Saturday, 12 September 2026 — 13 September 2026
Prize Pool
$1,200 cash (1st), $300 each (2nd-5th), Codex credits for the top 3 Codex builders
Registration closed
Registration Deadline
13 Sept 2026
The next edition is HackerRank Orchestrate October 2026, starting 24 October 2026. See Orchestrate October'26.
HackerRank Orchestrate (September 2026 edition) was a 24-hour online hackathon where participants designed, built and shipped an AI agent for a real-world problem. This edition is over.
Key dates Challenge started: 12 September 2026, 6:00 PM IST, with the problem sent by email. AI judge interview: opened right after submission. Live evaluation: 14 to 15 September 2026. Results: 15 September 2026.
Who could take part Anyone. It was a solo challenge (no teams), and no prior AI experience was needed.
How it worked Participants built with their own tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or anything else) and submitted their code, their agent's output and their AI chat transcript. A 30-minute voice interview with an AI judge followed, covering their architecture, decisions and trade-offs.
Rewards 1st place: $1,200 cash, plus opportunities with tech companies, a 1:1 chat with industry experts and HackerRank merchandise. 2nd to 5th place: $300 each, plus opportunities with tech companies and HackerRank merchandise. Codex credits for the top 3 who built with Codex: $10,000 (1st), $7,500 (2nd) and $5,000 (3rd). Every participant: 10 HackerRank AI Mock Interview credits and a certificate of participation.
Source HackerRank's official September 2026 edition page (hackerrank.com/hackerrank-orchestrate-september26), checked 19 October 2026.
Open to all developers worldwide. No geographic restrictions.
Prize Pool
$1,200 cash (1st), $300 each (2nd-5th), Codex credits for the top 3 Codex builders
Registration closed
Registration Deadline
13 Sept 2026