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Amazon · HackathonAmazon Build Ship Shape Developer Hackathon
Twelve paying positions and $138,000 that is entirely cash — the AWS credits sit on top of the prize money rather than standing in for it, which is rarer than it should be. You pick one of four Amazon device tracks or two mini challenges, so you are not competing against the whole field. Submissions close 23 October 2026.
Dates & timeline
Prizes
- $138,000 total, all cash — AWS credits are awarded on top, not instead
- Fire TV track: $25,000 / $15,000 / $4,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
- Alexa+ track: $25,000 / $15,000 / $4,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
- Bee track: $12,000 / $8,000 — Ring track: $12,000 / $8,000
- AWS Builder mini challenge: $5,000 — Open Source mini challenge: $5,000
- Winners also receive AWS credits (up to $15,000 for a track winner) and a meeting with an Amazon team
- 12 paying positions, every one of them cash
- 56,965 registered participants as of 19 October 2026 — up from 53,738 on 12 October, 41,702 on 5 October and 16,940 on 28 September
- Four device tracks plus two mini challenges, and you enter one — so the real field is a fraction of the total
- Free to enter, individuals allowed, India eligible
Why it's worth your time
Amazon's own developer hackathon, run on Devpost, with a submission window from 31 August to 23 October 2026. You build on one of Amazon's device or assistant platforms and enter a single track: Fire TV, Alexa+, Bee or Ring, plus two smaller cross-cutting challenges for AWS Builder and Open Source projects. Entry is free, individuals may enter alone, and the official rules state "NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN."
The reason this earns a place on the page is the shape of the prize table rather than its size. The whole $138,000 is cash, and the AWS credits are additional to it rather than a substitute — a distinction this page rejects several larger-sounding hackathons over, because a "$1M" pool made of platform credits is worth very little to a student. It pays twelve positions: Fire TV and Alexa+ each pay $25,000, $15,000 and $4,000 for the top three; Bee and Ring each pay $12,000 and $8,000; and the AWS Builder and Open Source mini challenges pay $5,000 each. Because you self-select one track, the field you actually compete against is a fraction of the 56,965 who had registered as of 19 October 2026 — up from 16,940 on 28 September, so expect it to keep climbing before the 23 October close.
The honest constraint is the platform, not the paperwork. Each track targets a specific Amazon product — a TV platform, an assistant, and in Bee and Ring's case consumer hardware — so before you pick a track, read its own requirements and work out whether you can develop and demonstrate on it from where you are, including whether you need the physical device. That is the question to settle in your first hour, not your last week. Budget the remaining time honestly too: roughly a month is left of the window as of this listing.
Eligibility is clean for Indian students. The official rules exclude residents of Brazil, Quebec, Russia, Crimea, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, plus any country comprehensively sanctioned by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control; India is not among them. You must be at least the age of majority where you reside at the time of entry, and individuals, teams and organisations may all enter.
How to apply
Register on the official Devpost page and read the rules for your own country — the excluded list is short and India is not on it.
Pick your track before you write code, and check what that platform actually requires: Fire TV, Alexa+, Bee and Ring are different products, and some may need the physical device to develop or demo against.
Consider the two mini challenges as a second shot — the AWS Builder and Open Source challenges pay $5,000 each and are judged separately from the device tracks.
Build and submit before 23 October 2026 at 12:00pm Pacific Time. Roughly a month of the window is left.
Frequently asked questions
Can students in India enter?
Yes. The official rules exclude residents of Brazil, Quebec, Russia, Crimea, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, plus any country comprehensively sanctioned by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. India is not among them. You must be at least the age of majority where you reside at the time of entry, and the hackathon is fully online.
Is the prize money real cash, or credits?
Cash. All $138,000 is cash prize money, and the AWS credits — up to $15,000 for a track winner — are awarded in addition to it rather than in place of it. That is why this one is listed while several hackathons with much larger headline pools are not: their pools are mostly platform credits and sponsor "prize value".
How much can I win, and how many people get paid?
Twelve positions pay out. Fire TV and Alexa+ each pay $25,000, $15,000 and $4,000 for their top three; Bee and Ring each pay $12,000 and $8,000; and the AWS Builder and Open Source mini challenges pay $5,000 each. You enter one track, so you are judged against that track's entrants rather than all 56,965 registrants.
Does it cost anything to enter?
No. The official rules state "NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING."
Do I need to own an Amazon device?
That depends entirely on the track, and it is the first thing to check. The four tracks target different Amazon products — Fire TV, Alexa+, Bee and Ring — and the hardware-linked ones may need a physical device to develop against or demonstrate on. Read your chosen track's requirements before committing, because it determines whether the track is realistic for you at all.
Is a month long enough?
For a focused, single-feature project on a platform you already know, yes — the submission window closes 23 October 2026 at 12:00pm Pacific Time. If you have never touched the platform you are targeting, the two mini challenges (AWS Builder and Open Source, $5,000 each) are a more realistic entry point than a device track.
Official links
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