Last updated: 23 June 2026

No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win. Making a purchase or payment will not improve a participant’s chances of being accepted or winning a prize.

By participating in Since AI 2026 or submitting a project, each participant agrees to these Official Rules as a binding agreement with Since AI ry.

Participants who do not agree to these Official Rules must not participate or submit a project.

Since AI 2026 is organized by:

Since AI ry
Business ID: 3593920-2
Vähä Hämeenkatu 1
20500 Turku
Finland

Questions:

builders@sinceai.fi

Since AI 2026 is an in-person AI innovation event taking place in Turku, Finland, from 6 to 8 November 2026.

The official competition period begins:

6 November 2026 at 18:00 local time in Finland

The project submission deadline is:

8 November 2026 at 10:00 local time in Finland

Winners are scheduled to be announced:

8 November 2026 at approximately 16:00 local time in Finland

All times refer to the local time in Turku, Finland, unless otherwise stated.

The organizer may publish more detailed schedules through official event channels.

The official Since AI application and event platform is:

https://sinceai.app/events/since-ai-hackathon-2026

Devpost is used as a secondary project-submission record and public project showcase.

Official information may also be communicated through:

• email;

• the Since AI Discord community;

• the Since AI website;

• Devpost;

• event briefings;

• challenge-specific materials; and

• other official organizer channels.

Participants are responsible for following official communications and meeting announced deadlines.

If information differs between platforms:

1. mandatory applicable law prevails;

2. accepted challenge-specific terms govern the relevant challenge;

3. these Official Rules govern the competition generally;

4. the official Since AI event schedule governs operational timing; and

5. third-party platform terms govern the use of their respective platforms.

To participate in the competition and be eligible for judging or prizes, a person must:

• be at least 18 years old;

• meet the geographic requirements displayed on Devpost;

• be legally permitted to participate and receive prizes;

• apply through the official Since AI platform;

• be accepted by Since AI;

• attend the event onsite in Turku;

• comply with these Official Rules;

• comply with the Code of Conduct, venue rules and applicable challenge-specific terms;

• contribute meaningfully to an eligible project; and

• be included in a valid final submission.

Creating a Since AI or Devpost account, joining the Devpost page or creating a draft submission does not guarantee admission.

Participation is subject to available capacity.

Since AI may evaluate applications using reasonable considerations such as:

• technical or professional background;

• motivation;

• event and challenge fit;

• team composition;

• capacity;

• safety;

• operational requirements; and

• the objective of creating a diverse and capable participant community.

Employees, contractors, organizers, judges and other individuals directly involved in evaluating the competition may not compete for prizes where an actual or apparent conflict of interest exists.

Participation is prohibited where restricted by applicable law, sanctions, export controls or Devpost’s standard geographic exclusions.

Participants may apply individually and form teams before or during the event.

The recommended team size is two to five participants unless a challenge specifies otherwise.

Every competing team member must:

• be officially accepted;

• attend onsite;

• be listed in the final submission; and

• contribute meaningfully to the project.

A participant may normally compete as a member of only one team and one competing project unless the organizer gives written permission otherwise.

Teams are responsible for agreeing internally on:

• roles and responsibilities;

• project ownership;

• prize distribution;

• decision-making;

• use of pre-existing assets; and

• continued development after the event.

Since AI is not responsible for internal disputes between team members.

Each team must select an official challenge or another track approved by Since AI.

Some challenges may involve:

• confidential information;

• proprietary technology;

• regulated environments;

• security-sensitive problems;

• restricted datasets;

• commercially sensitive information; or

• unique intellectual-property arrangements.

Such challenges may have additional terms concerning:

• confidentiality;

• data use;

• access rights;

• publication;

• intellectual-property ownership;

• licensing;

• commercialization;

• pilot rights;

• regulatory compliance; and

• continued development.

Any material challenge-specific terms will be made available before a participant or team commits to that challenge.

Participants must review and expressly accept applicable challenge-specific terms before beginning work on the challenge.

A participant who does not accept those terms may choose another available challenge, subject to capacity and organizer approval.

Each competing project must:

• address an official Since AI 2026 challenge or approved track;

• use artificial intelligence, machine learning, data or another relevant technology meaningfully;

• be developed substantially during the official competition period;

• include a functional prototype or credible technical demonstration;

• be safe, lawful and suitable for evaluation;

• comply with relevant licences and third-party terms;

• comply with challenge-specific restrictions; and

• disclose relevant pre-existing materials.

Teams may use lawful:

• libraries;

• APIs;

• frameworks;

• foundation models;

• datasets;

• open-source software;

• cloud services;

• developer tools; and

• other technical resources.

Existing ideas, code and assets may be used, provided that:

• they are properly disclosed;

• the team has the right to use them; and

• substantial new work is completed during the official competition period.

