Vibe Code-a-thon (May 2025)
The first in-person vibe-coding hackathon in Ottawa
Welcome to Ottawa—a hidden gem that’s quickly becoming the go-to spot for AI innovation and hacker vibes! Ottawa might not be known as a classic tech hub, but it’s bursting with creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. This is the city that gave birth to Shopify, hosts Outlit.ai (a YC company), and boasts over 237 startups. Our hackathon is all about shining a light on Ottawa’s cool, growing AI scene while also bringing together awesome folks from Toronto, Montreal, and anywhere in between. Let’s put Ottawa on the map as a place where AI dreams and hacker creativity come to life!
What’s the Vibe?
TLDR: ship something cool in a day (with the help of AI), and win! Food will be provided.
“This is actually the dominant way to code. If you’re not doing it, you might just be left behind.”
- Garry Tan (Watch the video here)
"I think the role of Software Engineer will transition to Product Engineer. Human taste is now more important than ever as codegen tools make everyone a 10x engineer."
- Leo Paz (Outlit, W25) 👈 From AIT Ottawa!!! 🇨🇦
"How coding has changed 6-1 months ago: 10x speedup. 1 month ago to now: 100x speedup. Exponential acceleration. I'm no longer an engineer, I'm a product person."
- Jackson Stokes (Trainloop, W25)
What’s in Store?
Prizes:
🤑 prizes TBA
Core Tools to Explore:
Cursor Composer
Superwhisper
Replit v2
Lovable
Websim
Bolt
Rosebud
DataButton
Claude Code
Agenda (Tentative):
9:30 Arrive
10:00 Talks Begin
11:00 Hacker Lightning Talks
11:55 Vibe Coding Begins
12:00 Lunch Served
5:00 Dinner
6:30 Demos & Presentations
9:20 Judging
9:30 Celebrate winners & adjourn!
Judges:
TBA
FAQ
Is the hackathon in person?
Yes! This is an in-person event. Being in the same space with curious, driven builders adds a whole new layer of energy. Surrounded by brilliant minds, tight timelines, and shared ambition—this is where the magic happens.
What should I bring?
Your laptop
Your energy and curiosity
A charger or two
And your tinkering spirit
Will food and drinks be provided?
Yes! We’ve got snacks, meals, and caffeine to keep you going.
What if I don't have an idea?
No problem at all:
Join a team working on something exciting
Or pick from a list of idea prompts we’ll have ready
What if I don't have a team?
Also totally fine:
You can hack solo
Or meet potential teammates at the event—we’ll help make intros
I don't know how to code, should I still join?
Definitely.
With vibe coding, you can build apps using natural language instead of traditional code
Team up with coders and contribute your product instincts, domain expertise, or wild creativity
This is a space for makers, designers, tinkerers, and storytellers—not just coders
Who are AI Tinkerers?
Our group welcomes developers of all backgrounds. If you’re passionate about the technicalities behind developing AI systems, this is a home for you. Our promise is to provide a stage for open-source AI developers to share code and the lessons they’ve learned from experimentation.
Join our Discord to get started (click here)
Organizers
Advisors
Community experts
Xe Iaso: developer relations, blogger, ex-Fly.io, Tailscale
Felipe Izquierdo: Founder @ Quest / ex-Synthesis (taught Naval Ravikant's kid)
Previous meetup photos
Mike Bird from team Open Interpreter (49,000 GitHub stars) in Ottawa
Community support
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