April 11–12, 2026 · Skillman, NJ
NJx Hackathon Spring 2026
The inaugural NJx Hackathon brought 19 teams of student innovators from across New Jersey together for 24 hours to build a project and a business around one of three challenges.
Dates
Apr 11–12, 2026
Venue
Venture X Skillman, Montgomery Innovation Hub
Teams
19 student teams
Mentors
20+ volunteers
Format
24 hours, noon to noon
Eligibility
Students ages 14–28
Prizes
$1,500 in cash
Presented by
NJx Venture Summit
The challenge
Three ways to build for New Jersey.
The theme stayed a mystery until kickoff at noon on Saturday. Each team chose one of three problem areas and built both a product and a business around it.
01
AI voice scams and deepfake fraud
Protect older adults from increasingly sophisticated AI-powered voice scams and deepfake fraud.
02
Automated content on social media
Help people tell the difference between human-made and automated content as it floods social feeds.
03
A challenge unique to New Jersey
Pick your own project, as long as it addresses a challenge that specifically affects New Jersey communities.
Schedule
How the weekend ran
The weekend opened Friday night with the April Pre-Hackathon Game Night, presented by 1435 Capital, and closed Sunday afternoon with the awards ceremony.
Fri, Apr 10 · 6:00 PM
Pre-Hackathon Game Night: board games, pizza, and networking
Sat, Apr 11 · 9:00 AM
Registration, orientation, and kickoff panels
Sat, Apr 11 · 12:00 PM
Theme revealed and the 24-hour build begins
Sun, Apr 12 · 12:00 PM
Building ends and projects are submitted
Sun, Apr 12 · 12:00–2:00 PM
Judges deliberate
Sun, Apr 12 · 3:00 PM
Winners announced and awards ceremony
The result
Ideas with purpose, and businesses to match.
Each project blended technology with social impact. More than 20 mentors volunteered their weekend to guide teams on product design, startup strategy, and AI ethics, while dozens of volunteers handled setup, operations, and breakdown.
Three teams were recognized with NJx Innovation Prizes of $500 each. The event reflected a shared goal across investors, educators, founders, and community partners: using AI and technology to address issues facing New Jersey and to build solutions that drive economic success and growth.
“The NJx Hackathon showcased the creativity and civic-minded energy of New Jersey’s next generation of technologists and entrepreneurs. These teams didn’t just build apps — they built ideas and businesses with purpose.”
Curtis Lee · Senior Partner, 1435 Capital Management
Partners
Spring 2026 partners
Co-sponsors and venue partners behind the inaugural event.
Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor
Montgomery Innovation Hub
Venue partner
Venue partner
Thank you
The people who gave up their weekend.
Mentors, judges, and volunteers who helped make the inaugural NJx Hackathon a success.
Joe Maruschak · George Veitengruber · James F. Curley · John Silverstein · Gary Kellstrom · Tejas Ravindra · Shreyas Ravindra · Russ Abdrakhmanov · Wes Waninger · Roopak Naresh Gupta · Emily Hill · Kevin Brown · David Stengle · Monica Jain · Rich Gallagher · Carmelo Cintrón · Kinshuk Dutta · Yashaswi Alur Prasannakumar · Anand Rai · Peter Cobb · Devin Carrillo · Jack Turkel · Mahender Gorrai · Benjamin Turofsky
And the 1435 Capital Management team: Chris Gittings, Aliea Nallbani, Ben Jen, Curtis Lee, and Amar Hirani.
Next event
Fiscal sponsor
A nonprofit program, built in public for New Jersey students.
NJx Hackathon is fiscally sponsored by NJx Venture Summit NJ NFP Corp, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions that support the program are made to the fiscal sponsor and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.