AI & Tech Sandbox Hackathon

Apply to the PMG

Global Hackathon

PMG is hosting its first global hackathon during Cannes Lions 2026.

The online competition is open to creatives, developers, strategists, technologists, and builders from anywhere in the world. Teams will respond to an online brief and build a working solution for a real challenge at the intersection of advertising, creativity, technology, and automation.

Winning teams will be eligible to receive a prize up to a $500,000 to fund their solution and a real path for their solution to be used by leading brands.

The deadline to enter is June 1.

RSVPs Closed

Global Hackathon

AI & Tech Sandbox is hosting its first global hackathon.

The online competition is open to creatives, developers, strategists, technologists, and builders from anywhere in the world. Teams will respond to an online brief and build a working solution for a real challenge at the intersection of advertising, creativity, technology, and automation.

Winning teams will be eligible to receive a prize up to $500,000 to fund their solution and a real path for their solution to be used by leading brands.

About the Competition

While key moments and live programming associated with AI & Tech Sandbox will take place in Cannes, the Hackathon itself is a US-based, globally accessible online competition. Participants will receive the brief or the challenge in France.

The hackathon officially begins on June 22. Participants will have until June 24 to develop and submit their solutions.

Each team will be asked to submit a working interactive prototype or demo, a recorded walkthrough of the solution, and a short presentation explaining their approach.

Finalists will be selected to submit a video presentation and demo. Finalist presentations will be featured on the AI & Tech Sandbox stage at Cannes Lions and streamed online, with finalists available for a live Q&A.

Winner Reveal

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the AI & Tech Sandbox Global Hackathon. 

Over the past week, we received 120+ registrants across 30+ countries, bringing together a diverse mix of creatives, developers, strategists, marketers, founders, and technologists.  

Some participants arrived with deep technical expertise, while others had never written a line of code before. What united them was a willingness to experiment, collaborate, and turn ideas into action. 

Congratulations to the winning participants.

Intelligence to Action

Team Bellwether

Bellwether

Congratulations to Our Category Winners

Agentic Discovery

Team Name

Why Don't Robots Take Me Seriously

Project Title

RE•CLAIMER

Intelligence to Action

Team Name

Team Bellwether

Project Title

Bellwether

Data-Driven Creative at Scale

Team Name

Rowads

Project Title

Latitude

Distinctions for Innovation

Team Name

WildMango

Project Title

Belva OS: Creative Pulse

Team Name

Christophe Conil

Project Title

GEO - The Garden of Emergent Organisms

View the Briefs

You can now access the official briefs and begin working on your submission. You can build for one, two, or all of these briefs.

Submissions close on June 24, 2:00 PM UTC. Those who signed the Terms & Conditions will receive a submission form via email.

Agentic Discovery

Study how real AI agents evaluate brands by designing experiments, testing recommendations, and uncovering the signals that influence agent decision-making. Then, you'll transform those findings into a framework, tool, or methodology that helps brands improve their visibility in the age of agents.

View Brief

PMG x Luma.AI

Build a system that analyzes creative performance, identifies emerging cultural trends, and uses AI to generate new creative in response. Using public data sources and Luma's creative platform, you will create a working product that transforms performance signals into brand-consistent, culturally relevant content at scale.

View Brief

Data & Intelligence

Build a system that turns live signals into real-world action. Choose a domain, monitor a real source of intelligence, interpret what it means, and trigger a meaningful response—whether that's generating content, surfacing recommendations, creating alerts, or automating decisions.

View Brief

Watch the Kickoff Session

The Challenge

The hackathon is a US-based, globally accessible online competition open to creatives, developers, strategists, technologists, and builders from anywhere in the world. Teams will respond to a brief and build a working solution at the intersection of advertising, creativity, technology, and automation.

Registration Has Closed

The Details

Participants will receive a challenge designed around real problems brands and consumers face today. The brief will focus on what’s possible with AI, automation, modern creative technology right now, and human judgement and ingenuity.

From there, the direction is yours.

No fixed format. No single way in.

Just the freedom to play with possibility.

What You Can Use

We want you focused on ideas, not limitations.

