F8 Refresh Hackathon winners introduced

Thanks again to everyone who listened to the announcement of the winners of the F8 Refresh Hackathon on our developer Facebook page today!

Hackathons have always been a core part of F8.

I’ve been on Facebook for 12 years and visited my first F8 in 2010 when I was an engineer on our developer platform team. This year we came together to develop and launch the Like Button, which is embedded on millions of websites.

The name of the F8 conference comes from our hack culture on Facebook. The “8” in F8 is because we usually did 8-hour hackathons. These are at the heart of our corporate DNA and still an important way to address challenges and explore opportunities here on Facebook today.

In “more normal” times, hackathons brought innovators from around the world together to network personally and develop software solutions.

While we had to cancel the personal component of F8 last year, we continued our hackathon tradition with the industry-led # BuildforCOVID19 Global Online Hackathon and our series of Facebook Online Hackathons.

We couldn’t be together in person again this year, but we were still thrilled to have hosted another immersive, virtual hackathon as part of F8 Refresh!

In early May, we welcomed developers and developers for over a week to build and grow with two Facebook products – Spark AR and Wit.ai – that offer up to $ 100,000 in cash prizes in total.

The Spark AR Challenge challenged developers to focus on ways in which AR can be used for sharing – to help people express themselves and connect with communities.

While Wit.ai Challenge is entrusting developers to use voice to help customers simplify tasks and take their AR and VR solutions to the next level.

Since the hackathon, our judges have been reviewing the great submissions we’ve received and I’m excited to share the winners.

Spark AR

FOLLOW 1 WINNER

First place ($ 10,000)

  • Thought Bubbles from the United States – a dynamic bubble effect that allows users to express their thoughts

Second place ($ 7,500)

Third place ($ 5,000)

Honorable Mentions ($ 1,000 each)

FOLLOW 2 WINNERS

First place ($ 10,000)

  • Wish in the Sky from Taiwan – a world AR effect that allows users to write a wish on a sky lantern and watch it fly in the sky

Second place ($ 7,500)

  • Scoop it Up from Argentina, the Netherlands and the UK – an AR game that encourages users to be environmentally friendly by getting rid of plastic waste on an island

Third place ($ 5,000)

  • Escape the Lockdown from Austria – an AR escape room game that encourages users to get vaccinated against COVID-19

Honorable Mentions ($ 1,000 each)

Wit.ai

FOLLOW 1 WINNER

First place ($ 10,000)

  • Jobcall from the USA – an AI-supported conversation experience that offers people without reliable internet access personal branding and creative tools

Second place ($ 7,500)

  • Pacify from Uganda – a mental health app that Wit.ai uses to help people share their thoughts and feel heard through voice activation

Third place ($ 5,000)

  • Wit.ai Shopping Assistant from Canada – an AI-powered shopping assistant that helps shoppers find the products they need in retail stories while maintaining social distance

Honorable Mentions ($ 1,000 each)

FOLLOW 2 WINNERS

First place ($ 10,000)

  • Face the Wall from Brazil – a combo AR / AI game designed to help people participate in fun activities while having group conversations with friends

Second place ($ 7,500)

  • Salsa con Lorenzo from México – a salsa dance instructor who combines web AR, VR and speech recognition via Wit.ai combining

Third place ($ 5,000)

Honorable Mentions ($ 1,000 each)

Congratulations to those Spark AR superstars and Wit.ai lovers!

Our judges said they have never set the bar this high – so thank you for bringing such adventurous thinking and great teamwork to the competition!

There are many more options for those who want to continue learning about and incorporating Facebook products.

Be sure to follow the Facebook for Developers page to be the first to find out about the latest programs focused on AR, AI, and more – including Creator Days, Spark AR Labs, and more hackathons with cash prizes!

Thank you again and congratulations to all winners and participants!

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