The National Finale of India's largest GenAI Innovation Challenge - OpenAI Academy x NxtWave Buildathon, will be held on February 17th, 2026, at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, Delhi as a session in the IndiaAI Impact Summit 2026. The buildathon is a key initiative aligned with the IndiaAI Mission, taking AI learning and innovation to the students from Tier 2 and 3 Bharat. 300+ students from across India have qualified for the national finale where they will get the opportunity to pitch their ideas on a global stage.
Organised by NxtWave in collaboration with OpenAI Academy, the nationwide buildathon which was launched in June 2025 opened new avenues for 70,000 participants from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to learn, apply, and innovate using AI tools to build real-world solutions for Bharat. Over the course of the program, students were encouraged to use Generative AI tools, Large Language Models (LLMs), and modern AI frameworks to solve challenges across healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, climate action, and public services. In 8 months, the buildathon held in 7 regional rounds across key academic hubs witnessed strong participation from non-metro regions such as Kolhapur, Mangaluru, Madurai, Amravati, Guntur, Raichur, Erode, Pune, Warangal, Vijayawada etc., underlining a growing readiness among young students to build AI solutions rooted in local needs.
Rahul Attuluri, CEO and Co-founder, NxtWave, said, "The focus of the Buildathon was aligning Bharat's youth with the world's most innovative AI ecosystems and this national finale at the IndiaAI Impact Summit is a defining moment for these young undergraduates. As India's first major AI-focused summit, this ecosystem will give students rare exposure to how AI is being shaped at scale, across industries. The buildathon, as part of this larger cluster of events, reflects how global AI firms like OpenAI are actively engaging with India's enterprise ecosystem and young talent - a strong, ready pool of AI talent for the world."
A key highlight of the initiative has been the hands-on mentorship provided by OpenAI Academy, who guided 19–20-year-old B.Tech students through technical workshops, and responsible AI practices. The OpenAI Academy team and NxtWave together conducted 8-hour hands-on workshops, preparing students with all the skills they need to build GenAI projects. A majority of innovations developed during the buildathon by young talent underscored a clear inclination among India's emerging innovators to build AI-driven solutions for sectors that have the deepest societal impact.
The national finale on 17th February will be attended by senior leaders and representatives from the Government of India, OpenAI, and NxtWave.
As a pre-summit initiative, the OpenAI Academy x NxtWave Buildathon has been instrumental in strengthening grassroots-level AI infrastructure and talent pipeline, aligned with the goals of the IndiaAI Mission.
