EchoSphere: Agora Conversational AI Hackathon
Build AI That Speaks, Listens, and Acts.
EchoSphere is a hybrid AI hackathon where developers, students, startups, and AI enthusiasts come together to build the next generation of real-time conversational AI applications using Agora Conversational AI.
This isn’t another chatbot hackathon. Your challenge is to create voice-native AI experiences that can hold natural conversations, handle interruptions, remember context, call external tools, and take meaningful actions in real time.
Participants can choose from multiple real-world problem statements, including AI sales agents, classroom co-teachers, incident commanders, multilingual customer support, and adaptive AI interview panels—or build an innovative solution within the Open Innovation track that showcases the power of real-time Voice AI.
Throughout the hackathon, you’ll have access to workshops, technical mentorship, office hours, and guidance from industry experts. The event culminates in an offline Grand Finale in Delhi, where shortlisted teams will demonstrate their working prototypes live before an expert judging panel.
What You’ll Build
- Real-time Voice AI applications
- Conversational AI agents
- AI Agents with tool calling
- Multilingual voice experiences
- Human-in-the-loop AI systems
- Production-ready AI prototypes
Tech Stack
Use Agora Conversational AI as the core real-time voice layer, along with any LLMs, speech models, vector databases, cloud platforms, APIs, automation tools, or backend technologies of your choice.
Whether you’re an experienced AI engineer or just starting your journey with conversational AI, EchoSphere is your opportunity to build innovative, production-oriented Voice AI experiences that solve real-world problems.
| Round | Timeline | stage |
| Round 1 |
21 July – 25 August |
Registration & Team Formation |
| Round 2 |
26 – 28 August |
Idea Submission & Application Screening |
| Round 3 |
29 August – 3 September |
Online Mentorship & Development Sprint |
| Round 4 | 4 Sept - 7 Sept |
Project Submission, Online Evaluation and Elimination round |
| Round 5 | 12 September | Grand Finale and Final Judging |
|
Timeline |
Stage |
Description |
|
29 Aug – 3 Sep |
Development Sprint |
Shortlisted teams build their projects during the development sprint. Each team receives one dedicated 1:1 mentorship session for technical guidance. For additional technical support, participants can use the Agora Discord Community. Product-related guidance, announcements, and mentor communication will be provided through the official WhatsApp group. |
|
4 Sep, 11:59 PM IST |
Submission Deadline |
Final project submissions close. All teams must submit their completed project before the deadline. The mentorship period officially ends after submissions. |
|
5 – 6 Sep |
Online Evaluation and Elimination |
Teams present their submitted projects to the evaluation panel through an online demo session. Mentors review what each team has actually built, assess the project’s functionality, innovation, technical implementation, and use of Agora technologies, and assign the final evaluation score based on the submitted project. No mentoring, project updates, or modifications are permitted during the evaluation period. |
|
7 Sep |
Finalists Announcement |
The top-performing teams are selected and announced as Grand Finalists. Finalists receive details regarding the Grand Finale, and presentation guidelines. |
|
8 – 11 Sep |
Finale Preparation |
Shortlisted finalist teams will prepare for the Offline Grand Finale, where they will deliver a live product demonstration and present their solution before an expert jury. Think of this as a Shark Tank–style product pitch, where teams showcase not only what they built but also the problem they solved, their approach, technical implementation, Agora Implementation, impact, and future vision. Teams are encouraged to incorporate the feedback received from mentors during the hackathon to refine their product demo, presentation deck, and overall pitch. While the core solution submitted during the evaluation round must remain unchanged, teams may improve the user experience, presentation quality, demo flow, and storytelling to deliver the strongest possible product demonstration. Prior to the finale, organizers will share the event agenda, judging process, presentation guidelines, and logistics for the Offline Grand Finale. |
|
12 Sep |
Offline Grand Finale |
Grand Finalist teams present their solutions through live demos and pitches before the jury. The event includes product demonstrations, Q&A with judges, final evaluation, networking, keynote sessions, and concludes with the winner announcement, awards ceremony, and closing remarks. |
Updates
Call for Community Partner: https://www.commudle.com/fill-form/4934
10:00 AM Friday, 24th Jul, 2026
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Comments
FAQs
Will certificates be provided?
Participation certificates will be provided to eligible participants, and finalists and winners will receive special recognition.
Where can I ask questions during the hackathon?
Join our official Discord community to: - Find teammates - Get announcements - Attend mentor office hours - Ask technical questions - Receive organizer updates - Network with participants
Will mentorship be provided?
Yes. Participants will receive mentorship throughout the hackathon from industry experts, AI engineers, and the Agora team.
What can lead to disqualification?
Projects may be disqualified if: - Agora is not central to the solution. - The project is only a voice-enabled chatbot. - The demo is entirely prerecorded. - Unsafe AI behavior is demonstrated. -The project is copied without significant modification.
What happens if our team is shortlisted?
Shortlisted teams will be invited to the offline Grand Finale in Delhi, where they will present their solution live to the judging panel.
What needs to be submitted?
Each team must submit: - Working prototype - Source code repository - README - Architecture diagram - 3–5 minute demo video - Live demo during evaluation - List of technologies used - Known limitations
What should every project demonstrate?
Every project should demonstrate: - Real-time voice interaction - Natural conversation - User interruption handling - Contextual memory - External tool or API integration - At least one meaningful action - Human escalation where appropriate
Can we build our own problem statement?
No. Teams are expected to build their solution based on one of the official problem statements announced for the hackathon.
Can we use OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek, ElevenLabs, or other AI models?
Yes. You are free to use any LLM, ASR, TTS provider, vector database, cloud platform, or external API. However, Agora must remain the core voice interaction platform.
What technology is mandatory?
Every project must use Agora Conversational AI as the primary real-time voice interaction layer. Projects that only use speech-to-text and text-to-speech around a chatbot without real-time conversational capabilities will not qualify.
Who can participate?
Anyone interested in AI, Voice AI, Conversational AI, or software development can participate, including students, professionals, researchers, startups, and independent developers.
Is there any registration fee?
No. Participation is completely free.
What is the team size?
You can participate in a team of 2–4 members.
