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NIGHT HACK IV: IT'S ALIVE
Bring your unfinished obsession.
A robot that finally moves. An agent that does real work. A playable world. A strange interface. The project you keep thinking someone should build.
On Friday, October 30, Founders becomes a lab for things that should probably exist.
Hardware, software, or both. Five hours to ship something real. At 10 PM, the room becomes a museum of what came alive tonight.
Working demos. Curious people. No pitch decks.
The night
Friday, October 30, 2026
Founders Fort Mason, San Francisco
All times Pacific
4:15 PM: Doors, check-in & team formation
5:00-10:00 PM: Build
10:00 PM: Exhibition & judging
Finalist demos & awards follow
11:00 PM: Event ends
No re-entry after 10 PM.
What counts
Build something completely new, or add a substantial new capability to an existing project.
Existing libraries, models, APIs, infrastructure, codebases & prebuilt hardware are welcome. Tell us your starting point: judges evaluate the new work completed during the five-hour sprint.
Live demos only. Show the thing working.
Who this is for
Engineers, technical founders, researchers, designers, roboticists, creative coders, operators & people with unusually persistent side projects.
First project or fiftieth. Come solo or with a team of up to four.
Every teammate must apply individually & receive approval.
Credits & prizes
Partners, prizes & additional experiences will be announced when confirmed.
Building with hardware?
Bring a complete working rig, every component, tool, cable, charger & spare you need, plus a software or simulation fallback.
Hardware setups require advance review for space, power & safety.
We cannot supply hardware or access to the electronics lab, including its tools, soldering, fabrication or 3D printing facilities. You may bring your own 3D printer as part of an approved setup.
Everyone should bring a laptop, charger & everything their project needs.
About Founders
Founders backs early-stage founders in emerging tech with $100K-$250K first checks. We run programs, sprints & hackathons from our 42,000 sq. ft. campus in Fort Mason.
Accepted builders will receive the attendee Discord & final event instructions after confirming through Luma.
This event may be photographed or recorded. Builders under 18 must have parent or guardian permission to attend.
The night ends at 11. What you start here doesn't have to.
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