Build AI for a world worth building.
Students and early founders form teams, pick a real problem, and build an AI product for it — competing over four rounds to a national final.
National
Final stage
₹10 Lakhs
Prize pool
Covered
Travel & stay
Last week of September 2026 · XIM Bhubaneswar · teams of 2–4
What is ARC
Build AI that actually helps
ARC is not a hackathon and not a business-plan competition. It's a structured, multi-stage challenge where teams think rigorously, build meaningfully, and pitch with conviction.
Social
Access, equity, and community impact — who is included, and who genuinely benefits.
Environmental
Carbon, resource use, and consequence — the planet treated as a stakeholder.
Economic
Livelihoods, viability, and long-term value — beyond growth metrics alone.
Sustainability isn't an extra theme here — it's a mandatory evaluation lens, weighed in every round, across every domain.
How it works
From an idea to a national stage
Four rounds. Each takes your idea a little further — you don't need a finished product to start.
Register
Teams of 2–4 register, declare their domain, and submit a single-line direction statement naming the problem space they intend to explore.
Share your idea
A structured brief covering the problem, the AI approach, and the target community — with 2–3 measurable impact indicators grounded in real field insight.
Build & pitch
A working prototype and full business pitch, judged by panels expert in both AI and sustainability. DeepTech teams present a technical thesis instead.
Grand Final
Finalists from all six domains take one national stage for a 10-minute pitch and live demo, then an open jury Q&A with leaders, investors, and practitioners.
Pick your domain
Where does AI matter most?
Every team picks one area to build in. Bring your own problem and your own approach.
Healthcare
Diagnostics, preventive care, mental wellbeing, and access across geographies.
Featured · maternal & child healthMedia & Entertainment
Regional-language access, creator empowerment, ethical content, and cultural preservation.
Marketing
Ethical personalisation, purpose-driven campaigns, and tools that help small businesses compete.
Sustainability
Climate, energy, water, agriculture, biodiversity, waste, and the circular-economy transition.
Public Health
Disease surveillance, vaccination access, sanitation, nutrition, and health-data infrastructure.
DeepTech
Robotics, materials, semiconductors, biotech, energy, or novel AI infrastructure.
No prototype · research & feasibilityOptional innovation tracks
Green Nudges
Behavioural change for sustainable choices.
Sustainability Marketing
Honest, measurable storytelling for purpose-led brands.
Gamification for Good
Habit tools and loops that move real-world metrics.
Impact Measurement
Systems that quantify social, environmental & economic outcomes.
How teams are judged
One rubric. Every domain.
Five parameters, applied everywhere. AI Depth and Sustainability Impact carry equal, top weight — by design.
AI Depth & Intentionality
Is AI core to the solution rather than decorative — and does the team understand why their approach fits?
Sustainability Impact
Is impact measurable across carbon, cost, access, or livelihoods — and is it scalable and realistic?
Problem Clarity & Domain Insight
A real, specific problem, and a true understanding of the people most affected by it.
Business Viability
A credible model for how this becomes a real, self-sustaining venture.
Prototype Quality & Pitch
Evidence of building and a clear, defensible story. DeepTech: research & feasibility rigour instead.
Commit to numbers. Every team names 2–3 measurable indicators — % cost reduction, emissions saved, users reached, time-to-care, livelihoods improved.
Who it's for
Built for builders
You don't need a company, a lab, or a finished plan — just a team and something you want to build.
Students
Undergrad or postgrad, any discipline — engineering, management, design, medicine, media, or environmental science — with an idea worth building.
Any discipline
Early founders
Pre-seed or ideation-stage builders who want real jury feedback, national visibility, and the kind of pressure that makes an idea stronger.
Pre-seed & ideation
Mixed teams
A blend of technical, design, and domain minds — the combination the most impactful AI ventures are actually built on.
Interdisciplinary
The Grand Final
More than a pitch.
The best teams from every domain come together for the Grand Final. If you make it, we've got you covered — so you can focus on the work, not the logistics.
Total prize pool · for finalists
₹10 Lakhs
Awarded across the six domains at the national final, with extra recognition for standout innovation-track alignment.
International-standard venue
Hosted at XIM Bhubaneswar — a stage worth building for.
Travel, covered
We arrange and cover travel for every finalist to reach the final.
Stay, covered
Accommodation for finalists is on us for the duration of the final.
ARC goodies & kit
Every finalist walks away with ARC merch and a builder's goodie kit.
A real network
Founders, mentors, investors, and builders who think like you.
A serious jury
Industry leaders, investors, technologists, and sustainability practitioners.
Good to know
ARC, answered
Come build something real.
You don't need a company, a lab, or a finished plan — just a team and something you want to build.