# Build Small Hackathon > Org profile for **Build Small Hackathon** on Hugging Face. > Source: https://huggingface.co/build-small-hackathon ![Build Small Hackathon — small models, big adventure](https://cdn-uploads.huggingface.co/production/uploads/60d2dc1007da9c17c72708f8/Z0dKQfn56SAMmjVQTEaA0.png) Hosted by **Gradio** · **Hugging Face** Anchor Sponsors: **OpenBMB** · **OpenAI** · **NVIDIA** · **Modal** Cash & Prizes: **$48k+** --- ## Backed by the best in AI The folks making this adventure possible — the full roster, locked in. ### From Your Hosts - **Hugging Face** — **$15,000** into the cash prize pool, plus **$20** in Hugging Face credits for **every participant**. We're not just hosting the trail — we're packing the provisions too. ### Anchor Sponsors - **OpenAI** — **$10,000** in cash prizes, plus **$100** in Codex credits for the first **1,000** participants. - **NVIDIA** — Two **RTX 5080 GPUs 🔥** as physical prizes. - **Modal** — **$250** in Modal credits for **every participant**, plus **$20,000** in credits for the winners. - **OpenBMB** — **$10,000** in special category prizes — split across both tracks for the standout OpenBMB picks. ### Supporting Sponsors - **Cohere** — **$5,000** in cash prize contribution to the pool. - **JetBrains** — **$5,000** in cash prize contribution to the pool. - **Black Forest Labs** — **$3,000** in cash prize contribution to the pool. **Total Prize Pool: $48,000+** in cash & physical prizes across both tracks — plus per-participant credits ($100 Codex · $250 Modal · $20 Hugging Face). > Registrations are closed — and the trail is _open!_ > Sign-ups wrapped on **June 3, 2026**. Registered builders — the hack window is live, **June 5–15**. Hop into the [Discord](https://discord.gg/YHECTft87Z), find your teammates, and start building. --- ## ❋ Chapter Zero — Why this exists The pace of AI over the last year has been anxiety-inducing. Labs release larger and larger models that do more of the things that make us feel human — writing, drawing, speaking, coding. No wonder more than half of us think the risks of AI outweigh the benefits. We're sponsoring a hackathon to take things back to how they felt in 2021 — when models were small enough to tinker with, and the vibe was fun and hopeful about how this technology could improve our lives. This hackathon is different. Rather than using a giant LLM to ship yet another B2B SaaS, we want you to **think small**. Armed with only **32 billion parameters**, solve a problem someone you know is facing — or build something whimsical. --- ## ❋ Two Tracks · Pick your trail ### Chapter One — 🏡 Backyard AI Solve a real problem for someone you actually know. Pick a person — a neighbor, a parent, a small-business owner on your street — and build something that makes their day measurably better. **Judged on:** - Problem is specific and real - The person actually _used it_ - Honest fit between problem and the small-model constraint - Polish of the Gradio app ### Chapter Two — 🍄 An Adventure in Thousand Token Wood Build something delightful that wouldn't exist without AI. Wander somewhere weirder. A toy, a tiny game, a strange interactive story, an art experiment that surprises you. The AI should be doing the fun thing — not just helping you build it. Strange is good. Joyful is the bar. **Judged on:** - Genuinely delightful (would you show a friend?) - AI is load-bearing for the experience - Originality of concept - Polish of the Gradio app --- ## ❋ The Constraints — Three rules of the trail **Pack light.** 1. **Small Models Only** — Total parameters must be **≤ 32 billion**. The model fits on a laptop. So should your ambition. 2. **Built on Gradio** — Your app must be a **Gradio app**, hosted as a **Hugging Face Space**. That's the canvas. 3. **Show, Don't Tell** — A short **demo video** and a **social-media post** are part of the submission. Make it sing. --- ## ❋ Bonus Quests · Six earnable merit badges None required. Each one grants extra points for your submission. - 🔌 **Off the Grid** (Local-first) — No cloud APIs. The whole thing runs on the model in front of you. - 🎯 **Well-Tuned** (Fine-tuned) — Your app uses a fine-tuned model you've published on Hugging Face. - 🎨 **Off-Brand** (Custom UI) — A custom frontend that pushes past the default Gradio look. - 🦙 **Llama Champion** (llama.cpp) — Your model runs through the llama.cpp runtime. - 📡 **Sharing is Caring** (Open trace) — You shared your agent trace on the Hub for everyone to learn from. - 📓 **Field Notes** (Tentative) — You wrote a blog post or report about what you built and what you learned. --- ## ❋ How to Participate **Four steps. No application. No waitlist.** 1. **Register** _(Closed)_ — Registrations closed June 3, 2026. If you registered and joined this org, you're all set for the trail. 2. **Find your people** — Hop into the Gradio Discord. AMAs. Connect with Gradio and HF folks. Potential teammates live there. 3. **Build & ship** — Build your Gradio app and host it as a Space under this org. 4. **Submit** — Drop your Space link, a short demo video, and a social post by the deadline. --- ## ❋ How to Get Started · Tools for the trail - 📓 [ML Intern](https://github.com/huggingface/ml-intern) - 📚 [Gradio Guides](https://www.gradio.app/guides/quickstart) - 🛠 [Gradio's gr.Server — fully custom UIs](https://huggingface.co/blog/introducing-gradio-server) - 🦙 [Getting Started with Llama.cpp](https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp) --- ## ❋ Timeline · A hand-drawn map **Two weekends in the woods.** - ✓ **May 07 – June 3, 2026** — Registration window. Now closed. Sign-ups wrapped June 3. - **June 5, 2026** — Hack window begins. You are here. Two weekends to build, ship, and demo. - **Mid-window** — Live AMA. Ask the sponsors and Gradio team anything. - **June 15, 2026** — Submissions close. Space, demo video, social post locked in. - **[date TBD]** — Winners announced. Per track, plus bonus-quest leaderboard. --- ## Build something _small_. Two weekends. Two tracks. The model on your laptop. The neighbor next door. [→ Join the Discord ←](https://discord.gg/YHECTft87Z) > Registrations closed June 3 — the trail is open through June 15! [Gradio docs](https://www.gradio.app/docs) · [Hackathon org](https://huggingface.co/build-small-hackathon)