Berkeley SkyDeck and Cal Hacks Join Forces to Create Largest Generative AI Hackathon

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WHO: Berkeley SkyDeck, the global hub for entrepreneurship and a leading accelerator, and Cal Hacks, a nonprofit organization composed of students passionate about fostering a culture of hacking, entrepreneurship, and social good via the empowerment of technology.

WHAT: The Berkeley LLM Hackathon, an opportunity for the brightest collegiate minds from around the world to come together to innovate and collaborate using the latest AI tools. Initiated by UC Berkeley’s premier startup accelerator SkyDeck, and featuring key support from OpenAI, Microsoft, top open-source tools, and much more. For 36 hours, students and young alumni (those who have received their undergrad within the past 10 years) can explore the potential of large language models and other open source APIs through unprecedented, privileged access to the invite-only OpenAI API (including GPT-4 access), plugins, and some of the leading LLM hacking tools available. The event will also include workshops presented by Berkeley researchers including a workshop on AI safety.

Partners include:

• Corporations in AI including OpenAI and Microsoft
• VC investors including Sequoia, Lightspeed and Mayfield
• Key software providers sharing tools for building AI/LLM, including Langchain, LlamaIndex, MindsDB and Pinecone
• Leading Berkeley AI researchers

WHEN: Begins Saturday, June 17 at 9 am and ends Sunday, June 18 at 9 pm

WHERE: UC Berkeley Campus, Martin Luther King Student Union

WHY: The Berkeley LLM Hackathon offers the opportunity to develop skills, build meaningful connections and challenge yourself in a supportive and stimulating environment, whether you are an experienced hacker or just beginning your LLM journey. With over 1,000 participants, this is forecasted to be the largest LLM hackathon to ever take place, featuring workshops, mentorship and unique resources to help all participants bring their AI-powered ideas to life.

Prizes will be awarded by judges from some of the leading venture capital firms including Sequoia, Mayfield and Lightspeed. The top 4 teams will receive an investment of $50k each from the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund if they decide to pursue their project full-time.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED: All college and university students, new graduates and young alumni (those who have received their undergrad within the past 10 years) can register via https://ai.calhacks.io/ by June 9, 2023, at 11:59 pm. There is no cost to participate.

About Berkeley SkyDeck

Berkeley SkyDeck is a leading accelerator and the global hub for entrepreneurship. As UC Berkeley’s largest and most prominent accelerator, SkyDeck combines hands-on mentorship with the vast resources of its research university. SkyDeck is the only accelerator of its kind that offers the value of a dedicated investment fund alongside the resources and network of a top university. To date, SkyDeck startups have raised more than $1.7 billion in aggregate. Participating startups have access to SkyDeck’s 500 advisors, 70 industry partners, and a network of more than 510,000 UC Berkeley alumni. For more information, see skydeck.berkeley.edu.