Bengaluru: The Google Cloud Gen AI Exchange Hackathon 2025 wrapped up its five-month run with a national finale in Bengaluru, highlighting both the scale of India’s developer community and the widening scope of generative AI applications. The event drew more than 270,000 participants, making it one of the most comprehensive AI-focused hackathons held in the country.

The hackathon centered on problem statements sourced directly from industry and government stakeholders, like the Maharashtra state government, NASSCOM Center of Excellence, JK Cement, EaseMyTrip and LVX, said the official statement. The brief to developers was to build workable AI solutions for issues ranging from industrial efficiency and legal accessibility to misinformation detection, mental health and public governance, it mentioned.

At the finale, the top 100 teams presented prototypes before a jury of 30 industry experts. Ten teams were recognized across different categories. According to the release, among the winning ideas was YouthMind, a platform designed to support mental wellness in young people through daily check-ins and a behavioral risk index. Another team created ArtisanGully, a tool to help local artisans generate product listings and promotional content using AI. Legal complexity was tackled through Legal SahAI, a system that breaks down dense documents and assists with form-based processes.

Other notable entries included an explainable AI model for detecting deepfakes, a career-skills advisory engine, an automated system for generating test cases, and an AI analyst designed to help investors evaluate startup pitches. Industrial and governance challenges were also addressed through projects focused on cement plant optimization and dashboard-driven citizen service delivery.

The event underlined the rapid growth of India’s AI developer landscape and the increasing involvement of public institutions and large enterprises in crowdsourcing innovation. While the hackathon has concluded, several of the showcased prototypes are expected to move into further development, signaling a shift toward AI tools built for direct application rather than experimentation alone, the official statement read.