Projects developed primarily before the official competition period may be excluded from judging.

The complete official project submission must be delivered through the Since AI platform before the deadline in the official event schedule.

Each team must also create and submit a corresponding project entry through Devpost before the Devpost submission deadline.

The Devpost entry may be a concise, public-facing version of the project and may link to materials submitted through the Since AI platform.

Unless the relevant challenge instructions state otherwise, the complete submission must include:

• project name;

• selected challenge or track;

• project description;

• all contributing team members;

• problem statement;

• solution description;

• technical architecture;

• technologies, models, APIs and datasets used;

• a working prototype, demonstration or clear testing instructions;

• a repository or other judge-accessible technical materials;

• demo or presentation materials;

• disclosure of relevant pre-existing assets;

• explanation of work completed during the official competition period;

• responsible AI, privacy, security and safety considerations; and

• proposed next steps.

The Since AI platform submission is the primary record of the complete competition entry.

Devpost is the secondary submission record and public project showcase.

Since AI may use information from either platform to:

• confirm eligibility;

• conduct judging;

• verify compliance;

• communicate project results; and

• administer prizes.

If information is missing, inaccessible or inconsistent, Since AI may request clarification.

For challenges involving confidential, proprietary, regulated, security-sensitive or restricted information, teams must follow the applicable disclosure instructions.

The public Devpost entry must contain only information the team is authorized to publish.

A non-confidential project summary may be accepted instead of sensitive:

• source code;

• data;

• architecture;

• documentation;

• demonstration materials; or

• business information.

Teams are responsible for ensuring that required materials are submitted correctly and remain accessible to authorized organizers and judges.

Late, incomplete, inaccessible, fraudulent, misleading or unauthorized submissions may be excluded from judging or disqualified.

Public voting will take place through the official Since AI platform.

The five eligible projects receiving the highest number of verified public votes will advance to the final-stage presentation.

Public voting is a qualification mechanism only. It does not independently determine the overall winner or special-award winners.

Since AI may:

• verify voter eligibility;

• apply reasonable voting limits;

• remove duplicate votes;

• remove automated or fraudulent votes;

• investigate suspicious voting activity;

• correct technical errors; and

• disqualify manipulated results.

If two or more projects are tied for a finalist position, Since AI may resolve the tie using:

• the published judging criteria;

• a preliminary jury review;

• verified vote timing or quality;

• an additional vote; or

• another fair and consistently applied method.

The official jury will evaluate the finalists and select the Grand Prize and applicable special-award winners.

The published judging criteria are:

• Technical Execution — 30%

• Challenge Fit and Impact — 25%

• Innovation — 20%

• Prototype and Demonstration — 15%

• Responsible Implementation and Feasibility — 10%

Judges may request:

• a live demonstration;

• source or repository access;

• testing access;

• technical clarification;

• eligibility verification; and

• additional documentation.

Each relevant challenge partner will evaluate eligible projects submitted within its challenge and select the Company Challenge Winner.

Challenge partners may use:

• the general judging criteria;

• published challenge-specific criteria;

• live demonstrations;

• technical evaluation;

• business relevance; and

• feasibility for continued development.

Judging decisions are final, except where Since AI identifies a clear:

• calculation error;

• eligibility error;

• administrative error;

• conflict of interest;

• violation of these Official Rules; or

• material failure in the judging process.

The total published cash prize pool is €50,000, divided as follows:

• One winning project

• €10,000

• Fifteen winning projects

• €2,000 per winning project

• €30,000 total

• One winning project

• €4,000

• One winning project

• €3,000

• One winning project

• €3,000

Unless otherwise announced before the competition begins, a project may receive both:

• a Company Challenge Winner Award; and

• the Grand Prize or a special award.

Only prizes expressly published and confirmed by Since AI form part of the competition.

A prize cannot be transferred to another project without organizer approval.

Prize recipients may be required to:

• verify their identity;

• verify eligibility;

• provide payment details;

• provide tax or invoicing information;

• identify an authorized team representative;

• sign reasonable prize documentation; and

• comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Requested documentation must normally be provided within 30 days of the organizer’s request unless another deadline is communicated.

Since AI will use reasonable efforts to process payment within 60 days after receiving all required and valid information.

Payment may take longer where reasonably necessary because of:

• tax requirements;

• international payment restrictions;

• sanctions screening;

• banking delays;

• incomplete documentation;

• disputes within the team; or

• circumstances outside the organizer’s control.

Participants are responsible for taxes and other obligations relating to prizes in their country of residence.

A team prize may be paid:

• to an authorized team representative;

• to a legal entity nominated by the team; or

• separately to team members,

as reasonably determined by Since AI and applicable payment requirements.

