​Introduction

​​Inception Studio is proud to announce its inaugural hackathon in Toronto. We are seeking exceptional AI talents to join us in driving innovation and fostering a thriving AI startup ecosystem in Canada.

Winning teams will be eligible for direct entry into the HumanX Buildathon held in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 10-13th, including complementary conference tickets, and a chance to showcase themselves on one of the biggest conference stages in the world alongside key founders, investors, and business leaders in AI.

​​This event is a testament to our commitment to nurturing the next generation of AI companies. Participants will have the opportunity to collaborate on cutting-edge AI projects and contribute to the development of scalable, globally impactful AI products.


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Real Challenges, Real Solutions.

​​【AI Buildathon by Inception Studio】

Under the theme of "Real Solutions for Real Challenges," the AI Buildathon by Inception Studio aims to empower participants to create practical AI solutions to challenges faced by real-world businesses. This hands-on hackathon is designed to deeply explore high impact issues within a short timeframe and work toward creating widely adoptable business solutions.

​Winning teams will have the opportunity to explore pathways to commercialization of their projects, and our partners and sponsors will be on-site to assist in defining and delving into the challenges provided.

While three themes will be showcased, participants will be welcome to bring their own AI business ideas as well.

​Come find your cofounder. Develop your winning idea. Launch your next startup.

​Join us on a three-day journey to aim for the top!


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​​Who should apply?

• ​​We are seeking passionate individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise

• ​​Engineers:

  • ​​Experienced in building AI agents, fine-tuning LLMs, running RAG pipelines on unique datasets, and developing web/mobile/desktop apps.

• ​​Designers:

  • ​​Visionary thinkers who can push the boundaries of user interfaces beyond chatbots. Skilled in creating user-centric experiences and collaborating with cutting-edge generative AI tools.

• ​​Data Scientists & Researchers:

  • ​​Up-to-date on the latest research, with the ability to analyze new datasets and generate valuable insights.

• ​​Industry Leaders:

  • ​​Domain experts eager to leverage AI and make a difference in your field.

• ​​Anyone with a passion for AI and unique skills!

​​Your Journey

• ​​Application Period:

  • ​​1st round:

    • ​​Deadline for applications: 12:00 PM, January 30th.

    • ​​Notification of results: Acceptance to Luma

• ​​Once your application is approved

  • ​​You will be invited to the Discord server.

    • ​​You'll be able to communicate with the organizers and other participants there.

    • ​​You can form teams with other participants beforehand.

• ​​January 31th (Fri):

  • ​​In-person kickoff in downtown Toronto. This kickoff will help set the tone for an unforgettable weekend, and will include presentations from AI leaders, team formation, and ideation exercises.‍

• ​​February 1st (Sat):

  • ​​A full day of building: Build with your teams. Multiple opportunities to come together in-person as a group to exchange notes and progress. Mentors will be available throughout the day.‍

• ​​February 2nd (Sun):

  • ​​Showcase & awards: Showcase your project to industry leaders, investors, and AI experts, and a winning team will be selected at the end of the day.

​​Detailed Schedule

• ​​Day 1: January 31th (Fri)

  • ​​18:30: Doors Open

  • ​​19:00: Kick-off

    • ​​Introduction to Inception Studios

  • ​​20:00: Team Formation, Team Recruitment, Dinner

  • ​​21:00: Networking & Ideathon

    • ​​Lightning Talk to share ideas

  • ​​22:00: Doors Close

• ​​Day 2: February 1st (Sat)

  • ​​10:00: Doors Open

    • ​​Prototype development, feature implementation, design

    • ​​Mentor Workshop presentations

    • ​​Pitch Practice Session

  • ​​20:00: Doors Close

• ​​Day 3: February 2nd (Sun)

  • ​​10:00: Doors Open

  • ​14:30: Final Submission Deadline

  • ​​15:00: Start Demo

  • ​​17:00: Evaluation

  • ​​17:30: Award Ceremony

  • ​​18:00: Networking

  • ​​20:00: Doors Close

​​Rules

• ​​Team Formation:

  • ​​Team Size: Teams may consist of up to 5 members. (Team must have at least 3 members.)

  • ​​Team Registration: Teams will be registered on the first day of the event, November 17th, during the “Team Formation” session.

  • ​​Pre-formed Teams: Pre-forming teams are allowed. (Please let us know beforehand)

  • ​​Team Format: We expect a completely offline event. However, if you already have a team and wish to collaborate online with exceptional talent who meets our standards, we will allow it under the condition that at least one member is present at the venue.

• ​​Project Guidelines:

  • ​​Focus: We seek teams capable of developing products or services with the potential for long-term growth.

  • ​​Leverage Existing Resources: Participants are encouraged to leverage existing technologies, products, concepts, and services to create solutions that address real-world problems.

