About the challenge

Get ready for DiamondHacks, a thrilling 36-hour hackathon tournament organized by the Association for Computing Machinery at UCSD. The sharpest minds from universities across San Diego will gather to join our magic tournament. Hundreds of hackers will team up to make projects showcasing their skills. Choose from different creative tracks and attend workshops to refine your craft. Join social events to make alliances with other talented students and celebrate magic!

Keep your wand at the ready and your eyes sharp for any tricks along the way. Let's make our mark and cast the ultimate hack!

Join us on April 4th-5th for an in-person competition with numerous workshops, tons of prizes, and countless opportunities for fun!

Requirements

What to Submit

  • Video submission: 3 minutes for video
  • Submissions should be in English and uploaded on Devpost
  • Explain inspirations, how the project was developed, and a short demo in the background.
  • Include your code and any other other necessary files to run it in your submission
  • To qualify for beginner prize, members of your team have attended at most 2 hackathons or have less than a year of programming experience

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$25,710+ in prizes
+ other prizes
1st Overall
$4,500 in cash
1 winner

AirPods Pro 3
3,000 Browser Use Credits
Browser User Merch
1 Year Lovable Pro Subscription
MLH Winner Pins

2nd Overall
$3,000 in cash
1 winner

Keychron Keyboard
2,000 Browser Use Credits
Browser User Merch
6 Months Lovable Pro Subscription
MLH Winner Pins

3rd Overall
$1,800 in cash
1 winner

JBL Flip 6
1,000 Browser Use Credits
Browser Use Merch
3 Months Lovable Pro Subscription
MLH Winner Pins

Track: Alchemy of the Earth (Social Impact/Sustainability)
$250 in cash
1 winner

Owala 40 oz Bundle

Harness the ancient powers of nature to protect our realm. In this track, we challenge you to brew solutions for the world’s most pressing environmental and social issues. Whether you’re crafting code to heal the planet, combat climate change, or empower underserved communities, use your “green magic” to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Track: Elixirs of Vitality (Health)
$240 in cash
1 winner

Peak Design Tech Pouch

Step into the infirmary of the future! This track is dedicated to the magic of healing and the science of well-being. We’re looking for enchantments that improve physical health, mental clarity, or medical accessibility. From “charms” that monitor vitals to restorative platforms that offer aid to the weary, use your craft to preserve the most precious magic of all: life.

Track: The Scholar’s Spellbook (Education)
$270 in cash
1 winner

Mini Projector

Knowledge is the ultimate source of power. For this track, reimagine the way wisdom is shared and spells are learned. Create immersive platforms, interactive scrolls, or gamified tutorials that turn complex subjects into intuitive mastery. Unlock the gates of the Great Geisel Library and make education an enchanting experience for every aspiring wizard.

Track: Enchanted Commerce (Commerce/E-Commerce)
$250 in cash
1 winner

Apple Airtags

Transform the marketplace into a realm of wonder! This track challenges you to revolutionize how we exchange treasures and manage our gold. Develop seamless payment portals, immersive virtual storefronts, or clever logistical charms that make trade effortless. Turn the mundane act of shopping into a legendary quest for the perfect find.

Track: The Rogue’s Ritual (Wildcard)
$250 in cash
1 winner

Sony SRS-XB100 Speaker

Not all magic can be contained with a textbook or a single school of thought. This track is for the anomalies, the experimentalists, and the boundary-breakers. If your project defies the known laws of alchemy, health, education, or commerce, bring your most daring enchantments here. Whether it’s a revolutionary tool, a chaotic masterpiece, or a spell that creates an entirely new category of wonder, prove that the most powerful magic is the kind that refuses to be defined.

CSE: Best Interactive AI
$3,350 in cash
1 winner

M4 iPad Air 13-in w/ Apple Intelligence

This track challenges you to use AI to build an interactive software project focused on entertainment. You do not need prior experience with complex software design. Your goal is to take a standard application, text interface, or media tool and use AI to make it dynamically respond to user input. Show us how integrating AI makes the project more engaging and fun to use.

More details at https://acmucsd.notion.site/diamondhacks-hacker-guide-2026?pvs=25#31c143915b128010b71dd41b790aadd7

Best Use of Browser Use
$3,540 in cash
1 winner

iPhone 17 Pro, Airpods Max
Week-long trip to the Browser Use Hacker House!
Browser Use Merch

Utilize Browser Use to create a truly impactful project. Remember that "impact" does not strictly mean traditional utility. The main question judges will ask is "How well does the product deliver for its intended audience?" Whether you build agents that shop, fill out job applications, or submit Canvas quizzes, the web is your playground.

