-source libraries, APIs, datasets, pretrained models, and other publicly available resources. Any substantial work completed before the hackathon must be disclosed. Participants who are vibe coding must use Kiro and will receive 2,000 free Kiro credits at the event.
Prizes
Hackachusetts features a $30,000 total prize pool. First-, second-, and third-place projects will be selected in each of the four challenge tracks, resulting in 12 track-winning teams or projects.
Approximately 50 finalists will be invited to the Sunday finals at WHOOP headquarters and will receive WHOOP straps. Additional prizes will be available to participants as part of the overall prize pool. Final prize amounts and distribution are subject to the official Hackachusetts prize structure.
Judging Criteria and Winner Selection
Eligible projects will be evaluated based on:
- Impact: Importance of the problem and potential real-world value.
- Innovation: Originality and creativity of the solution.
- Technical Execution: Quality, functionality, and effective use of AI and other technologies.
- Feasibility: Potential for the project to be developed or applied beyond the hackathon.
- Presentation: Clarity of the project explanation and effectiveness of the demonstration.
Following the Saturday submission deadline, judges will select approximately 50 finalists to advance to Sunday's event at WHOOP headquarters. Finalists will present their projects, after which judges will select first-, second-, and third-place winners in each of the four tracks. All judging decisions are final.