What Cal Hacks does

Cal Hacks is a Berkeley, California-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (legally The Cal Hacks Foundation) founded in 2014 that operates the self-described world's largest collegiate hackathon. The organization is affiliated with UC Berkeley through its parent entity Hackathons @ Berkeley, and runs an annual flagship hackathon — Cal Hacks 12.0 in 2025 — hosted at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco over a 48-hour weekend. Cal Hacks 12.0 scales to 2,000+ participating hackers, produces 400+ student-built projects, and distributes a $200,000+ prize pool. Sponsoring the event are 60+ corporate partners including Anthropic, Figma, Databricks, Y Combinator, AppLovin, Visa, Google Gemini, Scale AI, Ripple, Ethereum Foundation, and Annapurna Labs (Amazon/AWS), with keynote speakers drawn from the C-suite of premier sponsors (Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks; Dylan Field, CEO of Figma).

The organization does not build proprietary technology — its core product is the live hackathon event itself, supported by a self-serve registration portal (apply.calhacks.io) and a marketing website (calhacks.io). For Cal Hacks 12.0, it has productized a pre-event programming layer called "Hack Month" (DDoSki's Hack Month), comprising roughly nine sequential workshops, hack nights, URM-focused sessions, and social events running from late September through October 2025. Some of these workshops are delivered online, extending reach beyond the Bay Area. The platform architecture is event-management tooling rather than a technology product.

Cal Hacks generates revenue exclusively through corporate sponsorships under its nonprofit structure; participant registration is free. Sponsorship packages bundle access to the hacker talent pool, brand visibility, sponsored workshops and challenges, judging roles, and recruiting opportunities. The customer base is dual-sided: the primary participant segment is collegiate developers and hackers (free consumers of the experience), while the revenue-paying segment is technology companies and venture capital firms seeking early-career technical talent and brand engagement. Go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, anchored in UC Berkeley's student and alumni networks, with sponsor-led channels driving incremental participant acquisition.

Name

Cal Hacks

Legal name

The Cal Hacks Foundation

Website

https://calhacks.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cal Hacks is a Berkeley-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that organizes the world's largest collegiate hackathon, hosting 2,000+ student hackers and 60+ corporate sponsors at an annual flagship event funded entirely through corporate sponsorships rather than participant fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Technology Events

NAICS

Computer Training (61142), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Coding, Game Design & Computer Science Camps (EDAMALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Robotics & Engineering Summer Camps / Bootcamps (EDAMADAF), Contest Prep Bootcamps & Intensive Workshops (EDAMAEAE)

Keywords

• Collegiate hackathon events
• Developer community programs
• Tech education workshops
• Corporate sponsorship events
• Student innovation competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorships: Cal Hacks operates as a 501c3 nonprofit organization that generates revenue through corporate sponsorships. Tech companies (Anthropic, AppLovin, Figma, Visa, Y Combinator, and 60+ others) sponsor the event in exchange for access to talent, brand visibility, and engagement with the hacker community. Sponsors conduct workshops, judge projects, and recruit participants.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cal Hacks organizes and runs the world's largest collegiate hackathon, a 48-hour in-person technology competition held annually at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The organization complements the flagship event with Hack Month, a series of preparatory workshops, tech talks, sponsor sessions, and social gatherings designed to engage student developers before the main competition.

