Cal Hacks 12.0

Overview

Cal Hacks 12.0 brings college students together at the Palace of Fine Arts for a weekend of hacking, friendship, and creativity. Co-hosted by leading tech companies, this event encourages participants to build innovative projects, fostering a collaborative environment for developing crazy ideas.

Requirements

This hackathon is for college students aged 18 and older from all countries, and you must participate as part of a team. Submissions are due by October 26, 2025, at 9:30 AM PDT, with an extra hour to edit your submission details except for your table number. You need to include an image of your project and a GitHub repository. All work must be completed during the hackathon. You'll have a two-minute pitch followed by a two-minute Q&A with judges.

Prizes

Cal Hacks 12.0 offers over $38,200 in cash prizes and many other awards. Top overall prizes include a Macbook Air or Framework Laptop for 1st place, Meta Ray Bans for 2nd, and Nintendo Switch Lites for 3rd. There are also category prizes for Best Hardware Hack, Hacker's Choice, Most Creative Hack, Greatest Social Impact, and Best Beginner Hack. Additionally, many sponsors like Claude, Fetch AI, AppLovin, and Amazon are offering specific prizes for using their technologies, including cash, API credits, internship opportunities, and hardware.