Nearly 5,000 first-generation students and alumni from 190+ countries came together for a weekend of building, learning, and proving that great ideas can come from anywhere.
On January 17-18, 2026, Aspire Institute partnered with Cayu AI to host our first-ever Global AI Hackathon. A 24-hour virtual building sprint that challenged participants to turn real-world problems into working AI-powered solutions. What started as an ambitious idea quickly became a truly global moment of creativity, collaboration, and experimentation.
The response exceeded all expectations. 4,780 participants registered across two tracks: AI for Social Impact and AI for Business. By the submission deadline, 316 teams had built and submitted working projects, many of them first-time builders who had never created a software product before.
Building Without Barriers
What made this hackathon different? Cayu’s AI-powered development platform. Participants didn’t need coding experience to build functional applications. They described what they wanted to create, and the platform helped them bring it to life. This is known as “vibe coding,” and Cayu made it possible.
Participants joined from across regions, backgrounds, and experience levels. Many were experimenting with AI tools for the very first time, while others pushed advanced concepts in business modeling, technical implementation, and social impact design.
Despite the intensity of a 24-hour hackathon, participants collaborated across time zones, navigated technical challenges, and transformed ideas into working AI-powered solutions.
The Finalists and Winners
After reviewing the submissions, a distinguished panel of judges evaluated the top 10 finalists per track during a live pitch session on January 24th:
– Saumya Joshi, Director of Entrepreneurship and Management Programs at Stanford GSB SEED, with over 16 years of experience supporting founders and scaling ventures
– Emanuele Colonnelli, Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth, and a global expert in venture capital, ESG, and impact investing
– Tiger Huang, AI leader and former McKinsey and C3 AI executive, now a serial founder deploying enterprise AI at scale
– Zamir Akimbekov, Founder and CEO of Cayu AI, former McKinsey consultant and C3 AI Senior Director, focused on democratizing software creation through AI
Winning Projects: AI for Social Impact Track
- 🥇 FreshSaver: An AI-powered inventory agent that detects expiring food, calculates dynamic discounts based on perishability, and notifies budget-conscious shoppers. This turns grocery waste into recovered revenue.
- Teammates: Utpal Kalita (India), Prince Mucyo (Rwanda), Sanda Ismail Oladimeji (Nigeria), Obaa Monday Oloche (Nigeria), and Muhammad Ayas Haider (Pakistan)
- 🥈 EcoShield AI: A resilience platform that correlates soil, weather, and waste data to predict disasters and disease outbreaks in the Global South, transforming reactive relief into proactive prevention.
- Teammates: Natalia Santos (Brazil), Mariem Daha (Mauritania), Onyiobazi Aquah (Nigeria), Alan Bravo (Mexico), and Rezhin Omer (Iraq)
- 🥉 Elevate: An empowerment app that guides students and small business owners to build better habits through personalized learning, goal-setting, and accessible financial education.
- Teammates: Nicole Barahona (El Salvador), Miguel Cervantes (Mexico), Afita Haniy (Indonesia), Anjali Simkhada (Nepal), and Ayesha Aziz (Pakistan).
Winning Projects: AI for Business Track
- 🥇 HealthScan (FamilyCare Nutrition): An AI nutrition safety assistant that helps family caregivers manage dietary needs for elderly loved ones through personalized food label scanning and voice-based health profiles.
- Teammates: Mudit Rankawat (India), Khadija Vakharia (India), and Camila Jacobo Rivera (Mexico).
- 🥈 MedCare: A healthcare platform addressing long wait times and poor triage in low- and middle-income health systems, starting with Nigeria, by intelligently routing patients to the right level of care.
- Teammates: Nura Bishir (Nigeria), Isaac Rocha (Brazil), and Musa Abdulqudus (Nigeria).
- 🥉 OneView: A unified dashboard for SMEs that eliminates the “fragmented tool crisis” by connecting sales, bank balances, and expenses into one clear view.
- Teammates: Suhrob Karimov (Uzbekistan), Valentine M. Phiri (Zambia), and Thalia Araujo (Brazil).
- Shadow Ai-SSS (SparkStackSystems): A deterministic, quantum-driven oracle that redefines cybersecurity by hunting and destroying malware in the digital void.
- Teammates: Huseyn Gambarli and Rovnag Nadirov (Azerbaijan).
What Participants Took Away
Beyond the winners, the hackathon was a powerful learning experience. Participant feedback highlighted growth in collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, and confidence in building with AI. Many described the experience as challenging but deeply rewarding.
For Aspire Institute, this hackathon reinforced what is possible when learners are given access to tools, mentorship, and a global community willing to build together.
Gratitude and Looking Ahead
On behalf of the Aspire Institute team, we extend our sincere thanks to Cayu AI, for their time, resources, and commitment to making this collaboration possible. We are deeply grateful to the judges, mentors, volunteers, and every participant who contributed energy and creativity to this event.
This hackathon was not just about winning. It was about learning, experimenting, and imagining how AI can shape a more innovative and inclusive future.
As Aspire Institute, we’re already exploring what comes next. We can’t wait to build again with this incredible community.
Don’t forget to follow Cayu on their social media:
