$10,000 for Next-Generation AI Agents: SoftServe Invites Participants to a Hackathon

LVIV, Ukraine (Jan. 13, 2026)  — SoftServe, a premier IT consulting and digital services provider, today announced the launch of AgentForge, a large-scale hackathon dedicated to the development of Agentic AI solutions. The hackathon will take place in a hybrid format (online and offline), with the final awards ceremony hosted at the company’s office in Lviv.

Agentic AI represents the next stage in the evolution of artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional chatbots, autonomous AI agents can independently plan actions, interact with one another, and perform complex tasks with minimal human involvement. The hackathon is initiated by SoftServe’s tech teams working on AI solutions — the Gen AI Lab team and the AI & Data Science department. The event aims to bring together developers, researchers, and students to address practical challenges in this field.

The AgentForge hackathon is designed to support the development of Ukraine’s AI ecosystem, provide participants with hands-on experience in Agentic AI technology, and enable the creation of solutions applicable in business, research, and technology products.

When and where will the hackathon take place?

The event will be held in two stages:

• Feb. 5–10 (online): A 5-day intensive sprint during which teams will work on practical projects, receive mentorship support, and go through an online semi-final.
• Feb. 17 (offline, final): The top teams will meet in Lviv to present their projects to a jury, take part in panel discussions, and network with AI experts.

Who can participate?

The AgentForge hackathon is open to developers, data science specialists, ML engineers, anyone interested in building AI and agentic systems.

Registration is individual, after which participants can form teams of 1–4 people. Teams are expected to create AI systems that fully automate complex processes — from development pipelines to ML experiments. Solutions should demonstrate agents’ abilities to reason, adapt, and interact autonomously.

To support project development, teams will receive access to the Anthropic API for building agents, assistance from a dedicated BA Agent for project structuring, and mentorship from leading SoftServe experts in Data Science and AI. The jury and expert committee will include representatives from business, academia, and the AI industry.

The total prize pool is $10,000:

• First place: $5,000
• Second place: $3,000
• Third place: $2,000

The deadline to submit applications for participation in the hackathon is Sunday, Feb. 1 via the provided link.