Coastal Karnataka's first Gen AI student buildathon. 50 slots across 5 domains with 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM build time to build a working product for a real coastal problem with Gen AI and vibe-code tools, then present to juries from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM. ₹40,000+ in prizes.
Build 4 Karnataka travels city to city. Every edition stays on this site with its winners, jury and highlights, so the next one knows the bar it has to clear.
Monday, 7 September 2026. Bengaluru's first Gen AI student buildathon.
Saturday, 28 November 2026. 12 coastal problem statements from local partners. Every registered team gets a seat until places run out.
You don’t need years of coding experience to ship a real product. With Gen AI tools, a great team can build something meaningful during build time.
Build with Gen AI and vibe-code tools such as Voiceflow, Glide, Bubble, Airtable, OpenAI and Gemini, not raw code from scratch.
One day. Problem statements go live 48 hours before. Submit by 4:30 PM, then demo to the judges at your table.
A prize pool and goodies kits for the best builds, and certificates of achievement for every participant.
Every problem statement comes from a coastal startup, co-operative, hospital or MSME, and the partner judges the teams that take it on. Top prototypes will be evaluated for incubation support and funding.
Local partners set 12 problem statements across these domains, so 3–4 teams take on each one. Statements go live on Thu 26 Nov at 10:00 AM; pick yours by Fri 27 Nov, 6:00 PM.
Develop data-driven AI solutions that optimize agricultural yields, strengthen supply chains, and empower farmers with actionable insights.
Arecanut and coconut crop-disease advice, cashew price info, advisories in Kannada and Tulu.
Leverage AI and computer vision to enhance patient care, optimize physical wellness, and revolutionize real-time medical diagnostics.
Patient follow-up and medicine reminders in local languages, rural triage, hospital queue info.
Use AI to connect local sellers with buyers, improve freshness and pricing, and bridge physical markets and online storefronts.
Fish-market price and freshness info, cold chain, cashew and Udupi handloom sellers going online.
Build intelligent systems that secure financial ecosystems against fraud and empower the workforce through personalized, AI-driven career and learning pathways.
Co-op bank customer assistants, fraud alerts for seniors, loan and scheme comparison.
Deploy multimodal AI to improve workplace safety, automate visual inspection and keep maintenance on track across industrial and port-linked units.
MSME maintenance logs, safety and compliance checklists, quality inspection.
// problem statements go live Thu 26 Nov, 10:00 AM, 48 hours before the build.
100 points. Judges work in pairs and come to your table in your domain zone; partners also judge the teams on their own problem statement.
Does it actually work end to end in a live demo, not just on slides?
Does it solve the partner's problem for the people of coastal Karnataka who actually face it?
Is AI doing real work here? We look at prompt design, data use and how well the tools are put together.
A clear 5-slide pitch: who it's for, why they'd use it and how it could keep running after the day.
Could a farmer, patient or shopkeeper use it without help, in their own language?
No screening and no shortlist. Every team that registers and pays gets a seat at the ComedKares Centre, Mangaluru, on a first-come, first-served basis until all 50 slots are filled. Register early.
Submit your team details and pay ₹399 per team (GST incl.). Your seat is confirmed once payment goes through. Registration closes 16 Nov, or earlier if seats fill up.
Oct 28 - Nov 16Every registered team gets the Gen AI masterclass and the Master Playbook, so you arrive ready to build.
Sat, Nov 2112 statements from local partners go live at 10:00 AM. Pick yours by 27 Nov, 6:00 PM and plan your build.
Nov 269:00 AM - 2:00 PM build time, then present to juries from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.
Sat, Nov 28Build the best product, pitch the strongest story, and walk away with real cash, a trophy and a LinkedIn feature that matters.
Ten judges from coastal industry, startups and academia, working in pairs across the five domain zones and coming to your table. The panel will be announced soon. See the Bengaluru jury.
Eight mentors move between the tables, each looking after about six teams, with two scheduled check-ins during the build. Get unstuck on tools, sharpen your problem fit and rehearse your demo. The panel will be announced soon.
For every registered team: the Gen AI masterclass on Sat 21 Nov (worth ₹1,000) and the Master Playbook (worth ₹5,000).
Official ComedKares participation certificate for every team member who builds on the day.
Eight mentors on the floor, about six teams each, with two scheduled check-ins during the build. Meet the panel.
Undergraduate engineering students from any branch, MCA students, and recent passouts from the past academic year. Teams from across Karnataka are welcome. There is no screening: every team that registers gets a seat, first come, first served, until places run out.
Teams of up to 4 members (maximum 4 members per team), all present on the day. One fee of ₹399 (GST incl.) covers the whole team. Registration is open from 28 Oct to 16 Nov; places are first come, first served, so it may close earlier if seats fill up.
No. The event is built around Gen AI and vibe-code tools. Good thinking, prompting and teamwork matter more than raw coding.
At the ComedKares Centre in Mangaluru. The full address and directions will be shared with every registered team.
You can plan once problem statements go live on 26 Nov. The build itself starts from scratch on the day: free tiers of Gen AI and vibe-code tools and templates are allowed, pre-built project code is not.
By 4:30 PM: a working demo link, a 5-slide deck and a 2-minute demo video. Then the judges come to your table for the live demo.
Laptops and chargers. Make sure your tool accounts are set up before the day.
30 teams competed on 7 September 2026 and ₹40,000+ was awarded. See the winners, jury and highlights.
By participating in Build 4 Karnataka, you agree to the following terms.
Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation. If you are traveling from outside Mangaluru or from far locations, please plan your journey and stay accordingly as these will not be provided by the organizers.
All intellectual property (IP) rights for the products, prototypes, and code built during this event will be owned by ComedKares and ERA Foundation. Participants may be credited as creators, but the final ownership remains with the organizers.
Participants are fully liable for any damage caused to the premises, equipment, or assets at the ComedKares Centre during the event. Treat the workspace with respect.