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The STTE Foundation proudly hosted the Biggest AI Hackathon in the Borderland, April 25-27, a landmark event that brought together high school students, university developers, and professional coders to solve real-world challenges using artificial intelligence. Held in partnership with UTEP’s Computer Science Department and El Paso Labs, the three-day event saw 184 participants, including 82 first-time hackers, collaborate across six critical sectors: education, health tech, water innovation, economic development, immersive learning, and sports management.
The energy was electric as teams engaged in workshops, received mentorship, and sprinted toward creating AI-powered software prototypes. In total, $4,500 in cash prizes were awarded, and hundreds of thousands in Microsoft for Startups credits are available to high-potential teams. From a high school finalist team to an all-female team in the finals, the talent and ambition were clear. Industry leaders and judges were on hand to provide feedback, award prizes, and help select the teams most likely to evolve into investable startups.
Winning teams included the Grand Prize Winner Seraphim for water innovation, Pythons for immersive learning, Shadow Roots for education, NYSFDC for sports, Mind Mesh for health tech, and Team Ready for economic development. Each industry room also selected an Innovator Award team—recognized for the highest startup potential and awarded Microsoft Azure credits and coworking access at STTE’s Sandbox space.
The hackathon not only equipped participants with new tools like OpenAI, LittleHorse, LangChain, HuggingFace, and Supabase AI but also sparked a broader regional movement. With 69 participants achieving their primary goals and 50 planning to continue developing their projects, the event has laid the groundwork for a new wave of entrepreneurship and tech-driven solutions in the Borderplex.
STTE is now actively supporting top teams in forming entities and seeking investment, with a mission to grow the region’s innovation economy. The hackathon was just the beginning—Borderland builders are just getting started.