More details at hhttps://acmucsd.notion.site/diamondhacks-hacker-guide-2026?pvs=25#31c143915b128010b71dd41b790aadd7

Best Use of Fetch.ai
$650 in cash
3 winners

1st: $300 Cash + Interview for Internship
2nd: $200 Cash + Interview for Internship
Best Use of ASI:ONE: $150 Cash

Build and Register AI Agents on Agentverse, discoverable via ASI:One, that turn user intent into real, executable outcomes.

More details at https://www.fetch.ai/events/hackathons/diamond-hacks-2026/hackpack

Qualcomm Multi‑Device Track: Build Across the Snapdragon Multiverse
$2,000 in cash
1 winner

Meta Quest 3 512 GB

Step into the Qualcomm Multiverse and explore the future of edge‑to‑cloud AI by building intelligent experiences that span AI PCs, mobile devices, cloud services, and microcontrollers.

In this track, teams are challenged to design applications that go beyond a single device—distributing perception, intelligence, and interaction across platforms powered by Snapdragon. Use an AI PC as a central control surface, pair it with mobile devices for real‑time sensing and interaction, extend capabilities with cloud‑based AI, and connect the physical world using Arduino UNO Q and/or Rubik Pi.

Whether you’re orchestrating multi‑screen workflows, syncing sensors to on‑device AI models, or coordinating edge intelligence across systems, this track is your playground to prototype real‑world, multi‑device AI applications. Think privacy‑first, low‑latency, and energy‑efficient—designed to run where it makes the most sense.

More details at https://acmucsd.notion.site/diamondhacks-hacker-guide-2026?pvs=25#31c143915b128010b71dd41b790aadd7

Build The Future of Video Understanding with TwelveLabs
$650 in cash
3 winners

1st: 50 Hours of TwelveLabs API Credits
2nd: 40 Hours of TwelveLabs API Credits
3rd: 30 Hours of TwelveLabs API Credits

The Twelve Labs challenge encourages you to harness state-of-the-art video foundation models to make sense of video like never before. Whether you want to search, summarize, analyze, or build entirely new video experiences, our models—Pegasus and Marengo—give you the superpowers to do it.

More details at https://acmucsd.notion.site/diamondhacks-hacker-guide-2026?pvs=25#31c143915b128010b71dd41b790aadd7

Best Solo Hack
$220 in cash
1 winner

Apple Watch SE 3

Build something incredible entirely on your own.

Best Duo Hack
$300 in cash
1 winner

27-inch Samsung Monitor

Showcase the power of pair programming and tight collaboration.

Best Beginner Hack
$460 in cash
3 winners

1st: Razer Mouse
2nd: Monitor Lightbar
3rd: Anker Power Bank

Perfect for first-time hackers. To qualify for the beginner prize, each member of your team must have attended at most 2 hackathons or have less than a year of programming experience.

Best Mobile Hack
$160 in cash
1 winner

Massage Gun

Bring your ideas to the palm of your hand with a standout mobile app.

Best UI/UX
$140 in cash
1 winner

Philip Hues 2 Pack

For the project with the most beautiful and intuitive user experience.

Best AI/ML Hack
$160 in cash
1 winner

JBL Go 3 Speaker

Push the boundaries of tomorrow's tech with artificial intelligence.

[MLH] Best Use of Gemini API
1 winner

Google Swag Kits

It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?
Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice
Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers
Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more
Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?

[MLH] Best Use of ElevenLabs
1 winner

Wireless Earbuds

Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI.

Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds!

[MLH] Best Use of Solana
1 winner

Ledger Nano S Plus

The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.

Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.
Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.
Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).
Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.
Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!

[MLH] Best Use of Vultr
1 winner

Portable Screens

Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck!

Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team!

[MLH] Best .Tech Domain Name
1 winner

Desktop Microphone & a Free .Tech Domain Name for up to 10 years!

Make your Team's Achievements timeless: Win a .Tech Domain Name for up to 10 years to Showcase and Expand Your Project, Plus Desktop Mics for Effortless Collaboration on Zoom, empowering you to build even more cool things together!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

DiamondHacks Judges

DiamondHacks Judges

Judging Criteria

  • Idea (1-10)
    How different is this from existing technologies and solutions already in place? What work was done to gauge the need for this project? How many people will be impacted by the solution, and is it a direct or indirect solution?
  • Experience (1-10)
    Is the user experience smooth and intuitive for the target audience? Will anyone use this product? Will this solve the real-world problem it is trying to address?
  • Implementation (1-10)
    Does the project function as intended? Are there any gaps in implementation? Can the project be easily expanded in the future? How impressive was the solution technically? Did the team have a particularly efficient approach or use new technology?
  • Demo (1-10)
    Clarity and presentation of the 2-minute pitch.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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