Since AI is not responsible for deciding the internal distribution of a team prize unless required by law.

Since AI may withhold or reassign a prize if the recipient:

• is ineligible;

• violates these Official Rules;

• provides false or misleading information;

• fails to provide required documentation;

• cannot legally receive the prize; or

• fails to respond within the stated deadline.

Winning a prize does not automatically create an employment, investment, procurement, licensing or commercial relationship.

Each participant, team, challenge partner and third party retains ownership of intellectual property and materials they owned or controlled before the event.

This may include:

• software;

• source code;

• models;

• algorithms;

• datasets;

• APIs;

• inventions;

• documentation;

• designs;

• trademarks;

• trade secrets;

• business information; and

• confidential materials.

Participation does not by itself transfer ownership of pre-existing intellectual property.

Materials provided by a challenge partner remain the property of the relevant challenge partner or other rights holder.

Unless accepted challenge-specific terms expressly state otherwise, teams retain ownership of new intellectual property they create during the event.

Challenge-specific terms may provide for:

• team ownership;

• challenge-partner ownership;

• joint ownership;

• assignment;

• exclusive licensing;

• non-exclusive licensing;

• evaluation rights;

• pilot rights;

• commercialization rights; or

• rights of first negotiation.

Any assignment, transfer of ownership or grant of exclusive rights must be stated in:

• accepted challenge-specific terms; or

• another written agreement between the relevant parties.

Where accepted challenge-specific terms conflict with this general section, those challenge-specific terms govern the relevant challenge.

By submitting a project, the team grants Since AI, authorized judges and the relevant challenge partner a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free right to:

• access;

• review;

• test;

• demonstrate internally; and

• evaluate

the submission solely for:

• event administration;

• eligibility verification;

• judging;

• winner selection;

• prize administration; and

• potential follow-on discussions.

This permission does not transfer ownership.

Access to confidential or restricted materials will be limited to authorized parties and handled according to applicable challenge-specific terms or confidentiality arrangements.

Use of Devpost is also governed by Devpost’s applicable terms and policies.

For materials that the team is authorized to make public, the team grants Since AI a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right to:

• display;

• reproduce;

• describe;

• translate;

• photograph;

• record;

• distribute; and

• promote

those public materials in connection with:

• the Devpost gallery;

• Since AI websites;

• social media;

• event communications;

• event recordings;

• reports;

• stakeholder communications; and

• promotion of current or future Since AI activities.

This licence does not include confidential or restricted materials.

Since AI will not intentionally publish materials identified and treated as confidential under accepted challenge-specific terms.

Teams working on confidential challenges may be required to provide a separate public:

• summary;

• image;

• presentation;

• demonstration; or

• project description.

The event may be photographed, livestreamed or recorded for event documentation, communications and promotion.

The processing and use of identifiable participant images and recordings will be handled according to:

• applicable law;

• the Since AI privacy notice;

• event notices; and

• any applicable consent or objection procedures.

Participants should notify the organizer if they have a specific safety, privacy or accessibility concern relating to photography or recording.

Teams are responsible for ensuring they have all necessary rights, licences, permissions and consents for materials used in their projects.

This includes:

• code;

• models;

• datasets;

• APIs;

• images;

• audio;

• video;

• designs;

• trademarks;

• personal data; and

• other third-party content.

Teams must comply with:

• open-source licences;

• API and service terms;

• data-protection requirements;

• challenge restrictions;

• export-control requirements; and

• applicable laws.

Projects must not knowingly infringe another party’s intellectual-property, privacy, confidentiality, contractual or other rights.

Participants must not access, use or disclose confidential, personal, restricted, unlawfully obtained or proprietary information without authorization.

Teams must follow challenge-specific requirements concerning:

• confidentiality;

• personal data;

• cybersecurity;

• credentials;

• access control;

• secure environments;

• data retention;

• model usage;

• publication; and

• deletion or return of materials.

Challenge materials may be used only:

• for the authorized purpose;

• during the authorized period; and

• by authorized participants.

Participants may be required to accept a separate:

• confidentiality agreement;

• non-disclosure agreement;

• data-use agreement;

• acceptable-use policy; or

• security instruction.

Participants must promptly report suspected:

• data leaks;

• security incidents;

• unauthorized access;

• credential exposure; or

• misuse of challenge materials

to the organizer.

Projects may lead to opportunities involving:

• pilot programs;

• employment;

• investment;

• research;

• licensing;

• procurement;

• commercialization; or

• continued development.

Unless already governed by accepted challenge-specific terms, any such relationship requires a separate written agreement.

Neither participants nor challenge partners are obligated to enter into a follow-on relationship solely because they participated in the event.

