MCP_HACK//26
Office Hours
πŸ“… Feb 9 β€” 11 AM ET πŸ“… Feb 17 β€” 11 AM ET πŸ“… Feb 25 β€” 11 AM ET
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Hackathon for MCP and AI Agents

πŸŽ‰ SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN!
// Submission Period Ends In
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$5,000
Total Prizes
5
Categories
35
Days to Build
∞
Possibilities
// Judges
Kelsey Hightower Alan Blount Dmytro Rashko Nathan Taber Carlos Santana Keith Mattix Chris Aniszczyk Sebastian Maniak Lin Sun Christian Posta Michael Levan Kelsey Hightower Alan Blount Dmytro Rashko Nathan Taber Carlos Santana Keith Mattix Chris Aniszczyk Sebastian Maniak Lin Sun Christian Posta Michael Levan
// Initialize

About The Hackathon

Your chance to shape the future of AI agents and cloud native

This hackathon invites developers, tinkerers, and open source enthusiasts from all backgrounds to get hands-on with building cool MCP servers and AI agentsβ€”showing what's possible when we make cloud native more approachable and human-centric through conversations.

Whether you're hacking on MCP, learning agentic AI for the first time, or crafting a tutorial to help others get started, this is your opportunity to learn, contribute, and connect while showcasing the potential of open source technologies like agentgateway, kagent, agentregistry, and more.

This is your chance to show the community what you can do!

$ what-can-i-build
β€Ί MCP server for agentgateway, kagent, or agentregistry
β€Ί AI agent for your favorite cloud native project
β€Ί Tutorial with agentgateway/kagent/agentregistry
β€Ί Security & governance implementations
β€Ί Blog post demystifying AI agent development
β€Ί Real-world production showcases
$ start-hacking
Initializing creativity module... β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“β–“ 100%
Ready to build! πŸš€

Competition Categories

Five unique tracks to showcase your skills

πŸš€

MCP & AI Agents Starter Track

New to MCP and AI agents? This track is perfect for beginners. Build your first project and share your learning journey. No prior experience required!

$1,000 Prize
πŸ›‘οΈ

Secure & Govern MCP

Focus on security and governance of MCP/AI agents with agentgateway. Build tools that help secure, monitor, and manage AI agent deployments.

$1,000 Prize
πŸ€–

Building Cool Agents

Create innovative AI agents with kagent. Make cloud native projects more accessible to newbies or build co-worker agents for existing users.

$1,000 Prize
πŸ“š

Explore Agent Registry

Dive deep into agentregistry with MCP, agents, or skills. Extend the registry, build integrations, or create tools that enhance discoverability.

$1,000 Prize
πŸ”§

Open Source Contributions

Contribute directly to agentgateway, kagent, or agentregistry. Bug fixes, new features, documentation improvements, or testing enhancements.

$1,000 Prize

What You Can Build

  • Build an MCP server for agentgateway, kagent, or agentregistry to help users learn and troubleshoot
  • Build an AI agent for your favorite cloud native project and integrate it with kagent
  • Create a tutorial for your MCP server or agent with agentgateway, kagent, or agentregistry
  • Secure and govern your MCP/AI agents with agentgateway
  • Write a blog demystifying how you built your AI agent or MCP server
  • Showcase using AI agents in real-world production scenarios

Meet the Judges

Industry experts evaluating your innovations

Kelsey Hightower

Kelsey Hightower

Distinguished Engineer (Retired) @ Google

Kubernetes pioneer and renowned cloud-native advocate

Alan Blount

Alan Blount

Senior Technical Product Manager @ Google

Working on Google's Agent Development Kit (ADK), expertise in LLM applications and AI agents

Dmytro Rashko

Dmytro Rashko

Software Architect @ Platform Engineering

25+ years delivering complex systems, CNCF contributor, and digital transformation leader

Nathan Taber

Nathan Taber

Director of Product, DGX Cloud @ NVIDIA

Cloud-native expert with deep expertise in Kubernetes and container technologies

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana

Sr. Specialist Solutions Architect @ AWS

EKS expert, Kubernetes SIG-Release member, and CNCF Knative Steering Committee founder

Keith Mattix

Keith Mattix

Principal Software Engineer Lead @ Microsoft

Cloud-native networking expert with focus on Kubernetes, contributor to open source projects

