ELIGIBILITY
Q: What is the minimum age requirement to participate?
A: To be eligible for prizes in Build with Gemini XPRIZE, participants must be above the legal age of majority in their country of residence. This requirement exists because we cannot award prizes to individuals who are not legal adults, as they cannot complete the required documentation to legally accept the terms to win. If you are still interested in building something for the hackathon, you are free to participate and submit a project to be shown in the Project Gallery at the end of the hackathon, but unfortunately, your project would not be eligible for prizes.
Q: Is eligibility based on where I live or my citizenship?
A: Hackathon eligibility is based on your country of legal residence, which may differ from your current residence and country of citizenship. If you're not sure whether your visa provides a legal resident status or not sure whether laws of the United States or local law prohibit your participation, we recommend reaching out to a local tax professional as every country has different regulations. View the list of prohibited countries within the rules at xprize.devpost.com/rules.
Q: Can I participate if I am a student or participate alone?
A: Participation as an individual is allowed. Student status does not affect your eligibility to enter. As long as you meet all of the other eligibility requirements (age of majority, not a resident of a prohibited country, etc.), you're welcome to participate. See the full rules at xprize.devpost.com/rules.
Q: Can I be on multiple teams or submit more than one project?
A: An Eligible Individual may join more than one Team or Organization and an Eligible Individual who is part of a Team or Organization may also enter the Hackathon on an individual basis. But also note that as an Entrant you may submit more than one Submission, however, each Submission must be unique and substantially different from each of the Entrant's other Submissions, as determined by the Sponsor and Devpost in their sole discretion. Please review the full rules at https://xprize.devpost.com/rules for all project and eligibility requirements.
Q: Can a team include members who are minors if the team leader is 18+?
A: Teams need to be made up of Eligible Individuals and per the Official Rules, Eligible Individuals are defined as Individuals who are at least the age of majority where they reside as of the time of entry. This requirement exists because we cannot award prizes to individuals who are not legal adults, as they cannot complete the required documentation to legally accept the terms to win. If a minor wants to be part of the Team, you are free to participate and submit a project to be shown in the Project Gallery at the end of the hackathon, but unfortunately, that Team would not be eligible for prizes.
Q: What is the maximum team size?
A: There is no maximum team size. However, please note that the team must appoint and authorize one individual to be the representative. If your team is chosen as a winner that representative will be responsible for receiving and distributing any prizes to the team.
CREDITS & RESOURCES
Q: How do I access the Google Cloud and Antigravity resources?
A: Google Cloud and Antigravity include getting started resources directly through their websites at https://cloud.google.com/free and https://antigravity.google/.
Q: Do any of the getting started resources require payment to use?
A: No, payment is not required to use any of the getting started resources. Google Cloud Free Trial is a 90-day program that lets new users try the most popular Google Cloud products without any financial commitment. Find more about that here. For Antigravity there is a $0/month plan available here.
Q: Are there additional credits available for those who are building & can’t afford them?
A: A limited number of Google Ultra Plan coupons (3 months free) are available for builders who are actively building, registered for the hackathon, and will struggle to afford to continue without help. You may apply for them here. Applications will undergo a review, including identity verification.
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
Q: Does my business/project need to be newly created for this hackathon, or can I submit something I’ve been working on already?
A: For this hackathon, projects must be newly created during the Submission Period (May 19 – Aug 17, 2026). A project that has been created before that date is not eligible, regardless of whether it was publicly released or not. You are allowed to reuse pre-existing templates, frameworks, boilerplates, or code, but you must clearly explain how your project utilizes any pre-existing work in your submission description. See the rules for more details: https://xprize.devpost.com/rules
Q: What does "newly created" mean — does the GitHub repo need to be new?
A: "Newly created" means that the business you are building (that operates with AI) should be newly created after the start of the Submission Period (May 19 – Aug 17, 2026). You may reuse pre-existing templates, frameworks, boilerplates, or code, but you must clearly explain how your business operations/project utilizes any pre-existing work in your submission description. See the rules: https://xprize.devpost.com/rules
Q: Is there a specific platform required to build my project?
A: There is no single required development platform. The main requirement is to "Build a business that operates with AI" and the project must use at least one product from Google Cloud. Review the full project requirements and judging criteria in the rules here: https://xprize.devpost.com/rules. Once ready, submit at xprize.devpost.com before August 17, 2026.
