Wanted Lab Wraps Up 'AI Championship Demo Day,' Drawing 1,392 Ideas

Wanted Lab said it has wrapped up the hackathon 'Wanted AI Championship 2026-AI Hackathon, Beyond the Limits.' Wanted Lab opened the AI hackathon platform 'AI Championship' and prepared this competition as the first chapter of 'AI Championship.'

The event was held with the goal of turning AI ideas into reality. Wanted Lab aimed to position the event as more than a one-off competition, seeking to provide sustained opportunities for talent tackling problem-solving with AI and a chance for participants to prove their capabilities.

Krafton joined as the main partner in the process. Krafton worked on 'Cofa-Probe,' an AI competency assessment solution for developers.

Applications began in last August. As a result, 3,170 teams applied, with 4,088 applicants including team members, and 1,392 submissions had been collected by the deadline.

Participants from a wide range of backgrounds, from college students to office workers, took part in the event. This showed that interest in using AI is not limited to a specific age group or occupation but is spreading broadly.

The final demo day was held on the 17th. Of the 1,392 submissions, TOP20 teams were selected for the final round, bringing the total to around 60 competitors. The event was conducted in a survival format.

Round 1 was held in a head-to-head format between two teams. The round was titled '1-Minute Death Match' and featured a 1-minute live speech by the team representative against the backdrop of a demo video. As a result, 10 of the 20 teams advanced to the next stage.

Three wildcard teams from among the eliminated teams then joined in. Accordingly, 13 teams took part in Round 2. Round 2 was titled '3-Minute Speech' and was conducted as a 3-minute live presentation.

The grand prize went to participant 'Yun Nuri.' The winning entry was 'Feedloop,' an automated customer feedback solution. The grand prize was KRW 10 million. 'Feedloop' automates the collection and classification of customer feedback, and also automates the service improvement process and the notification process for results.

In the evaluation, the fact that AI significantly reduces customer feedback processing time and workload drew attention. Its potential application across various services was also noted as a strength. Its technical capabilities and scalability were also highly regarded.

In the awards, the top prize went to participant 'aldegad,' who received KRW 3 million. Excellence awards went to 'Cheongyak Mate,' 'Bangkkuseok,' and 'YBIGTA,' each of whom received KRW 1 million. The popularity award went to team 'Seuk,' which received KRW 1 million. All participants were given an 'AI Builder' badge for their Wanted profiles. Winners were also given a separate 'AI Hackathon Winner' badge. Wanted Lab said the purpose of providing these badges is to help participants use their AI project experience and capabilities as career assets in the process of seeking employment or changing jobs.

Wanted Lab connected the event to its mission. Lee Bok-ki, CEO of Wanted Lab, said the company's mission is to support the AI-native transformation of users and companies. He added that the company has launched an always-on hackathon platform where anyone can bring ideas to life with AI and prove their capabilities.

Lee Bok-ki, CEO of Wanted Lab, said he was impressed by the desire to realize possibilities with AI, as shown by the 1,392 ideas that came in.

The speaker said the company will pursue an always-on leaderboard and, based on it, support the career growth of AI-native talent and create a launchpad for AI-native talent to start businesses. He added that next year the company plans to expand the global hackathon and broaden participation beyond Korea to overseas AI talent and overseas AI companies.

Source: TECHWORLD · Lee Gwang-jae
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=408412

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=408412