AI VIBE HACKATHON #3 – März 2026
March 5–6, 2026, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM · ZDI Ideenlabor, Würzburg
AI VIBE HACKATHON #3 – March 2026
Bigger stakes, bolder builds.
Recap
On March 5–6, 2026, around 40 participants spent two days at the ZDI Ideenlabor Würzburg turning ideas into working prototypes. At the center was the VR Bank Würzburg-sponsored challenge “MISSION: 100K – Hack Your Future”: how do you playfully motivate young people to save and invest? In 48 hours, six teams built six working apps — all demoed live to the jury and the audience.
The Podium
🥇 100.000 EUR Quest – Team Lucid Paths A finance role-playing game where real saving behavior drives in-game progress. On a hero’s journey from €10 to €100,000, compound interest becomes the actual game engine: instead of “pay to win,” it’s “save to win” — save more, level up faster, beat enemies, unlock new worlds. Mobile-first, with a real game engine and twelve game zones. The clear favorite of both jury and audience.
🥈 Swipe or Save Tinder mechanics for financial decisions: swipe through 30+ realistic everyday scenarios and see in real time how small choices shape long-term wealth and quality of life. Two metrics run in parallel — net worth and a “Life Score” — making the trade-off between saving and living intuitively visible.
🥉 VR Money Mates The lowest-barrier entry point: with a single tap you mark things you skip today — coffee, shoes, eating out — and watch your savings grow live. Plus a savings dashboard tracking the €100,000 goal and a “Learn & Earn” section.
More prototypes
Beyond the podium, the range was real:
- Systhemis Vibes (SaveUp) – a gamified savings app with streaks, milestones, and investment suggestions, Duolingo-style and bilingual (DE/EN).
- Aimy (VeRo) – an AI-powered finance coach with a stock-trading simulation on real S&P 500 data, budgeting, mini-games, and an AI chatbot.
- Pirate Hunter – an education platform with a turtle mascot and level-based learning about stocks, crypto, and assets — with streaks, coins, and a leaderboard.
Impressions & gallery
More photos from the event: To the photo gallery →
Thanks to VR Bank Würzburg for the challenge and to all partners who made this event possible. Six teams, six working solutions, two days — that’s AI-assisted building at its purest.