All participants must comply with the Since AI Code of Conduct:

https://sinceai.ai/code-of-conduct

Since AI is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, professional, respectful and harassment-free environment.

The following are prohibited:

• harassment;

• discrimination;

• intimidation;

• threats or violence;

• deliberate disruption;

• illegal or unsafe activity;

• unauthorized system or data access;

• malicious software;

• cybersecurity attacks;

• misuse of personal or confidential information;

• cheating;

• plagiarism;

• misrepresentation;

• damage to property; and

• conduct that materially harms the safety, fairness or integrity of the event.

Since AI may warn, restrict, remove or disqualify anyone whose conduct violates these requirements.

Serious incidents may be reported to:

• venue security;

• emergency services;

• law-enforcement authorities;

• educational institutions;

• employers; or

• other relevant parties,

where appropriate or legally required.

Since AI may disqualify a participant, team or project for reasons including:

• ineligibility;

• violation of these Official Rules;

• violation of challenge-specific terms;

• late or incomplete submission;

• plagiarism;

• intellectual-property infringement;

• false or misleading information;

• unauthorized use or disclosure of data;

• vote manipulation;

• judging manipulation;

• undisclosed conflicts of interest;

• unsafe or unlawful conduct; or

• conduct compromising the fairness or integrity of the competition.

Where reasonable and appropriate, Since AI may request clarification or permit correction before making a final decision.

The organizer will apply these rules consistently and in good faith.

Since AI aims to avoid material rule changes after the competition begins.

The organizer may make reasonable amendments where necessary to:

• correct errors;

• clarify ambiguity;

• comply with law;

• address safety or security;

• maintain fairness;

• respond to technical problems; or

• manage circumstances outside its reasonable control.

Material changes will be communicated through official channels.

Changes will not be applied in a way that unfairly disadvantages participants who reasonably relied on the previous rules, except where necessary for legal, security or safety reasons.

Since AI may suspend, modify, postpone or cancel all or part of the event because of:

• safety or security concerns;

• legal or regulatory requirements;

• venue restrictions;

• technical failures;

• fraud;

• misconduct;

• illness;

• emergency;

• force majeure;

• circumstances outside the organizer’s reasonable control; or

• circumstances preventing fair or safe operation.

Where reasonably possible, material changes will be communicated promptly.

Prize arrangements following a cancellation or material interruption will be handled fairly and in accordance with:

• applicable law;

• Devpost requirements;

• completed judging stages; and

• available eligible submissions.

Participants are responsible for:

• their own equipment;

• personal property;

• travel;

• accommodation;

• insurance;

• health;

• account security;

• backups;

• conduct; and

• compliance with applicable requirements.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Since AI is not responsible for:

• indirect or consequential losses;

• lost profits;

• lost opportunities;

• loss of data;

• third-party services;

• participant equipment;

• travel disruption;

• acts of other participants; or

• circumstances outside its reasonable control.

Nothing in these Official Rules excludes or limits liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

Since AI processes participant personal data in accordance with its platform Privacy Policy:

https://sinceai.app/privacy

The Privacy Policy explains:

• what data is collected;

• why it is processed;

• the applicable legal bases;

• how long it is retained;

• who may receive it;

• the service providers involved;

• participant rights; and

• how to contact Since AI.

Participant data may be processed for purposes including:

• account creation;

• application evaluation;

• admission;

• event administration;

• communications;

• safety;

• access control;

• team formation;

• challenge allocation;

• voting;

• judging;

• prize administration;

• reporting; and

• legal compliance.

Optional recruiting-related data sharing will occur only according to the choices and consents presented through the Since AI platform.

Participants must comply with:

• these Official Rules;

• the Since AI Platform Terms of Service;

• the Since AI Code of Conduct;

• the Since AI Privacy Policy;

• Devpost’s terms and policies;

• accepted challenge-specific terms;

• venue rules; and

• applicable law.

For competition-specific matters, these Official Rules govern over general Since AI platform terms unless mandatory law requires otherwise.

Accepted challenge-specific terms govern the relevant challenge where they differ from these general rules.

Mandatory applicable law always prevails.

These Official Rules are governed by the laws of Finland, without prejudice to mandatory legal rights that cannot be waived.

The parties should first attempt to resolve disputes through good-faith discussion.

If a dispute cannot be resolved, it will be submitted to the competent courts of Finland, subject to any mandatory jurisdiction rules under applicable law.

If any provision of these Official Rules is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The invalid provision will be interpreted or replaced as closely as legally possible to reflect its original purpose.

By participating, accepting challenge-specific terms or submitting a project, each participant confirms that they have:

• read these Official Rules;

• understood them;

• had an opportunity to ask questions;

• accepted the applicable terms; and

• agreed to comply with them.

Questions:

builders@sinceai.fi