Let's Build!
We invite musicians and developers to build together — from idea to production-ready. Music creation apps, DAW plugins, games and remix tools.
Credits worth up to $500+ per participant·$6,000 in Stripe credits for winnersPrizes for winners from OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Base44, Stripe, LANDR & more
Audiotool Hackathon Series 2026
Powered by Audiotool Nexus — the open source multiplayer music protocol connecting apps, AI and creators.
Buildyour idea
Four directions to get inspired — pick one, or stretch across several.
When you submit your app, our panel of judges evaluates which categories it fits and tags it accordingly. A single project can qualify and win in multiple categories — so if your app spans sound design and music games, it could place in both.
Creation
Instruments, sequencers, and tools that shape how music is made.
Games
Gamified approaches to making, experiencing, and learning music and sound.
Listening
Players, visualizers, remix tools, and apps that reimagine how we hear music.
Education
Tools for learning music, theory, and production by doing.
Musicians & Producers
AI coding turns ideas into apps quickly. Alongside developers and AI models, your vision becomes reality. No prior coding required.
Developers
Go from prototype to production-ready with AI-assisted coding. Work with musicians who bring domain expertise — build apps creators want.
Students
Learn by building. Use the Hackathon to explore music tech, work in teams, and add a real project to your portfolio — with free platform access and support from the Audiotool team.
Designers
Shape how people experience music apps. Bring your UI, UX, or visual skills to the Hackathon — interfaces, branding, and interaction design are key to every winning project.
Music enthusiasts, creatives & builders
Whether you're into production, gaming, or just love music — if you like to create and tinker, the Series is for you. No gatekeeping: bring your curiosity and build something new.
Meet the Judges
Professors, industry experts, artists, producers — a diverse jury will evaluate your projects.
Hanna Lukashevich
Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT
Head of Semantic Media Technologies
Jonathan Wyner
Berklee College of Music
Professor & Head of Artistic Technology Initiatives
Joshua Hodge
The Audio Programmer
Founder, YouTuber, Educator
Daniel Henel
TU Munich
Munich Music Labs, President
Jean-Baptiste Thiebaut
Music Hackspace
CEO
Daniel Rowland
LANDR Audio
Oscar/Emmy-winning Producer · Professor MTSU
Dr. Mary L. Smith
Hawaiʻi Pacific University
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Bernhard Mogk
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG)
SVP Global Business Development & Commercial Strategy
Manon Dave
BBC R&D / will.i.am and Idris Elba
Head of Future World Design / Principal lead AI engineer
Maurício Gargel
MTSU Department of Recording Industry
Professor
Dr. Hauke Egermann
University of Cologne
Professor for Systematic Musicology
Nicole Loeser
Jiangsu University of Science and Technology & SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences
Professor System Innovation
Khaled Said
MuseHub
Head of Product & Partnerships
Edward Fotheringham
BBC R&D
Product Principal
Dr Martin K. Koszolko
Monash University
Senior Lecturer, Creative Music Technology
Ready to build?
Sign up free. Get access to Hackathon content, build with the Nexus SDK, and ship with support from the Audiotool team.
Onboarding from May 11 · Hackathon starts May 28 · Submissions mid-July · Live sessions & community on Discord.
Questions? events@audiotool.com
By signing up, you agree to Audiotool's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines. See the Let's Build rules & FAQ for full details.
Host a Meetup. Multiply the Impact.
Universities and schools: promote the Series to your students. Host meetups where students and pupils meet to vibe code together. You provide the space — we provide the platform, the SDK, and the community for free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pick a topic, expand any question. Full living document hosted in Notion.
General Logistics
Open the full FAQ in Notion · More questions? support@audiotool.com