Q: What does it mean for a business to be "operated by AI agents"?
A: This means AI is transforming workflows in the business. For example, an AI agent being used for customer support or an AI tool being used to create marketing assets. Please note that one of the three judging criteria is AI-Native Operations in which Judges assess the extent to which AI is live in production and executes key decisions.
Q: Can all my projects be run under the same business entity?
A: The rules allow participants to submit multiple projects, but each must be unique and substantially different from each other. There is no requirement to create different business entities. Please review the Official Rules at https://xprize.devpost.com/rules for complete details.
Q: Is a specific payment infrastructure (e.g., Stripe) required for revenue evidence?
A: No specific payment tools are required other than that projects must use at least one product from Google Cloud. You can use any payment infrastructure, including local payment gateways.
Q: Does calling Gemini via Vertex AI satisfy the Gemini API requirement?
A: The requirement is that projects must use at least one Google Cloud product. Using the Gemini API through AI studio API or via Vertex AI would be appropriate.
JUDGING
Q: How are projects judged? What are the judging criteria?
A: There are 3 judging criteria: Business Viability, AI-Native Operations, and Category Impact. These are equally weighted and each eligible project will be scored on all 3. For the full criteria, see https://xprize.devpost.com/rules/#6-judges-criteria.
Q: Will $0 revenue in May disqualify us?
A: There is no specific disqualification outlined if revenue is $0 in a given month. One of the three judging criteria is business viability which assesses sustainability and revenue. The monthly breakdown informs the sustainability half of the Business Viability criterion. There is no specific penalty mechanism — you must show the revenue, if any, that was earned during the hackathon period.
Q: Is there a minimum revenue threshold or a minimum number of customers required?
A: The rules do not specify a minimum revenue threshold or a required number of customers. One of the three judging criteria is business viability which assesses sustainability and revenue.
Q: Does higher profit mean a higher score?
A: According to the Rules, one of the three judging criteria is business viability which assesses sustainability and revenue. For the full criteria, see https://xprize.devpost.com/rules/#6-judges-criteria
Q: Are judges bound by any NDA or confidentiality agreement?
A: Judges adhere to confidentiality and nondisclosure of project submissions. Private repos should be shared with testing@devpost.com and judging@hacker.fund to ensure sufficient protections during the judging process. The hackathon contest is designed to compliantly handle PII. As for any names you are not able to share, feel free to cross them out or similarly anonymize.
SUBMISSION
Q: How should we report revenue for subscription services — earned or cash basis?
A: The rules state "earned revenue." However, there is space on the submission form to explain more context and nuance about your business.
Q: Do I need to report my own salary as a marketing or operations expense?
A: Hackathon participants are asked to report any expenses that are associated with the business during the hackathon period, including any expenses associated with labour/salary and marketing and customer acquisition. Please be sure to explain the expense within your submission.
Q: Can I submit more than one project?
A: Per the hackathon rules, an Entrant may submit more than one Submission; however, each Submission must be unique and substantially different from each of the Entrant's other Submissions, as determined by the Sponsor and Devpost in their sole discretion. Please review the full rules at https://xprize.devpost.com/rules.
Q: When should I submit — do I need to submit early, or can I wait until the deadline?
A: You can submit at any time before the deadline. At the deadline everything is locked in so we encourage checking out the submission form early, drafting it as your project develops, and submitting early. You may edit your submission until the deadline closes on August 17, 2026.
Q: How do I submit my project? Can I email my GitHub repo?
A: Please submit your repository and all submission requirements through the Devpost platform. Sending content via email does not constitute a submission for the hackathon. After registering on xprize.devpost.com, use the "Start project" button and follow the steps to complete a submission.
Q: Can a GitHub repo owned by a company org be used for submission?
A: Either individual or company org-owned GitHub repos are acceptable. The key requirement about the code repository is: "Provide a URL to your code repository for judging and testing. The repository must contain all necessary source code. The repository must be either public (with relevant licensing) or private and shared with testing@devpost.com and judging@hacker.fund."
Q: Does the project need to be in English?
A: The official rules specify that "All Submission materials must be in English or, if not in English, the Entrant must provide an English translation of the demonstration video, text description, and testing instructions as well as all other materials submitted." This means that when submitting, make sure your write-up, deliverables, and video all have English available.