Product overview

Cal Hacks operates as an event-based organization offering a single primary product: the annual Cal Hacks collegiate hackathon. The flagship Cal Hacks 12.0 is a three-day in-person hackathon event at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Supporting this core event is Hack Month, a preparatory program featuring workshops and networking events designed to ready participants for the main hackathon. The organization also facilitates connections between hackers and sponsor companies through workshops, speaker sessions, and judging activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cal Hacks 12.0 Hackathon The flagship annual hackathon event of Cal Hacks, a 48-hour intensive in-person technology competition for college students. Features mentorship, workshops, prizes, hardware resources, and networking opportunities with sponsors.
• Hack Month (DDoSki's Hack Month) A series of nine preparatory events including tech talks, sponsor-led workshops, hack nights, and social gatherings to engage and prepare participants for the main Cal Hacks hackathon. Includes dedicated events for underrepresented minorities in tech.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,000+ hackers participate annually
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• AnthropicmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Anthropic is a premier sponsor of Cal Hacks 12.0, conducting workshops and engaging with hackers for talent recruitment and brand visibility. Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks, is listed as a speaker.
• AppLovinmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025AppLovin sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0 with a workshop on October 20th, previewing challenge projects and offering prize opportunities for participants. Over 1.6 billion people see an AppLovin ad each day.
• FigmamajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Figma is a sponsor conducting a 'Crash Course in Figma Make' workshop on October 21st. CEO Dylan Field is featured as a keynote speaker at the event.
• Fetch.aicoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Fetch.ai sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0 with a workshop on October 22nd, showcasing ASI:One agent search and execution capabilities. Also appears in Innovation Lab partnership context.
• Y CombinatormajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Y Combinator is a sponsor of Cal Hacks 12.0, engaging with the hacker community for potential startup connections and brand awareness.
• VisacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Visa is a corporate sponsor of Cal Hacks 12.0, providing prize support and engaging with participants for talent and innovation outreach.
• DatabricksmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025CEO Ali Ghodsi of Databricks is featured as a keynote speaker. Databricks is a premier sponsor engaging with the hacker community.
• PostmancoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Postman sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0, likely providing API-related challenges and engaging with developers.
• Annapurna Labs (Amazon)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Annapurna Labs, part of Amazon Web Services, sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0 for talent engagement.
• PepsiCominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025PepsiCo is listed as an event partner, providing beverage and refreshment sponsorship.
• WarpminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Warp terminal sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0 as a developer tools partner.
• WindsurfminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Windsurf AI coding tool sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0 for developer community engagement.
• Scale AIcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Scale sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0, engaging with AI/ML-focused hackers.
• RipplecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Ripple sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0, likely engaging fintech-interested hackers.
• The House FundminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Berkeley-affiliated venture fund sponsors Cal Hacks for startup ecosystem connections.
• D. E. ShawcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025D.E. Shaw quantitative trading firm sponsors Cal Hacks for quant/finance tech talent engagement.
• Ethereum FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Ethereum Foundation sponsors Cal Hacks, engaging Web3/interested hackers.
• Snap ARminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Snap AR sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0 for augmented reality developer engagement.
• Gemini (Google)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Gemini (Google AI) sponsors Cal Hacks 12.0, engaging AI/ML-focused participants.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hack the North: One of the largest hackathons in North America hosted at the University of Waterloo. Operates a near-identical student-run, sponsorship-funded model at a comparable scale to Cal Hacks.
• HackMIT: Major collegiate hackathon hosted at MIT with comparable scale, prize pools, and elite tech-company sponsorships. Directly competes for top-tier hacker talent and sponsor visibility within elite university ecosystems.
• PennApps: One of the original and largest collegiate hackathons, hosted at the University of Pennsylvania. Operates the same student-run hackathon model with corporate sponsorships targeting the same collegiate developer audience.
• Major League Hacking (MLH): The largest collegiate hackathon league in North America, running hundreds of events annually with a similar developer-recruitment sponsorship model. Directly competes with Cal Hacks for hacker participation, sponsor dollars, and university affiliations.
• Hack Club: A global nonprofit network of student-led coding clubs and high-school hackathons. Closely comparable mission and community-driven model, though focused on the high-school segment rather than collegiate.
• Bitcamp: University of Maryland's flagship collegiate hackathon, organized by students with a similar corporate-sponsorship revenue model and community-building emphasis.
• TreeHacks (Stanford): Stanford University's flagship collegiate hackathon, run by students with corporate sponsorships and similar prize pools. Competes for Bay Area talent and overlapping sponsor relationships.

Broad incumbents

• HackerEarth: Enterprise hackathon platform that runs corporate-sponsored coding competitions for talent recruitment. Comparable as a hackathon organizer with corporate sponsorship monetization, though at enterprise rather than collegiate scale.
• Devpost: Long-standing platform for hosting online and in-person hackathons, used by many sponsors and organizers including Cal Hacks alumni projects. Serves as a broader infrastructure and distribution layer in the hackathon ecosystem.

Others

• Google Developer Student Clubs: Google-sponsored university student developer communities that host hackathons and workshops. Thematically adjacent as a developer-community-building and talent-engagement channel competing for student attention and sponsor relevance.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cal Hacks