The winners of AI accelerate: Unlocking new frontiers

Over a 38-day period in 2025, Google Cloud, Elastic, and Fivetran hosted an AI-themed hackathon, challenging participants to create innovative products using Google Cloud tools and either Elastic's or Fivetran's capabilities. The event saw 2,770 participants and 171 project submissions, with winners receiving cash prizes and social media promotions. The first-place project, Alzora, aimed to assist patients with cognitive decline through a sophisticated data architecture utilizing Fivetran, BigQuery, and Vertex AI, offering features such as wearable data monitoring and GPS tracking. Second place went to DocuLytics, which transformed raw DocuSign data into actionable insights through automated analytics and a custom Fivetran connector, aiding legal and sales teams in compliance and customer analysis. MergeMind, the third-place project, automated code review tasks using a custom connector for GitLabs and dbt transformations to improve project management efficiency. The hackathon highlighted the significant role of AI in developing new capabilities at the application layer, leveraging curated datasets and advanced architectures to drive business innovation.