UC Berkeley Startup Accelerator and Nonprofit Cal Hacks to Host Generative AI Hackathon

Berkeley SkyDeck, a startup accelerator at the University of California, Berkeley, and Cal Hacks, a nonprofit organization devoted to fostering a culture of hacking, entrepreneurship, and social good, are teaming up to create a two-day generative AI hackathon to explore the potential of large language models and build a new generation of responsible AI. Taking place June 17-18 on the UC Berkeley campus, the Berkeley LLM Hackathon is offering more than $250,000 in prizes, including the chance to join the Berkeley SkyDeck portfolio of startups.

Participants will have access to the invite-only OpenAI API (including GPT-4 access), plugins, and other tools, as well as workshops presented by UC Berkeley researchers, mentorship opportunities, and other resources. The top four teams, selected by a panel of judges from venture capital firms such as Sequoia, Mayfield, and Lightspeed, will receive $50,000 each from Berkeley SkyDeck to pursue their project full-time.

The competition is open to college and university students, new graduates, and young alumni (those who have received their undergraduate degree within the past 10 years). For more information, visit the hackathon website.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Profile silhouette of a person thoughtfully touching their chin, overlaid with transparent data visualizations and digital interface elements suggesting artificial intelligence and analytics.

    The Institutional Knowledge Shift Is Reshaping Higher Ed IT

    Higher education IT leaders are navigating a quiet but consequential transition: Experienced team members are retiring or leaving for private-sector roles, and the teams replacing them are smaller, newer, and often stretched thin. The result is a structural shift in how technology decisions are made, executed, and sustained.

  • abstract quantum computing glowing circuits

    Nvidia Unveils 'Ising' Quantum AI Model

    Nvidia has announced a new family of open source AI models, dubbed "Ising," designed to accelerate quantum computing by improving calibration and error correction.

  • robot hand holding stacks of coins

    Designing AI Systems for Financial Aid

    Financial aid offices have been slow to adopt AI, risking technological stagnation at a critical early student touchpoint. Systematic AI integration can improve student experiences and strengthen institutional positioning.

  • Businessman using laptop analyzing data and growth graph chart

    AI Budgets in Education Show No Sign of Decline

    The vast majority of education organizations (98%) expect their AI infrastructure budgets to either increase or hold steady over the next year, according to a recent report from cloud storage provider Wasabi.