Rakathon 2024, a 24hrs hackathon competition by Rakuten, is a platform for software professionals, industry experts, freelancers, and budding engineers with the brightest and most innovative minds to develop practical solutions to the real-world problems.
Rakathon – a portmanteau of Rakuten and hackathon – echoes Rakuten’s commitment to give back to the world by fostering innovation and an entrepreneurship mindset.
If you believe innovation is the mandate to disrupt the old and tired ways to better the way people live and work in the future, this codefest is tailored for you.
Rakathon is your step to innovation.
2000+
Idea Submitted
Last Year
5000+
Participation
Last Year
Being a global company, Rakuten’s mission is to contribute to society by creating value through innovation and entrepreneurship. Therefore, we believe that Rakathon ’24 is the perfect stage for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. So what are you waiting for? Gather your team, and think of your next big idea.
Rakathon’24 Themes
ecom
fintech
mobile
ai ops
Sub Themes
Leveraging [Gen] AI to solve problems within DevOps
With a goal to speed up deployment cycles, improving accuracy and limiting the amount of time development teams spend on maintenance tasks which again involves deployment, DevOps deals with improving productivity. We are looking at innovative ways to optimize CI/CD pipelines, automate repetitive tasks, enhance quality assurance, potential generation of deployment scripts, predicting potential issues that may arise and also ways to deal with incidents via [Gen]AI
Augmented and virtual travel experiences
Virtual travel experiences are gaining traction allowing customers to explore destinations without the hassles associated with `travel’ per se. Augmented and virtual travel experiences includes virtual reality which can be made immersive for engagement. Augmented reality apps can help fuse digital content enhancing the travel experience. We are looking at innovation which can make this a possibility and/or enhance any existing solutions in this space.
Understanding financial products using Gen AI
It is well known that financial products and services help attain financial goals. While there a great number of them, it can be arduous to understand the nuances of each one of them and it can pose challenges if one wants to deploy them in an optimized fashion for getting maximum returns. We are looking at innovative ideas wherein financial products can be better understood and deployed in an optimal fashion using [Gen]AI.
Fraud detection in fintech, Ads leveraging [Gen]AI
Fraud can happen in a variety of ways. Fraudsters may generate fake impressions or clicks by manipulating various sources thereby disrupting the natural conversion funnel leading to inconsistences. Gen AI with its adaptive learning abilities including capability to handle large data sets can potentially be used for anomaly detection. We are looking at innovative ways to solve fraud(s) in the fintech space, Ads etc.
Hyper personalization and prompt based shopping experience in e-commerce leveraging [Gen] AI
Highly personalized experiences can be created via understanding of user behavior and preferences. User experience as we see it today is mostly driven with the `interfaces’ that is available today and is usually the same for everyone. With the advent of [Gen] AI, the `user experience’ can potentially be enhanced with custom interfaces, adaptive navigation etc. and thereby eliminating potential friction. There is potential for AI generated content as well. We are looking at innovative ways to bring out hyper personalization with this problem.
Using multiple LLM agents to solve problems in ecommerce, travel, fintech. Mobile, media
We are looking at innovative ways to use multiple LLM agents towards synergistically and effectively solving complex problems than single LLMs broadly in the eCommerce, travel, fintech, mobile and media spaces. By dividing up the tasks among multiple specialized agents, multi agent LLMs can potentially work with better efficiency and productivity via maximizing outputs at an individual level
[Gen] AI based shopping assistant (pre, during and post sales)
We are looking at innovative ways to bring out user experience at various stages of the sale cycle. It could be before the `buy’ decision or during or after sales. While AI driven chatbots have been around for some time now, with the advent of [Gen]AI, possibilities for providing a near human like interaction has been made possible especially for after sales customer support. Some of the aspects to explore include creation of an ecommerce concierge experience thereby giving customers a differentiated and/or high level of service.
RAKATHON 2023 Highlights
Last year, with the “new normal” setting in, Rakathon 2023 went completely Offline and recorded 9000 registrations.
Blogs
AI-nizing Risk Management in IT Changes
August 21, 2024 | Abhijeet Joshi
Proactive Financial Fraud Detection using Generative AI
August 20, 2024 | Harshitha N
Advertising Fraud Prevention/Detection using AI
August 20, 2024 | Kadam Adalja
Gen AI in Transforming Music Streaming Platforms
August 19, 2024 | Bhavya Neelgar
Leveraging Large Language Models
August 19, 2024 | Priyavrath Dakua
Optimizing Cloud Costs with FinOps AI
August 14, 2024 | Rikin Raheja
Revolutionizing Customer Experience in FinTech:
August 14, 2024 | Niraj Singh
Imagine Global eCommerce Without Borders
August 13, 2024 | Prasun Sarkar
Using AI for DevOps & Operational Efficiency
August 09, 2024 | Abinas Sahoo
AI in Data Life cycle management
August 09, 2024 | Putrevu Sandeep
Impact Of AI On Existing Job Market & Ethical Use Of AI
August 08, 2024 | Siddhartha Das
Strategies for Securing and Safeguarding Large Language Models
August 07, 2024 | Suyash Ghadge
Humanizing AI
August 06, 2024 | Anant Govil
Gen AI powered hyper-personalization
August 05, 2024 | Ganeshkumar.K.R
Revolutionizing Industries
August 02, 2024 | Muralidhar Sortur
Interplay of Hardware and AI
August 01, 2024 | Saikat Paul
Prompt your AI-DEAS to reality!
