A Unique Hackathon Set for Stockholm This February
This February, Stockholm will witness the inception of a remarkable innovation event—BuildArena. This twelve-hour build marathon invites 24 teams, comprising Europe’s most adept developers, to tackle genuine, pre-established challenges posed by leading corporations.
The competition culminates with finalist teams pitching their solutions live on stage before a captivated audience, resulting in fully developed, market-ready products.
“Traditionally, hackathons have centered around simplistic demos that, at their pinnacle, merely showcase potential. We are redefining the paradigm.
Our ambition is to cultivate companies, products, and enterprises addressing real-world dilemmas, supported by validated consumer demand,” states Omid Ekhlasi, the CEO and founder of Techarena.
BuildArena is orchestrated by a coalition of innovators: Techarena, Lovable, Project Europe, Inflection, the European Defense Tech Hub (EDTH), and BuilderBase. This format leverages insights gained from prior hackathons that yielded tangible business outcomes.
Pitch Presentations and Awards Ceremony
During a previous hackathon in Stockholm, a company was sold on the very day of its creation in August 2025. Another competitor secured funding that placed them at a unicorn valuation. Over 50 defense tech startups have emerged from the EDTH’s hackathons alone.
“The evolution of the entrepreneurial landscape is exhilarating, particularly due to advancements in AI. What once required years can now be accomplished in a mere day,” remarks Anton Osika, Founder of Lovable.
Each industry collaborator identifies a distinct problem that eight teams will vie to solve. A selected finalist will present their solution on Techarena’s stage on February 12 before thousands of spectators, with an expert jury determining the champion.
“The distinctiveness of BuildArena lies in our ability to convene Europe’s foremost developers. We provide them with specific challenges to resolve and equip them with the necessary tools,” asserts Kitty Mayo, CEO of Project Europe.
BuildArena Highlights:
- Date: February 11–12, 2026
- Location: Strawberry Arena, Stockholm (part of Techarena 2026)
- Format: 12-hour hackathon featuring three industry tracks developed by major corporations and partners, with 24 teams competing among Europe’s elite developers
- Organizers: Techarena, Lovable, Project Europe, Inflection, European Defense Tech Hub, and BuilderBase
- Noteworthy outcomes: The Company sold for $20,000 on the same day of its inception, a startup achieved unicorn status, while ShiftNex reached $1M ARR in just five months
- Techarena is Scandinavia’s premier tech and business gathering, attracting 10,000 attendees in Stockholm.
- Lovable is a Swedish AI platform facilitating web application development through natural language, boasting unicorn status.
- Project Europe is an investment fund dedicated to discovering the next major tech enterprise in Europe.
- Inflection is a boutique venture capital fund supporting non-consensus engineering ventures at the idea stage.
- The European Defense Tech Hub constitutes a defense technology community that drives innovation by connecting builders, investors, and operators across Europe.
- BuilderBase serves as a community platform for developers and tech entrepreneurs, providing a venue for hosting hackathons.
Source link: Techarenan.news.
