A newer version of the Gradio SDK is available: 6.19.0
title: PitchFight AI
emoji: ⚔️
colorFrom: red
colorTo: yellow
sdk: gradio
sdk_version: 6.17.3
python_version: 3.12
app_file: app.py
pinned: true
license: mit
short_description: An AI founder pressure arena for practicing startup pitches.
tags:
- gradio
- build-small-hackathon
- backyard-ai
- startup
- pitch-practice
- founder-tooling
- voice-ai
- nvidia
- nemotron
- best-demo
- community-choice
- track:backyard
- sponsor:nvidia
- achievement:offbrand
- achievement:sharing
- achievement:fieldnotes
⚔️ PitchFight AI
Your first tough pitch should not be in front of a real judge.
An AI founder pressure arena where student builders practice startup pitches, survive judge-style questions, enter a deal round, and leave with a scorecard that shows exactly what to fix.
Try it: Live Space · Demo Video · Hugging Face Blog · GitHub · LinkedIn Post
⚔️ Click the arena above to try PitchFight AI.
TL;DR for Judges
- Backyard AI: PitchFight AI helps student founders practice before hackathons, demo days, mentor reviews, and pitch rooms.
- NVIDIA Nemotron Quest: The judge reasoning is powered by NVIDIA Nemotron through the backend API.
- Off Brand: The app uses a custom cinematic frontend instead of default Gradio components.
- Best Demo: The submission includes a live Space, demo video, and Hugging Face Blog write-up.
- Field Notes:
FIELD_NOTES.mdand the Hugging Face Blog explain the product idea, build decisions, and technical approach. - Community Choice: The public Space is available for users to try and upvote.
- Judges' Wildcard: PitchFight AI combines founder tooling, coaching, voice, and pressure simulation in one focused demo.
Why this exists
Most student founders do not lose because their idea is bad.
They lose because the first hard question comes too late.
"What is your moat?"
"Who exactly pays?"
"Why now?"
"What happens if a bigger player copies this?"
PitchFight AI gives student builders a private practice room before the real room. It turns pitch practice into a pressure battle so founders can sharpen their story, defend their idea, and build confidence before facing real judges.
What you can do
- Enter your startup idea. Start with a raw pitch or load a demo founder.
- Get a founder briefing. The system structures your idea into problem, solution, users, traction, competitors, and ask.
- Choose your opponent. Face a Skeptical VC, Technical Judge, or Hackathon Judge.
- Pick the pressure level. Practice Mode, Judge Mode, and Investor Mode change the intensity.
- Survive pitch rounds. Answer realistic follow-up questions based on your pitch.
- Use voice mode. Practice pitching and answering out loud.
- Enter the deal phase. Defend your ask in a negotiation-style pressure round.
- Get a scorecard. See what landed, what broke, and what to improve next.
Demo
Watch the demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4_BzIBhqxc
Live Space: https://huggingface.co/spaces/build-small-hackathon/PITCHFIGHT_AI
Build write-up: https://huggingface.co/blog/prakhar811/pitchfight-ai-practice-the-pitch-before-the-real-r
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/prakhar811/PitchFight/
How it is built
PitchFight AI runs as a Hugging Face Gradio Space, but the user experience is built as a custom frontend rather than a default Gradio interface.
The frontend talks to backend routes in app.py. The backend handles pitch structuring, judge personas, battle state, voice mode, deal rounds, and scorecard generation. NVIDIA Nemotron is used as the core reasoning model for the AI judge.
flowchart LR
founder[Student Founder] --> ui[Custom PitchFight Frontend]
ui --> api[Gradio Backend / app.py]
api --> router[Model Router]
router --> nemotron[NVIDIA Nemotron API]
nemotron --> judge[Judge Questions + Feedback]
judge --> ui
api --> scorecard[Scorecard + Coaching]
scorecard --> ui
System flow
- The founder submits or records a startup pitch.
- The backend structures the pitch into a founder briefing.
- The founder chooses an opponent and difficulty mode.
- The AI judge asks multi-round follow-up questions.
- The founder answers under pressure.
- The system evaluates clarity, confidence, defensibility, and traction.
- The founder enters a deal-style round.
