Here are the following awards that can be won for the hackathon. 


Stack 'em on your sash.

None required. Each one grants extra points for your submission. Hover a patch to see it lift.
🔌
Off the Grid
No cloud APIs. The whole thing runs on the model in front of you.
Local-first
🎯
Well-Tuned
Your app uses a fine-tuned model you've published on Hugging Face.
Fine-tuned
🎨
Off-Brand
A custom frontend that pushes past the default Gradio look (Hint: see `gr.Server`).
Custom UI
🦙
Llama Champion
Your model runs through the llama.cpp runtime.
llama.cpp
📡
Sharing is Caring
You shared your agent trace on the Hub for everyone to learn from.
Open trace
📓
Field Notes
You wrote a blog post or report about what you built and what you learned.
Tentative
❋ The Awards · What you're competing for
The trophy cabinet.

Every submission to a main track competes for that track's podium. Sponsor and special awards are separate categories on top — one great app can take home more than one.
Main Track Awards · $18,000
🏡
Backyard AI
Top four submissions on this trail.
1st First Place$4,000
2nd Second Place$2,500
3rd Third Place$1,500
4th Fourth Place$1,000
🍄
Thousand Token Wood
Top four submissions on this trail.
1st First Place$4,000
2nd Second Place$2,500
3rd Third Place$1,500
4th Fourth Place$1,000
🗳️
Community Choice — by Hugging Face
One winner, voted by the community. The app the trail itself loved most.
$2,000
Sponsor Awards
🏮
OpenBMB Awards
$10,000 total — three prizes in each of the two tracks for the standout OpenBMB picks.
1st First, per track$2,500
2nd Second, per track$1,500
3rd Third, per track$1,000
🌀
OpenAI Track
$10,000 total — OpenAI's own podium across all submissions.
1st First Place$5,000
2nd Second Place$3,000
3rd Third Place$2,000
🟩
NVIDIA Nemotron Quest
Two physical GPUs for the standout Nemotron builds.
×2 WinnersRTX 5080 each
🟢
Modal Awards
$20,000 in Modal credits for the top Modal-powered apps.
1st First Place$10,000 credits
2nd Second Place$7,000 credits
3rd Third Place$3,000 credits
Special Awards · $8,000
$2,000
🎖️ Bonus Quest Champion
The most merit badges stacked on a single sash. Collect 'em all.
$1,500
🎨 Off-Brand Award
The best custom UI pushing past the default Gradio look. gr.Server is your friend.
$1,500
🐜 Tiny Titan
The best app built on a genuinely tiny model — think ≤4B parameters.
$1,000
🎬 Best Demo
The full package: great app, great demo video, great social post.
$1,000
🤖 Best Agent
The best agentic app — all under the 32B cap, of course.
$1,000
🃏 Judges' Wildcard
For the entry that's amazing but fits no category. We know you're out there.
All In $48,000 cash + two RTX 5080 GPUs + $20,000 in Modal credits — across 29 separate awards
❋ How to Participate
Four steps. No application. No waitlist.
I