1 day ago
Submissions are in! Thank you and good luck 🎉
Hi Builders,
Submissions are officially closed. If you submitted a project, congratulations on crossing the finish line!
Our review team and judges are getting to work now, and winners will be announced on December 21, 2026.
🔒 Please don't touch your project. No commits, no README edits, no swapping or privating your video, and keep your demo and test credentials working until the winner announcement.
5 days ago
3 days left: submissions close Thursday at noon PST 🚨
Hi Builders,
Submissions close Thursday, November 12 at 12:00 pm PST (3:00 pm EST, 8:00 pm GMT, Friday 1:30 am IST).
🚨 Upload your video today. Processing can take hours, so get it on YouTube and linked now, even if you keep polishing the rest. You can edit your submission until the deadline, so submit now and refine later.
⚠️ After the deadline, don't touch anything: no commits, no README edits, no swapping your video. Leave everything as-is until the winner announcement.
Can't wait to see what you've built! 🎉
9 days ago
Submission checklist: it's go time! ⏳
Hi Builders,
One week left! Submissions close Thursday, November 12 at 12:00 pm PST. Submit today to still get an early eligibility check.
📋 Checklist
- Project meaningfully uses PayPal (sandbox is fine) and AI
- Judges can run it: hosted demo URL or run instructions in your repo
- Public repo on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket with a README and open source license
- Public YouTube video under 3 minutes
- Sponsor tools selected on the form if you're going for a sponsor prize
- Teammates invited and accepted
🔌 Keep your demo, test credentials, and any trials or credits active until winners are…
12 days ago
Lights, camera, PayPal! Video tips and how judging works 🎬
Hi Builders,
10 days to go! Your video is often the first thing judges see, so make it count.
🎬 Video tips
- Under 3 minutes, on YouTube, set to public.
- Open with the problem and who it's for, then show PayPal and AI working end to end.
- Cut loading screens and setup steps. An AI voiceover is fine.
- Upload early. Processing can take hours.
🧑⚖️ How judging works
Stage One: after the Nov 12 deadline, the review team checks each project for a working build, a public repo with an open source license, a public video under…
17 days ago
Two weeks to go: get your project checked early 🥇
Hi Builders,
Submissions close Thursday, November 12 at 12:00 pm PST. Submit by Thursday, Nov 5 and our review team will check your project for eligibility early and flag anything to fix. You can keep editing until the deadline.
🏆 How to stand out
- Make PayPal and AI impossible to miss. Name both in your description, "Built With" section, and video, and show them working.
- Give judges something to run: a hosted demo URL or clear run instructions in your repo.
- Hide your API keys. Use environment variables, never commit secrets.
💰 $69,750 in prizes, including $12,000 for 1st…
about 1 month ago
The PayPal build session recording is up
Hi Builders,The recording of Start Building with PayPal is now on YouTube: https://bit.ly/paypalai26recue
Jo, Marco, and Eddie from PayPal's DevRel team cover the hackathon rules and prizes, the PayPal AI Toolkit, and a full sandbox setup. The chapters are in the video description, so you can jump to what you need.
Links from the session:
- PayPal Developer Docs
- PayPal AI Tools
- PayPal AI Toolkit (GitHub)
- PayPal Sandbox
- PayPal Postman collection
- PayPal example code
If you joined live, we'd appreciate your feedback! The survey is short, and your answers help us and PayPal decide…
about 1 month ago
FAQs
Hi everyone!
We've started a FAQs page for this hackathon. Please check this page as your question may have already been answered!
If you have any questions regarding the Sponsor tools or PayPal, please head over to the PayPal Discord.
about 1 month ago
Live Build Session Oct 6
Hi Builders,
PayPal's DevRel team is kicking things off with a live build session before you start building.
Start Building with PayPal
Oct 6 — 9am PT / 12pm ET — Zoom
Jo Franchetti, Marco Podien, and Eddie Jaoude will walk through:
- Getting your sandbox environment set up from scratch
- The PayPal APIs and SDKs you'll actually use for this hackathon
- How to pair them with AI to build agents, automations, and new payment experiences
- Live examples going from idea to working prototype
Live Demo + Q&A. Whether you're still deciding what to build or already have an idea, this…