- The final scorecard highlights strengths, weak points, and retry suggestions.
Tech stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Hosting | Hugging Face Spaces |
| Runtime | Gradio |
| Backend | Python, app.py, custom API routes |
| Frontend | Custom HTML, CSS, JavaScript |
| AI Judge | NVIDIA Nemotron |
| Voice Support | Nemotron Omni / voice pipeline |
| Audio Support | ffmpeg |
| Optional Persistence | MongoDB |
| Deployment Secrets | Hugging Face Space Secrets |
NVIDIA usage
PitchFight AI uses NVIDIA Nemotron as the core judge and reasoning model.
The backend calls the NVIDIA API through:
https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1
Primary model:
nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning
The model is used for:
- founder brief structuring
- judge persona reasoning
- pitch battle follow-up questions
- deal round pressure
- final scorecard feedback
NVIDIA_API_KEY is stored only as a backend secret and is never exposed to frontend JavaScript.
Built for the Build Small Hackathon
PitchFight AI was built for the Hugging Face Build Small Hackathon.
The goal was to create a focused AI product that feels genuinely useful through structured reasoning, judge personas, voice interaction, and a polished custom interface.
| Prize / Badge | Status | Why PitchFight AI qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| Backyard AI | Submitted | Helps student founders practice for real-world pitch situations. |
| NVIDIA Nemotron Quest | Submitted | Uses NVIDIA Nemotron as the core reasoning model. |
| Off Brand | Submitted | Fully custom cinematic frontend, not default Gradio UI. |
| Best Demo | Submitted | Live Space, demo video, and blog write-up are linked. |
| Field Notes | Submitted | Hugging Face Blog and FIELD_NOTES.md explain the idea, build, and tech. |
| Community Choice | Eligible | Public Space is available for users to try and upvote. |
| Judges' Wildcard | Eligible | PitchFight AI combines founder tooling, coaching, voice, and pressure simulation. |
Not claiming
- OpenBMB / MiniCPM: PitchFight AI uses NVIDIA Nemotron, not MiniCPM.
- Modal: Not claimed unless Modal is used in development or runtime.
- Tiny Titan: Not claimed because the primary model is not ≤4B.
- Off the Grid: Not claimed because the app uses the NVIDIA hosted API.
- Fine-tuning: Not claimed. Inference uses the hosted Nemotron API only.
Submission links
| Item | Link |
|---|---|
| Live Space | https://huggingface.co/spaces/build-small-hackathon/PITCHFIGHT_AI |
| Demo Video | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4_BzIBhqxc |
| Hugging Face Blog | https://huggingface.co/blog/prakhar811/pitchfight-ai-practice-the-pitch-before-the-real-r |
| GitHub Repository | https://github.com/prakhar811/PitchFight/ |
| Field Notes | FIELD_NOTES.md |
Hugging Face deployment
Required Space secret:
NVIDIA_API_KEY=
Optional variables:
APP_ENV=production
MAX_ROUNDS=6
DEFAULT_MODEL_MODE=premium_nvidia
NVIDIA_BASE_URL=https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1
NVIDIA_OMNI_MODEL=nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning
ENABLE_DECK_CRITIQUE=true
ENABLE_DEAL_BATTLE=true
ENABLE_VOICE_MODE=true
MONGODB_URI=
Never put API keys in frontend code or commit real secrets to GitHub.
Run locally
python -m venv venv
.\venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp .env.example .env
python app.py
Open:
http://127.0.0.1:7860
Install ffmpeg locally if using voice mode.
Project structure
.
├── app.py Gradio app entrypoint and backend routes
├── requirements.txt Python dependencies
├── packages.txt System packages such as ffmpeg
├── .env.example Local environment variable template
├── frontend/ Custom HTML, CSS, JS, and UI assets
├── core/ Backend handlers, model router, clients
├── FIELD_NOTES.md Build notes for the Field Notes badge
└── README.md Space card and hackathon submission write-up
Safety note
PitchFight AI is a practice and coaching tool. It does not replace real mentors, investors, or legal/financial advisors. It is designed to help founders sharpen their pitch before entering the real room.
If your pitch can survive the arena, it has a better chance in the room.