ELEV8 RACE — AI-Powered Marathon

ELEV8 RACE has its winners. Grand Prix: AIDA. 2nd place: Pocket Aces. 3rd place, shared: Ubi AI and Claude-3PO.
8 weeks · Aug – Oct 2026
7 lectures
Finish line · Limassol, Cyprus
What is ELEV8

Eight weeks. One prototype. A shot at Cyprus.

Teams from across the group use AI to solve a real business problem — increasing productivity, or anything that moves the needle. Build a working prototype, submit a demo, and the 8 strongest teams pitch live at the in-person finale.

Form your team

3–5 people, at least one non-technical member. Cross-company teams welcome.

Build with AI

Weekly lectures, a mentor per team, and AI tool credits to build something real.

Submit a demo

A prototype / demo video with a problem statement

Pitch in Limassol

Eight finalists fly to Cyprus to pitch live, with prizes and a gala finale.

Why join

What's in it for your team

Level up on AI, fast

Guest lectures on AI trends, rapid prototyping, prompt engineering and pitching — plus recordings if you miss one.

🔒 Full reveal unlocks Oct 8
Prizes, venue & the Cyprus finale

Hotel, venue and the full prize line-up are revealed on September 15.
One hint for now — it happens in Limassol. See you in October.

Timeline

The road to Cyprus

Eight weeks from launch to finale. Here's the full route.

Aug 5 – Aug 15

Registration closed

Team recruiting has closed across all the companies. Rosters are locked.

Aug 20

Roster reveal

All team names and companies published. Judges announced. The race officially begins.

Aug 13 – Sep 17

Weekly lectures & mentoring

Guest sessions plus light-touch mentor check-ins with every team.

Sep 25 – Sep 30

Submissions open

Upload your prototype and one-page statement. Hard deadline Sep 30.

Oct 8

Finalists announced

8 teams confirmed for the Limassol finale.

Oct 23

Pitch Day & Gala — Limassol

Live pitches, judging, awards and the gala dinner.

Rules & eligibility

The ground rules

1
Team size: 3–5 peopleEvery team needs at least one non-technical member. Solo entrants can register and get matched into a team.
2
Cross-company teams allowedMix people from any of our companies. It's encouraged.
3
Working prototype requiredIdeas alone won't cut it — your submission must show something that actually runs.
4
Submission has three mandatory partsA demo video of max 3 minutes, a working prototype the committee can access, and a one-page business case. An incomplete submission isn't forwarded to the committee.
5
Use AI meaningfullyThe solution should be genuinely AI-powered — aimed at productivity or a real business problem.

This is the short version. Read the full Official Rules — you'll be asked to accept them when you register.

FAQ

Can I join without a team?

Yes. Register as a solo participant and we'll help match you into a team of 3–5 before submissions open.

Do I need to be technical?

No. In fact every team needs at least one non-technical member. Lectures on prompt engineering and rapid prototyping will get you up to speed.

What if I miss a lecture?

Every session is recorded and posted in the Lectures section so you can catch up any time.

How are teams shortlisted?

The selection committee scores every submission blind, using team codes: business value and impact (40%), AI depth and appropriateness (30%), and scalability and adoption (30%). The top 8 travel to Cyprus.

Road to Cyprus

Finalists

8 teams take the starting grid at the Limassol finale.

  1. 01

    Agentic Retention

    Limassol
  2. 02

    Pocket Aces

    Limassol
  3. 03

    NBA

    Limassol
  4. 04

    AIDA

    Limassol
  5. 05

    MarPech

    Limassol
  6. 06

    UbiAI

    Limassol
  7. 07

    Claude-3PO

    Limassol
  8. 08

    GR8_ASSIST

    Limassol
Guest lectures

Weekly sessions

Seven ~60-minute sessions, mixing internal experts and external guests. Missed one? Replays land here.

Aug 13

AI trends & landscape

What's real, what's hype, where the opportunities are.

▶ Watch replay
Aug 21

Vibe coding & rapid prototyping

Building working prototypes fast with AI coding tools.

▶ Watch replay
Aug 24

LLM fundamentals

The landscape of LLM systems, which model when chose.

▶ Watch replay
Aug 27

Prompt engineering & Context management

Practical prompting, structured outputs.

▶ Watch replay
Sep 3

AI in iGaming

Domain-specific applications — real use cases, not theory.

▶ Watch replay
Sep 10

From prototype to product

Scoping, feasibility, and what makes an idea fundable.

▶ Watch replay
Sep 15

Pitching & storytelling

How to pitch an idea that lands. Direct prep for pitch day.

▶ Watch replay
Mentors

A mentor for every team

Each team is paired with a mentor — a senior engineer, product lead or AI-literate manager — for light-touch weekly guidance. Pairings publish here after the roster reveal.

8–12 mentors across the group
Progress spotlight

Latest from the race

Coming soon

Weekly one-liner on what each team is building — no rankings, just visibility.

Coming soon

Cyprus teaser drops every week through the mid-campaign. Watch this space.