  • ​​Ensuring Fairness: We will evaluate submissions primarily based on “the quality of the idea” and “the progress made on existing products”.

  • ​​Market Understanding: We prioritize projects that demonstrate a clear understanding of market needs and have the potential to scale beyond the hackathon.

​​Prizes

• ​​Grand Prize: Individuals with the Greatest Potential for Global Startup Success

  • ​​Interview Opportunity for Inception Studio

  • ​​1:1 Opportunity with John

  • ​Fast-track opportunity to joining the AI Buildathon by Inception Studio at HumanX from March 9-12th in Las Vegas, including fully comped event tickets and a chance to step onto the main stage at the conference in front of 4000+ of the top AI founders, investors, and business leaders.

• ​​Special Award (by IX Labs):

  • ​​Recognition and prize presented by IX Labs to the team that best fulfilled the criteria for their unique challenge.

​​Judges

​​​​John Whaley

• ​​Co-founder of Inception Studio

  • ​24+ years in Silicon Valley

  • ​Forbes AI 50

  • ​​​​Multi-time Founder (Redcoat AI, UnifyID, Moka5)

  • ​​​​Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University teaching GenAI

• ​​Social Accounts

• ​​​​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joewhaley/

• ​​X: https://x.com/joewhaley

• ​​Bio: https://tiny.cc/john-bio

​Mayuran Yogarajah

• ​Head if IX Labs, Distinguished Engineer

  • ​22+ years in startups

  • ​Founding CTO of Index Exchange

  • ​​​​Led the growth of tech, people, and teams.

  • ​Expanded engineering team from inception to 170

• ​​Social Accounts

• ​​​​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayuran-yogarajah/

• ​​Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myren.y/

• ​​Bio: https://linktr.ee/mayuran.yogarajah

​Fatima Khamitova

• ​Director of Startups and Scaleups, Vector Institute

  • ​10+ years in AI through startups, consulting, and marketing

  • ​Founder and CEO of Veer AI

  • ​Data Science instructor at York University

• ​​Social Accounts

• ​​​​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatima-khamitova

• ​​Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fatimarkhamitova

​​Sponsors

​IX Labs

​https://www.indexexchange.com/about/ix-labs/
IX Labs invests in technology-first startups led by mission-focused leaders who want to change the status quo.

​We invest in pre-seed and seed stage fintech, agtech, and internet-of-things (IoT) startups who are using data and artificial intelligence to solve problems. We believe in taking calculated risks in technology companies that share our passion and commitment to disrupt large underserved markets.

Fogler Rubinoff LLP

​

​https://www.foglers.com/

​Fogler Rubinoff LLP's Corporate Law practice provides forward-thinking solutions to companies developing leading-edge technologies to transform and grow their businesses. Our lawyers provide the full range of legal services to clients in the technology industry, from start-up and R&D companies to multinational technology companies with complex commercial and intellectual property requirements.

​SingleKey

​

​https://www.singlekey.com/en-ca/

​SingleKey's mission is to remove the common headaches of renting. They simplify the residential leasing process and provide landlords peace of mind by managing their risk.

​Mentors

​William Ma, CFA

• ​Director of Investments, MaRS IAF

  • ​15+ years in finance, investing, and startups

  • ​Former Director of Technology Banking at SVB

  • ​Co-Founder of BHRD (YC18)

  • ​Head of Finance and Operations at YC backed Validere during Series A and B

• ​​Social Accounts

• ​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mawilliam

​Alex Cui

• ​Co-Founder and CTO, GPTZero

  • ​Built GPTZero to over 4M+ monthly active users

  • ​Raised $10M Series A

  • ​Co-author of 4 patents

  • ​Ex-Research Scientist at Waabi, Ex-ML at Meta

• ​​Social Accounts

• ​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-cui-caltech/

• ​Github: https://github.com/alexcdot

• ​Bio: https://www.alexcui.ca/

​Michael Sousa

​

• ​Co-Founder and CTO, Clincove

  • ​Multi-time Founder and CTO

  • ​Angel Investor

  • ​Writer and Film Producer

• ​​Social Accounts

• ​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-p-sousa/

• ​Twitter: https://x.com/sousaplex

• ​Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sousaplex/

​Organizer

​​Inception Studio Team

• ​​​Michael Liu

  • ​​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelshliu

​​About Inception Studio

​​​​Inception Studio is a non-profit accelerator built for the most experienced world-class entrepreneurs and builders at the earliest stages of starting their next AI company. We organize exclusive 72-hour cohort retreats and other events to help our Inception Founder community find cofounders and launch their companies. Inception specializes in stages from "I just became fully committed to starting my next AI company" to "Our company is ready to raise a pre-seed round".