Chris Aniszczyk

Chris Aniszczyk

CTO @ CNCF / Linux Foundation

Open source technologist, co-founder and CTO of CNCF, leading cloud-native initiatives globally

Sebastian Maniak

Sebastian Maniak

Technical Product Marketing Manager and AI Professor

Technology evangelist with 20+ years in security and automation, HashiCorp Ambassador, F5 DevCentral MVP, Snyk MVP

Lin Sun

Lin Sun

VP of Open Source @ Solo.io

Istio maintainer, CNCF TOC member, and author of "Istio Ambient Explained"

Christian Posta

Christian Posta

VP, Global Field CTO @ Solo.io

Author of "Istio in Action" and "AI Gateways in the Enterprise", Istio Steering Committee member

Michael Levan

Michael Levan

AI Architect @ Solo.io

Developer advocate, Pluralsight author, and Kubernetes Release Team member

Key Dates

Mark your calendar and prepare for launch

Registration Period

January 26 (9:00 AM ET) - March 1 (11:59 PM ET), 2026

Registration portal opens. Sign up as an individual or form a team to start planning your project.

Submission Period

February 2 (9:00 AM ET) - March 1 (11:59 PM ET), 2026

Submission portal opens. Start building, coding, writing, and creating your projects! Submit before midnight on March 1.

Judging Period

March 2 (9:00 AM ET) - March 13 (5:00 PM ET), 2026

Our expert judges review all submissions across the five competition categories and deliberate on winners.

Winners Announced

On or Around March 16 (12:00 PM ET), 2026

Live announcement of all category winners and runners-up. Will it be you?

Prizes & Awards

Total Prize Pool: $5,000

Cash prizes across all five categories, plus recognition, mentorship, and swag for all winners and runners-up.

Category Winners

Prize Package (Per Category Winner)

  • $1,000 Cash Prize
  • Credly badge "MCP and AI agents hackathon 2026 winner" issued by Solo.io
  • Opportunity to present submission via blog and livestream
  • 30-minute online 1:1 meeting with expert
  • MCP and AI agents swag kit

Runner-Up Awards

The runner-up for each category will receive:

  • Credly badge "MCP and AI agents hackathon 2026 runner-up" issued by Solo.io
  • 30-minute online 1:1 meeting with expert
  • Opportunity to present submission via blog and livestream

All Participants

Every participant who submits a project will receive:

  • Credly badge "MCP and AI agents hackathon 2026 participant" issued by Solo.io
  • Recognition in the community
  • Portfolio-worthy project experience

Register for the Hackathon

Complete the form below to register for the AI Agent MCP Hackathon.

Terms & Conditions

Please read and scroll through the terms below before registering

Eligibility

  • Open to individuals who are at least the age of majority in their place of residence at the time of entry ("Eligible Individuals").
  • Teams composed entirely of Eligible Individuals may participate.
  • Participation and final submissions are subject to acceptance of all hackathon rules and regulations.

Ineligible Participants

  • Hackathon judges.
  • Individuals involved in the design, organization, or administration of the hackathon.
  • Employees of the organizing company are not eligible to win or receive prizes.
  • Individuals who are residents of, or Organizations domiciled in, a country, state, province or territory where the laws of the United States or local law prohibits participating or receiving a prize in the Hackathon (including, but not limited to, Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea/Democratic People's Republic, Russia/Russian Federation, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk Regions of Ukraine, and any other country designated by the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control).

Prizes & Taxes

  • Cash prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable.
  • Prize payments will be issued by check.
  • Winners are required to complete and return applicable tax documentation prior to payment (W-9 for US residents, W-8-BEN for non-US residents).
  • Organizers will provide blank tax forms as PDFs.
  • Organizers will issue required tax reporting forms (e.g., 1099) where applicable.

General Conditions

  • Organizers reserve the right to modify the rules or cancel, suspend, or terminate the hackathon at any time.
  • The hackathon and these terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Disqualification

Participants may be disqualified for:

  • Breaking rules
  • Misrepresentation
  • Plagiarism
  • Attempting to game the judging process

Liability

The hosting Organization is not responsible for:

  • Technical issues
  • Lost data
  • Failed submissions

Participants participate at their own risk.

Contact

For questions regarding eligibility, rules, or prizes, contact us on Discord: discord.gg/H28ZKWG2mX

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