2026 New Year Challenge Overview
The 2026 New Year Challenge is a global, collaborative hackathon jointly hosted by five leading AI projects. Running for 10 days, from Jan 8 to Jan 18, 2026 (PT), the event offers a total prize pool of $3,000.
Each project hosts its own independent track, covering diverse aspects of modern AI agent development, from memory management and automation to external integrations and deployment.
You can participate in multiple tracks simultaneously, and each track will be evaluated separately based on its own scoring.
Tip: Click a project tag below to jump to its dedicated rules page.
😸Event Overview
The MemU PR Hackathon is a 10-day online open-source challenge open to developers worldwide.
During the event, participants contribute directly to the MemU open-source repository by submitting real, mergeable Pull Requests (PRs). Together, we aim to build next-generation, memory-native agent infrastructure.
You can:
- Fix bugs
- Build new features
- Create integrations
- Write or improve documentation and tutorials
- Explore and ship your own ideas
Each merged PR earns points. At the end of the hackathon, top contributors will receive cash rewards and limited-time community honors.
🗓️Timeline
Jan 8 – Jan 18, 2026 (Pacific Time)
Online · Global · Open-source
Jan 800:00 PTHackathon starts
Jan 1800:00 PTPR submission closes
Jan 22Winners announced & payouts
💰Scoring, Prizes & Participation Terms
🔹Scoring Rules
- Only PRs submitted during the hackathon period are eligible for scoring
- Hackathon period: Jan 8, 00:00 PT – Jan 18, 00:00 PT
A PR must:
- Be submitted during the event window
- And be successfully merged to earn points
All PRs will be reviewed by the MemU team. PR reviews will be completed within 48 hours of submission.
Each merged PR earns points based on its track or official evaluation:
1 point3 points5 points
Points are accumulated and used for final ranking and reward redemption.
🔹Prizes & Recognition
Participants in the MemU PR Hackathon will be rewarded through three types of incentives:
1. Points-based Cash Prizes
The top three contributors will receive $300 / $200 / $100 respectively, based on their points ranking within this track.
(The first-place prize winner must complete at least one task worth 3 points or more.)
2. Badge Recognition
Every merged PR earns a badge, with higher difficulty tasks granting higher-tier badges:
Legendary Architect— Earned by completing at least one 5-point task
Master Builder— Earned by completing at least one 3-point task
Rising Star— Earned by completing at least one 1-point task
3. MemU Platform Credits
All points accumulated in this hackathon can be converted into MemU platform credits at a predefined conversion rate.
📏Tracks & Rules
The challenge is organized into multiple tracks, covering system-level features, integrations, documentation, and testing. All submissions will be primarily evaluated based on usability.
1. Challenges & Task Types
The MemU PR Hackathon features two types of challenges:
2. Challenge Rules (Official Tracks)
🏆5-Point Tracks
(High Difficulty · High Impact)
Designed for contributors delivering complete solutions, covering design, implementation, and real usage scenarios.
🌟3-Point Tracks
(Medium Difficulty · Official Tasks)
Official issue-based tasks will be assigned. Participants can claim issues from the GitHub repository and submit PRs during the challenge period.
💪1-Point Tracks
(Low Barrier · High Participation)
🌍Open Source & Compliance Statement
To maintain a healthy and sustainable open-source community, all participants must follow these principles:
Contributions must be:
- Original work
- Clearly compliant with open-source redistribution terms
The MemU team reserves the right to:
- Make the final decision on whether a PR is merged
- Disqualify submissions that violate project guidelines or policies
✍️Additional Notes
- Individuals or teams may submit multiple PRs; points are cumulative
- In case of a tie, the following factors may be considered: code quality, practical usability, community impact
- The MemU team reserves the right to reasonably interpret and adjust the rules if necessary