At Seda Vertis North, amid the quiet hum of laptops, neverending keyboard taps, and the low buzz of strategy huddles, students across Metro Manila are pulling an all-nighter—not to cram for exams, but to build the future.
The Metro Manila leg of the Byte Forward Hackathon, running from August 7 to 8, isn’t your typical coding contest. It’s a 24-hour sprint to develop working, AI-powered solutions for real business problems, sourced directly from Converge SME partners and members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
Ten student teams, each representing schools across NCR, are taking part in this high-stakes innovation challenge. They’re not competing for just grades or grades—they’re battling for real-world relevance.
Bridging Campus and Commerce
The Byte Forward Hackathon goes beyond an academic exercise bridging the classroom and the boardroom.
“We believe the best way to discover talent is by giving them real challenges,” said Ron Puno, CEO of Rev21 Labs Inc., the innovation partner behind the hackathon. “In this hackathon, students are tackling actual business problems sourced from companies in Metro Manila.”
The problems range from streamlining inventory management for sari-sari store owners to cost-estimating tools for home renovation—all inspired by the daily friction points of Filipino entrepreneurs.
“Over the course of 24 hours, they’ll be tasked with turning their classroom knowledge into practical, innovative solutions,” Puno explained. “We’re not looking for perfection—we’re looking for fresh ideas, critical thinking, and the drive to build something real under pressure.”
A different kind of Hackathon: AI as Equalizer
What makes Byte Forward stand out is its unapologetic focus on AI as the core engine of innovation. In past hackathons, the toolkit was often limited to conventional languages like Java or Python. But in this edition, students are working with an entire ecosystem of AI tools—many of which they’ve already been exploring on their own.
“This is an AI-first hackathon,” Puno emphasized. “Even before they came here, a lot of these students were already building on platforms like ChatGPT. They’re not just learning how to code—they’re learning how to think and build with AI as their co-pilot.”
And that shift—away from memorizing code to orchestrating powerful tools—marks a deeper transformation in tech education.
“In the past, coding was about writing things line by line,” he said. “Now, it’s about abstraction. It’s about knowing what you want to build, thinking clearly, and describing that to the AI. The rest follows.”
But Puno admits AI doesn’t eliminate all friction. It simply shifts it.
“The challenge now is not syntax—it’s clarity,” Puno explained. “Some tools understand Tagalog, but others don’t. If a student can’t clearly explain their concept in English or structure their prompt well, they’ll get poor results. That’s where they have to refine their thinking.”
Another hurdle: navigating the fragmented AI landscape. Today’s developers must work across a range of tools—one for chatbots, another for document management, another for image recognition. Stitching them together is now part of the job.
“That’s why orchestration is such a big skill,” Puno said. “And it’s also why we’re seeing the rise of agentic AI—tools that automate the stitching itself. You’ll have agents that can go around and build systems by combining different AIs. That’s the direction we’re heading, and students today are getting a front-row seat.”
Hackathon Culture, Reinvented
Despite the futuristic tools, Byte Forward has stayed true to its hackathon roots: it’s intense, immersive, and community-driven.
“This isn’t a lock-in,” Puno clarified. “But many students choose to stay. They sleep on-site, work through the night, grab coffee, and keep going. It’s part of the culture. It’s high pressure and really fast.”
That culture traces its lineage back to Silicon Valley—where the first Facebook prototype was built during a college hackathon at Harvard. Byte Forward borrows from that same playbook, but with a distinctly local flair.
“This is the third leg,” Puno said. “We’ve held this in North Luzon, Visayas, and now Metro Manila. We’ll be heading to South Luzon next. And after that, the winners from each region will face off in a final hackathon with brand-new challenges.”
Real Tech, Real Stakes, Real World Applications
Unlike many competitions that end with slideshows or MVPs, Byte Forward expects working solutions.
“One of the best examples from a past leg was an OCR tool for sari-sari stores,” Puno shared. “A store owner could take a picture of their handwritten logbook, and the AI would digitize it, generate sales reports, and even recommend inventory actions. That’s powerful.”
Other projects include AI tools that estimate home renovation costs based on photos of a house, and mobile apps that analyze receipts to reveal a store’s best-selling items—all created in less than a day.
These aren’t student fantasies—they’re tools that, with a bit of polish, could be deployed tomorrow.
Support Systems for Builders
To support the participants, Byte Forward also deployed mentors, coaches, and even a proprietary AI tool developed by Run 21. These elements provide critical assistance when teams hit mental or technical roadblocks.
“In 24 hours, you’re going to burn out. That’s expected,” Puno said. “That’s why we have mentors—to help them reset, clear their heads, and keep pushing forward.”
The Bigger Picture: The Philippines, Teched-Up
Beyond the cash prizes—₱50,000 for first place, ₱30,000 for second, ₱20,000 for third, plus a year of free internet for the top two teams—the real reward may be the mindset shift.
“This is about building the Philippines’ capacity to tech up, faster,” said Puno. “AI levels the playing field. We don’t need to wait years to build complex apps anymore. With the right internet, the right tools, and clear thinkers, we can do it now.”
The Byte Forward Hackathon is co-located with the Metro Manila Business Conference 2025, which brings together more than 500 delegates including top government officials, diplomats, and business leaders. The event’s tech-centric “Try-a-Tech Zone” showcases innovations in healthcare, data analytics, and remote services—adding to the momentum around digital transformation.
The grand finale will be held during the 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo this October 21–22 at the SMX Convention Center, where the regional winners will compete for up to ₱500,000 in prizes under the banner theme: “The Future Is Now: Unleash the Power of Digital Transformation.”
The Byte Forward Hackathon is a glimpse into a future where Filipino talent—empowered by AI, equipped with ideas, and driven by purpose—can build faster, smarter, and better.
And they only need 24 hours to prove it.