July 31, 2024 | Hari Rao
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to pay any money to register for the Hackathon?
No. Registration for Rakathon is FREE
Do I need to have any specific qualifications to be a participant for the Hackathon?
There is no qualification required to participate. If you love to code, you are more than welcome to participate in the Hackathon.
Can multiple ideas be registered for one team?
Multiple ideas are not allowed from one team. Only one idea can be submitted per team.
Can we change team after round 1 & 2?
No, you cannot change your team once registered
I have an idea not related to the problem statement but relates to the theme, can I still go ahead and register it
Yes, you can go ahead and register your idea under a theme which has the maximum coherence to your idea.
Can deadline be extended for the idea registration?
No, the deadline can’t be extended for the idea registration.
Can I be registered as a participant of 2 teams at once for the Event?
No, you cannot be a registered as a participant of 2 teams at once for the Event.
Will I be getting participation certificate?
All shortlisted teams will get participation certificate
Does one have to be online and available for the entire duration of the Hackathon?
No, one does not need to be logged in or be online for the entire duration. You can develop the application on your local system based on the given themes and then submit it on Hackerearth, on the specific challenge page.
Do I need to give a demo for the product that I have built?
For phase I (Idea submission), demo is not required. For Phase II, demo of your application that is a functional one is required.
If it is a team submission, does that mean all team members will have access to work at the same time?
Yes, all team members can login from their account and do application submission on the Hackerearth tool.
How many people should a Team be?
A team can consist of 2 to 4 members for registration
Do we sign up as individuals or as a team?
You should sign up as an individual and then you can invite other members to your team.
Who will own the IP (Intellectual Property) Rights of the product/code that I have built?
Developer/participant will own the IP (Intellectual Property) Rights of the product/code.
Are we allowed to use third party components like open source libraries etc. to implement a solution - are there limitations on component?
No, there aren't any limitations but any kind of open-source libraries, KPI frameworks for the solution will not be provided by Rakathon organising team or Rakuten.
Who will own the IP (Intellectual Property) Rights of the product/code that I have built?
Developer/participant will own the IP (Intellectual Property) Rights of the product/code.
Can the challenge be attempted from mobile platform?
No, the challenge can only be accessed through a laptop/desktop
How do I know if my idea was shortlisted?
For shortlisted candidates, notifications will be shared through Hackerearth.
How will teams be judged/what are the judgement criteria?
Teams will be judged on the following criteria
• Novelty / Originality
• Practicality / Feasibility
• Usefulness / Desirability
• Sale-ability / Biz Viability
• Scalability / Platformization
• Privacy Handling
Will there be any Training?
No, there won't be any kind of training for Rakathon.
Will I be able to sell/commercialise my projects after the hackathon?
It is up to the developer, but Rakuten reserves no responsibility about the veracity of the product being sold.
What is the process of Rakathon'24?
Event Flow:
• Form teams and register (submit) your idea summary in pdf, word, txt, etc. format. Remember to mention the theme and problem statements the idea pertains to, how the idea proposes to solve the problem, the business impact of the idea, as well as the technological advancement proposed by your idea. Registration dates from 10th july 2024 to 31st July 2024.
• Based on ideas submitted, top 100 ideas/teams will be shortlisted for the 24-hrs Rakathon. Shortlisted teams will be informed on 15th August 2024.
• Shortlisted teams are required to attend the 24-hr physical hackathon on August 30th and 31st from 11:00AM onwards in Rakuten India Office, Bangalore. Here they will be required to develop (code/hack) their idea and create a functional prototype/software solution/etc. which can be presented (demoed) to jury members. The same has to be uploaded in the tool as well.
• Out of the shortlisted ideas, top 10 will be selected by Jury based on the idea presentation/demo.
• Top 10 teams will present to Final Jury members to decide the winners.
• Winners to be announced by 7:30pm IST on 31st August, 2024.
Do we need to have the entire idea fully working?
The entire idea need not be fully implemented. However, the submission should be functional so that it can be reviewed by the judges.
Where will the Hackathon take place?
The Hackathon will take place in Rakuten India Crimson House, Bangalore.
Are we allowed to use third party components like open source libraries etc. to implement a solution - are there limitations on component?
No, there aren't any limitations but any kind of open-source libraries, KPI frameworks for the solution will not be provided by Rakathon organising team or Rakuten.
Are there any prerequisites for the Rakathon (specific software, etc)?
No, there aren't any prerequisites for the Rakathon.
How do I submit what I have developed for the Hackathon?
Idea submission can be in any format- doc, ppt, docx, txt, pdf, etc. and code submission should be uploaded in Zip format
How is the environment? Will your environment support any language? Will you provide any IDE and DB for us to work on ideas?
We do not provide any environment support. No, IDE and DB will not be provided by us for you to work on ideas.
Do I get free credits for using cloud services?
No, you won't be getting any free credits for using cloud services.
Who shall I connect if there is any query regarding HackerEarth?
Connect with our support team at support@hackerearth.com
Who shall I connect if there is any query regarding the event?
For any queries, reach out to us at admin-rakathon-2024@mail.rakuten.com