2030 AI Challenge

Name of the competition: 2030 AI Challenge

About the competition: The 2030 AI Challenge is an international AI hackathon that invites participants to build and present innovative applications using artificial intelligence to address real-world problems aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The competition focuses on creativity, impact-driven solutions, and practical use of AI to shape a more sustainable future by 2030.

Date of competition: 29 March 2026

Achievement: Second Place

Prize: USD 5000 worth of Featherless AI credits, USD 250 in cash prize, Certification and Funding Opportunities

REP Student: Anirudh Mannattil

Product/Proposal: The team designed CarbonCredible, an AI-driven platform designed to evaluate and screen carbon projects for their feasibility, credibility, and real-world climate impact.

Description: CarbonCredible combines document analysis, data signals, and environmental context to assess whether carbon offset initiatives are genuinely effective, helping improve transparency and trust in the carbon credit ecosystem. The same project has also won awards in other competitions, such as Aurora Global Hackathon 2026 (Top 20 out of 20,000 submissions, 18 May 2026), Sustain-a-thon 2026 (Top 10 out of 500 teams, 29 March 2026), Eco-Compute 2026 (First Place, 19 January 2026), AI Innovation Challenge 2025 (Winner, 15 October 2025), Deckathon 2025 (First Place, 1 October 2025), and AsterHacks 2025 (Third Place, 21 September 2025). Through Aurora Global Hackathon, the project was also selected for the Project Grid Incubation Programme, with demonstrated interest from Project Grid and Apple. The project is currently under active development as a startup, supported through mentorship from industry professionals at KPMG and Meta, with early-stage interest from accelerators such as Freshmango and 1752 VC.

First from right: Anirudh Mannattil