{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-18/gloo-ai-hackathon-200000-prizes","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-18/gloo-ai-hackathon-200000-prizes.md","title":"Gloo awards $200,000 in 2026 AI hackathon","headline":"Gloo awards $200,000 in AI hackathon as Austin Christian University team wins $100,000","description":"Gloo awarded $200,000 in prizes at its 2026 AI Hackathon, with an Austin Christian University team taking $100,000 for Fosterly.","section":"Business","published_at":"2026-10-18T23:34:45+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-18T23:34:45+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Gloo awarded $200,000 in prizes at its 2026 AI Hackathon, with a $100,000 grand prize going to an Austin Christian University team for Fosterly.","More than 1,000 participants on more than 115 teams competed in the 30-day virtual event, which concluded with an in-person competition October 6-8 at the Limelight Hotel in Boulder.","Three other teams received $20,000 each for winning the Best of Agents, Best of Ministry Resourcing and Best of Bible categories."],"companies":[{"name":"Gloo","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00002go/gloo","website":"https://gloo.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"EIN Presswire","title":"Gloo awards $200,000 in AI hackathon – BizWest","url":"https://www.einnews.com/article/950600024/live"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Business","Gloo"],"body_markdown":"[Gloo](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00002go/gloo) Holdings Inc. awarded $200,000 in prizes at its 2026 AI Hackathon, with a team from Austin Christian University claiming the $100,000 grand prize for Fosterly, an AI tool for young people leaving the Texas foster-care system. [EIN Presswire](https://www.einnews.com/article/950600024/live) reported the awards. Gloo is a Boulder-based company that provides artificial intelligence and technology platforms for faith-based organizations.\n\n## Inside Gloo's 2026 AI Hackathon\n\nMore than 1,000 participants representing more than 115 teams competed in the hackathon, which began September 8 with a 30-day virtual development period and concluded with an in-person competition October 6-8 at the Limelight Hotel in Boulder. The event was themed \"Building Together: Humans, Agents and the Future of Flourishing\" and was open to participants with varying degrees of technical experience.\n\nFosterly uses AI to connect young adults aging out of foster care with services and individuals who can help them transition to independent living. Three other teams received $20,000 each for winning individual competition categories. Austin Christian University's Unify team won the Best of Agents category for an AI system designed to help nonprofits consolidate software functions that otherwise might require as many as 20 separate applications. Frontier Commons won the Best of Ministry Resourcing category for OnBoard, a tool that helps missionaries communicate with donors by collecting and organizing information for newsletters and updates. Envoy Mission won the Best of Bible category for an offline, private Bible application disguised as an ordinary app, intended for people in countries where possession of a Bible could lead to imprisonment, using multilingual AI conversations to communicate with users. Gloo awarded another $40,000 among winners in additional categories.\n\n\"At Gloo, we believe AI should be shaped for good, reflecting the needs, values and aspirations of the faith and flourishing ecosystem,\" Gloo co-founder and CEO Scott Beck said in a prepared statement. \"The Hackathon turns that belief into action.\"\n\nEntries were evaluated based on their concepts, innovation, potential impact, use of AI and presentations. Judges included Back; Eric Célérier, CEO of HelloBible; Pat Gelsinger, executive chair and head of technology at Gloo; and Scott Mosely, vice president of software at RightNowMedia. A complete list of winners is available at [gloo.com/hackathon](https://gloo.com).\n\n## Gloo's Funding and Scale Records\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Gloo has four funding rounds on record, including a $22.8 million post-IPO equity round in July 2026, a $23 million series unknown round in January 2025, a $110 million undisclosed round in July 2024 and a $41.6 million debt-funded round in March 2022. The same records list total funding of $197.4 million and a scale of more than 140,000 faith, ministry and nonprofit leaders served, within an ecosystem of more than 450,000 churches, nonprofits and faith-based organizations.\n\n## Earlier Gloo Announcements\n\nGloo announced the hackathon winners on October 9, 2026, awarding $200,000 in cash prizes, with an Austin Christian University team winning the $100,000 grand prize for Fosterly, according to FinancialContent Business Page. On September 24, 2026, Gloo and Barna research found that 45% of 18- to 35-year-olds name prayer as the most selected spiritual reason for attending church, Stock Titan reported. On October 12, 2026, Ticker Report compared Gloo and eGain on revenue, earnings, valuation and analyst ratings, noting Gloo has lower revenue but higher earnings, with analysts rating it more favorably.\n\n## What Comes Next for Gloo\n\nGloo's definitive agreement to acquire the remaining 20% stake in Midwestern Interactive, bringing ownership to 100%, was expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, according to akta.pro company records. The same records state a planned Brazil expansion announced June 18, 2026.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}