Europe's biggest hackathon · 13.–15.11.2026 · Hype Areena, Espoo
The mover could be you.
Free to enter · Applications close Midnight 25.10.2026 GMT +03
The European Tech Renaissance story: what Junction 2026 is, and why it matters.
Applications close Midnight 25.10.2026 GMT +03 · Free to enter
In prizes across the weekend. Full prize breakdown coming soon.
Traveling from outside Finland? Travel grants are available on a limited basis for the strongest applications. Apply early, because decisions are issued with enough lead time to support visa applications.
Travel grant deadline · September 6For centuries, the center of the world was assumed. Then someone questioned it, and the model broke open.
Tech has its own accepted centers of gravity today. Junction 2026 is where 2,000 builders spend 48 hours proving those assumptions wrong.
This is not a hackathon about competing inside the current system. It is about asking who gets to define the system at all.
Why AI now? Because the model is breaking open again.
The companies building Junction 2026 with us. More are being confirmed.
Set a challenge, shape a track, and choose your own winners.
Bring your platform, APIs, and tools to 2,000 builders.
Put your brand in front of Europe's most ambitious tech talent.
Tracks are shaped together with Challenge Partners well before the weekend, so the earlier the conversation starts, the more say you have in it.
Take your idea off the screen. The Hardware Lab is an on-site space for building physical AI, robotics, and embedded projects, with the equipment to prototype for real and the people to help you get it working.
Linux computing and real-time control on a single board, ready for connected and edge AI builds.
The parts you need to wire your prototype together and bring it to life.
Print enclosures, mounts, and custom parts on-site while you build.
Open-source robot arms for robotics and embodied AI projects.
And much more on the bench.
Get hands-on guidance from representatives of industry-leading companies and from founders who have built hardware companies of their own.
Junction 2026 is Europe's biggest hackathon, and one weekend that changes what you think you're capable of. Free to enter, open to any background, November 13–15, 2026 at Hype Areena in Espoo, Finland.
Work on real challenges with real constraints, alongside people who push you further than you push yourself.
A global network of builders that stays with you long after the weekend ends.
Get in front of the people hiring, funding, and building the next generation of European tech.
Applications close Midnight 25.10.2026 GMT +03
Preliminary schedule. Times may still shift as the event approaches.
Challenge tracks for Junction 2026 will be announced closer to the event. Each track is shaped with our Challenge Partners around real, unsolved problems.
Built and judged on the Junction Platform.
Each Challenge Partner chooses their own track winners against their own criteria.
The Main Event winner is decided first through face-to-face peer review to select the top 5 projects.
The top 5 pitch in front of a live audience, and a grand jury chooses the overall winner.
2,000 builders from 100+ countries, 48 hours, and €100,000 on the line. The Investor Pass puts you on the floor at Hype Areena while the projects are being built and in the room when the top 5 pitch to the grand jury.
Participants enter free by application. The pass is for the people who come to watch, meet and back them: angels, funds and scouts who want first contact with the teams, not a recap.
Bringing a whole team, or want to partner instead? hello@hackjunction.com
Full access to the weekend: walk the floor while the projects are being built, sit in on the final pitches, and meet the founders before they have a deck.
After you’re accepted to Junction 2026, we’ll ask you for the information needed to prepare your invitation letter. Please wait for those instructions before sending your details.
Invitation letters are sent in three batches:
We’ll ask for your invitation letter details after acceptance.
Follow the instructions provided and check that your information is accurate.
Letters are sent on the scheduled dates above, so your letter won’t arrive immediately after you submit your details.
Already submitted your details? Please keep the batch schedule in mind while waiting for your invitation letter.
Junction 2026 is Europe's biggest hackathon rather than an AI-only event, but AI is where most of the 2026 challenges sit. Teams build AI and agent projects, software across web, mobile and data, and physical AI, robotics and embedded projects in the on-site Hardware Lab by Arduino. Challenge tracks are set by partner companies and span many themes. It takes place 13–15 November 2026 at Hype Areena in Espoo, Finland, with 2,000 builders, 48 hours of building, and €100,000 in prizes.
Applications for Junction 2026 close at Midnight 25.10.2026 GMT +03. The hackathon itself runs 13–15 November 2026 at Hype Areena in Espoo, Finland, with Junction Week pre-events starting 9 November. Applications are open now.
Yes. Junction 2026 is free for accepted participants. There is no participant ticket to buy: entry is by application, and every application is reviewed. The only paid ticket is the Investor Pass, for investors who want to attend the weekend and the final pitches.
Anyone who builds. Developers, designers, and makers from any background and any experience level are welcome, whether you are a student, working in tech, or entirely self-taught. Participants are mainly 18 and over.
No. Teams at Junction 2026 are up to 4 people, and you can apply on your own or with a team already formed. If you arrive without one, you can find teammates on site before hacking starts.
Junction 2026 takes place at Hype Areena in Kivenlahti, Espoo, Finland. That is Espoo, not Helsinki. Kivenlahti sits at the western end of the Helsinki metro line, so the venue is roughly 30 minutes by metro from Helsinki Central Railway Station. By car it is about 20 minutes from central Helsinki and about 30 minutes from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
Travel grants are available to help participants reach Junction 2026, and discounted rooms are offered through partner hotels near the venue in Espoo.
Hype Areena is open around the clock for the full 48 hours, so you can stay on site through the weekend. There are no dedicated sleeping areas, so if you plan to sleep properly, book a room nearby. The discounted partner hotels are there for exactly this.
You do. Teams keep ownership of what they build. Submissions are open-sourced under the MIT licence, which means partners and the wider community are free to use and build on them, with your team credited as the authors.
In three stages. Each Challenge Partner picks their own track winners against their own criteria. The Main Event winner starts with face-to-face peer review to select the top 5 projects, and those 5 pitch in front of a live audience to a grand jury, which chooses the overall winner.
Junction Week is the week of pre-events leading into the hackathon, beginning Monday 9 November 2026 and running up to the main weekend on 13–15 November. Pre-event details will be announced closer to the event.
Email hello@hackjunction.com or book a call directly. Challenge, Tech, and Visibility partnerships for Junction 2026 are being confirmed now, and tracks are shaped together with Challenge Partners well before the event.
There are three. Challenge Partners set a challenge, shape a track, and choose their own winners. Tech Partners bring their platform, APIs, and tools to 2,000 builders. Visibility Partners put their brand in front of Europe's most ambitious tech talent.
Yes. Partners meet participants directly across the 48 hours in Espoo, and recruiting formats are shaped together with each partner ahead of the event.
Yes. Investors attend with the Investor Pass, a paid ticket sold on this site with checkout by Stripe. It gives access to Hype Areena in Espoo across 13–15 November 2026, including the building floor, the top 5 live pitches and the Final Ceremony on Sunday.
Teams own what they build. Submissions are open-sourced under the MIT licence, so partners are free to use, modify, and build on the work created during Junction 2026, with the authoring team credited.
The fastest answers live in our community. Ask anything and meet your future team. See Discord.
Would rather not ask in public? Email us directly and a human will reply.
€100,000 in prizes. Be there when it happens.
Apply now →Applications close Midnight 25.10.2026 GMT +03 · Free to enter
