Not your average hackathon.

Code Hypothesis is where builders test strange theories through code, no-code, or anything in between. You don’t pitch your idea. You test it.

Think:

Can dating apps work without pictures?
Can news go viral without outrage?
Can you build an app that deletes itself after one use?

This is where code meets graffiti — raw, fast, chaotic, and real. You’ve got 24 hours to build something that proves a point.

🧪 THEME & VIBE

Visual:

Hacker terminal aesthetic
Neon green on concrete
CRT glitches, graffiti, and pixel chaos

Philosophy:
Don’t build to win. Build to say something.

👥 WHO SHOULD JOIN

First-time hackers
No-coders and tinkerers
Indie makers
Students, misfits, and Gen Z creatives
Anyone with a bold hypothesis

🛠️ HOW IT WORKS

Think of a hypothesis
Example: Can an app go viral without a share button?
Build something to test it
Code, prototype, slide deck, no-code — anything goes.
Submit your project on Devpost
Include:
- A link to your build
- A short write-up
- (Optional) A 2-minute video

⏰ TIMELINE

Sept 28, 12 AM IST – Hackathon starts
Sept 28, 11:59 PM IST – Hackathon ends
Oct 1 – Nov 1 – Judging window
Mid-November – Winners announced at the Grand Indian Hackathon Ceremony

This hackathon is part of the Grand Indian Hackathon Season (GIHS) — a three-month sprint featuring 10 unique hackathons.

All prizes feed into an ever-expanding season-wide prize pool, currently at ₹17,00,000+. Each hackathon has its own winners and shoutouts, but the bigger rewards are revealed at the Grand Indian Hackathon Ceremony in November, where the best projects from across all events are celebrated together.

Because the prize pool grows as we bring in more partners, sponsors, and communities, we encourage participants to join the Discord server for the latest updates on prizes, collabs, and surprise drops throughout the season.

Requirements

To submit your project, include the following:

✅ A working link to your project
(GitHub, Webflow, Notion, Figma, Replit, etc. — anything works)

✅ A short write-up explaining:

What was your hypothesis?
How did you test it?
What worked? What didn’t?

✅ (Optional) A 2-minute video
A pitch or demo hosted on YouTube, Loom, or anywhere public

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

₹ 169,000+ in prizes

+ other prizes

Judge Mentions

1 winner

₹8200 worth of tech credits.
Some experiments can’t be ignored. This recognition goes to projects that caught the judges’ eye for their originality, personality, or sheer boldness. Winners get a certificate, shoutouts across Maximally, a zine feature, and the option to request an LOR.

Meme Hypothesis Award

1 winner

₹8200 worth of tech credits.
The hackathon isn’t just about science — it’s also about chaos. This prize goes to the project that produced the funniest screenshots, quotes, or meme-worthy results during the event. Winners receive a certificate, Maximally spotlight, social media features, and an optional LOR.

Community Choice Award

1 winner

₹8200 worth of tech credits.
Voted by other participants, this award goes to the build that earned the most love from the community. Whether funny, brilliant, or absurd, it’s the crowd favorite. Winners will receive a certificate, Maximally-wide shoutouts, Discord “community choice” badge, and an LOR on request.

First-Time Scientist Award

1 winner

₹8200 worth of tech credits.
Your first experiment is always the hardest. This award recognizes the best beginner project — a submission that might not be polished but proves courage and curiosity. Winners get an official certificate, social features across Maximally, and the option of an LOR.

Wildcard Recognition

1 winner

₹8200 worth of tech credits.
For the build nobody saw coming — absurd, unpredictable, and unforgettable. This recognition ensures that even if it didn’t take home cash, it still gets remembered. Winners receive a certificate, Maximally spotlight coverage, social shoutouts, and an optional LOR.

Grand Experiment Award

₹ 105,000 in cash

1 winner

For the project that best *proves or disproves a bold hypothesis* through clarity, creativity, and conviction. It doesn’t have to be perfect — it just has to make us say, “Damn, that’s real science.”

Perks: ₹3,000 cash,₹1,02,000 worth of tech credits, Maximally certificate, social feature, and a personalized Letter of Recommendation (LOR) on request.

Wild Creation Award

₹ 64,000 in cash

1 winner

For the build that breaks the mold — the wild idea that almost worked, the no-code experiment that surprised everyone, or the two-minute pitch that left judges speechless. This award celebrates *audacity over polish*.

Perks: ₹2,000 cash,₹62,000 worth of tech credits Maximally certificate, platform shoutout, and optional LOR.

Judges

Rishul Chanana
Founder @ Maximally

Sergey Polyashov
Principal Software Engineering Manager @ Microsoft

Vikranth Kumar Shivaa
Founding Engineer @ Fig

Vishal Padh
Sr. Software Architect

Nikita Klimov
Sr. Software QA Engineer contractor at ADP, Inc.

Shreesh Agarwal
Sr Business Analyst, McKinsey and Company

Rakesh Pullayikodi
Staff Software Engineer @ Graphite Health

Raja Sekhar Rao Dheekonda
Distinguished Engineer @Dreadnode

Tanmay Kejriwal
Founder @ MakeX

Sahil Deshpande
Software Engineer @ Meta

Ashwini Joshi
Senior Machine Learning engineer @Warner Bros. Discovery

Senthilkumaran Rajagopalan
Tech Lead Manager, Video Recommendations, Meta

Prateek Batla
Product Manager at Meta

Venkataram Poosapati
Senior Data Engineer, Atlassian

Ruslan Ibrahimov
Senior Software Engineer at VoiceLove

Bohdan Churik
Software Engineer at VoiceLove

Jay rungta
Engineering Manager @ Google

Ashish Singh
Sr. IT Architect @ Global Payments

Sai Charan Reddy Nevuri
Software Engineer @ AWS

Abhishek Shrivastava
Senior Staff Software Engineer @ Google

Yogiraj Awati
Engineering Manager@Instacart

Krishna Arjun Saravanan
Senior Software Engineer @ Bloomberg

Abhinay Kumar Reddy Seella
Sr Software Engineer @ Roku

Jay Bharat Mehta
Senior Software Engineer @ Snowflake

Alexandr Dergunov
Software Engineer @Meta

Anastasia Glavatchi
Head of Marketing

Aleksandr Ruban
Marketing Expert in the Game Industry

Assiya Jaisheva
Design Lead

Dmitry Bobolev
Founder of Froxy Labs

Sumit Saha
Software Engineer at Microsoft

Aleksandr Karavanin
Production Engineer at Meta

Oleg Skliarenko
Co-founder, Chief Product Officer at DRCT

Karthikeyan Sundaram
Backend Software Engineer at WithU

Anil Kumar
Software Engineer at Paua

Puneet Ramaul
Senior Sales Director at HCLTech

Akash Jindal
Product Owner at Llyods Banking Group

Arvind K Gautam
ASEAN Lead at Avaya

Alexander Rumyantsev
Software Engineer

Konstantin Berezin
Back End Developer @Rapyd

Judging Criteria

Originality & Creativity
Is the idea fresh, fun, or unexpected? Does it show personality or unique thinking?
Execution & Functionality
Does the project work? Even partially? Is it usable, testable, or at least demoed clearly?
Clarity of Thought
Is it easy to understand what the project does and how it works? Is the video/write-up clear and coherent?
Smart Use of AI
Did the team actually use AI meaningfully? Was the tool/agent/art well thought-out in how it used AI?
Beginner Spirit
Bonus points for trying something new, shipping despite challenges, or building your first-ever AI thing. We see the hustle.