- AI-generated code is encouraged
- Open-source tools are welcome
- Any tech stack of your choice

One requirement is to build responsibly. You’ll need to demonstrate clear thinking around:

- Security
- Scalability
- Data protection
- Brand safety

What We're Looking For

We're looking for ideas that can move beyond concept and become useful, scalable solutions for brands. Modern development approaches are encouraged, including AI-generated code and open-source technologies. Build responsibly with clear thinking around:

Security

Data Protection

Scalability

Brand Safety

Timeline

Submissions

Teams must submit all three of the following:

Interactive Tool/Demo

A working prototype that judges can play with, interact with, and evaluate in real time.

Recording

A walkthrough or demo video showing the tool in action helps judges understand the flow and use case.

Deck/Presentation

A storytelling piece covering the problem, how the team approached it, how the solution works, and why it matters. Think narrative, not just specs.

What's Happening

We’re bringing together innovation, creativity, and connection through a series of standout experiences. It's a place to pause, connect and refresh between sessions.

Discover how to become future-ready.

Visionary Conversations

Go beyond theory with talks on how AI and emerging tech drive business impact.

Request to attend

Interactive Tech Bazaar

Discover what’s next” with hands-on demos and innovative solutions.

Request to record

Collaborative Meet Ups

Join intimate workshops with industry leaders and like-minded peers.

View agenda to RSVP

Partner With Us

Interested in co-presenting, sponsoring, or activating alongside PMG at the Sandbox? Let's talk.

Record With Us

Book time in our on-site podcast booth for interviews, conversations, and content capture at Cannes.

Press Inquiries

Covering AI, media, or the Cannes Lions festival? Reach out for press access and media information.

Contact Us

Build What’s Next

Apply to the PMG Global Hackathon at Cannes Lions 2026

The AI & Tech Sandbox Hackathon is a global competition for creatives, developers, strategists, technologists, and builders to create AI-driven solutions for real-world challenges in advertising, creativity, and automation.

Winning teams are eligible for up to $500,000 in prize funding and the opportunity to bring their solution to leading brands.

Applications close June 1, with the hackathon running June 22-24 and finalists will present live on June 25 at the AI & Tech Sandbox stage during Cannes Lions.

Participation is open worldwide, with no need to attend Cannes Lions in person.

RSVPs Closed

Our Trusted Partners

Interested in partnering? Contact us

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I take part in the Hackathon?

You can apply in advance or express interest via the site. Selected participants will be invited to join the hackathon prior to the online brief release.

What happens at the end of the Hackathon?

Finalist submissions will be featured as videos shown on the AI & Tech Sandbox stage at Cannes on June 25, with the winner announced following final judging.

Who will judge the submissions?

An esteemed panel of global executives from leading marketing, technology, and finance industries will review the entries and select the winner.

Will I have to share my source code?

No, the only materials required are those listed above.

Will the winner retain ownership of what they build?

All participants of the AI & Tech Sandbox Global Hackathon, including the winner, will retain full ownership of their source code and intellectual property.

Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Winner Reveal

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the AI & Tech Sandbox Global Hackathon.

Over the past week, we received 120+ registrants across 30+ countries, bringing together a diverse mix of creatives, developers, strategists, marketers, founders, and technologists.

Some participants arrived with deep technical expertise, while others had never written a line of code before. What united them was a willingness to experiment, collaborate, and turn ideas into action.

Congratulations to the winning participants.

Agentic Discovery

Study how real AI agents evaluate brands by designing experiments, testing recommendations, and uncovering the signals that influence agent decision-making. Then, you'll transform those findings into a framework, tool, or methodology that helps brands improve their visibility in the age of agents.

View Brief

PMG x Luma.AI

Build a system that analyzes creative performance, identifies emerging cultural trends, and uses AI to generate new creative in response. Using public data sources and Luma's creative platform, you will create a working product that transforms performance signals into brand-consistent, culturally relevant content at scale.

View Brief

Data & Intelligence

Build a system that turns live signals into real-world action. Choose a domain, monitor a real source of intelligence, interpret what it means, and trigger a meaningful response—whether that's generating content, surfacing recommendations, creating alerts, or automating decisions.

View Brief