HACK1984 — NOV 7–8, 2026, Boston

Sat Nov 7 – Sun Nov 8, 2026
300 Massachusetts Ave, Boston

FIND US

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BACKED BY

[SPONSOR LOGO]

WITH SUPPORT FROM

[SPONSOR LOGO]

Want your logo in one of these?

Sponsor HACK1984

TRACKS

Three ways to win

A main track for software that protects the people using it, one prize for the most fundable idea, and a sponsor track from Tavily with three places. More tracks will be announced as sponsors join.

MAIN TRACK01 / 03

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Privacy-First

Software that protects its users by design.

Build software that keeps people's data theirs: local AI that never phones home, tools that anonymize data before anyone else sees it, healthcare software that treats patient records like they matter. Make protecting the person using it the architecture, not a toggle in settings. More details on the track are coming closer to the event.

BUILD: Local AI. Anonymization software. Healthcare software. Anything local-first, encrypted, or built to collect less.
JUDGED ON: What leaves the device, who can read it, and can you prove it? Then: would anyone use it?
PRIZE: The main prizes of the weekend, announced soon

ONE PRIZE02 / 03

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Most Startup-able

The idea most likely to become a company.

A standalone prize for the most fundable idea in the room: a real problem, someone who would pay to have it solved, and a reason you are the team to solve it. The prize is meant to come from one of the venture funds sponsoring the weekend; details to come.

BUILD: Something with a first customer in mind. A working demo, a one-line pitch and a reason it has to exist now.
JUDGED ON: How fundable is it? Who is it for, would they pay, and why is this team the one to build it?
PRIZE: One prize, to be announced

SPONSOR TRACK03 / 03

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Best Use of Tavily

Build with Tavily's search API. Three places.

Tavily gives AI agents real-time access to the web: search, extract and crawl, built for language models rather than for people clicking links. Use it to build an agent that researches, verifies and cites its sources, without turning the person asking into the product.

BUILD: A research agent that shows its sources. A fact-checker for a feed. A tool that finds what the web knows about you.
JUDGED ON: How central Tavily is to what the project does, and how well it works.
PRIZE: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place

One weekend, start to finish

All times Eastern. The schedule is tentative until the week of the event.

Click a time for detailsTap a time. Details below the list

SAT · 12:00

Hacking starts

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ORGANIZED BY

DETAILS

Everything you need for the weekend

Food, a place to work and people to build with. Show up with a laptop and an idea, or just the laptop.

MEALS: Dinner, breakfast, lunch and late-night snacks all weekend. Tell us about dietary needs on the signup form.
VENUE: 300 Massachusetts Ave, Boston. Check in at the front desk with your student ID.
TEAMS: Up to four people per team. Come solo and find a team at the kickoff.
WHAT TO BRING: Laptop, charger and student ID. Building hardware? Bring your own parts.
COST: $5 per student, collected before the event, not at signup. Food, Wi-Fi and swag are covered.