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9 days of total immersion at the Idiap Research Institute to code, innovate, and launch your startup in the ❤️ heart of the Swiss Alps.
Prizes
Innovation Award
In addition to this prize, you’ll have the unique opportunity to receive support from the IdeArk incubator to turn your prototype into a startup.
People's Choice Award
For the project that impressed the audience the most during the final presentation.
Exclusive access to the scientific and technical expertise of Idiap's researchers and R&D engineers.
// The_Focus_2026
Creative and Cultural Industries
The Creative and Cultural Industries sector is at the heart of human expression. At the ICC 2026, we challenge you to build AI prototypes that empower creators, protect heritage, and redefine how we experience culture.
Performing Arts & Live Entertainment
Revolutionizing the stage experience through immersive tech.
- → Real time captions + translation for accessibility
- → Audience personalized show recommendations (venues/festivals)
- → AI generated visuals / lighting synced to music or movement
- → Demand forecasting for ticket pricing and scheduling
Television & Cinema
Creation and distribution of audiovisual storytelling
- → Script analysis: pacing, character consistency, audience fit
- → AI assisted editing: rough cut, scene selection, subtitling
- → Post production tools: VFX support, upscaling, noise reduction
- → Personalization: content recommendations + churn prediction
Press & News Market
Fighting misinformation and personalizing the reader experience.
- → Fact checking support: claim detection, source cross referencing
- → Automated reporting for structured topics (sports, finance, weather)
- → Summarization: turning long reports into short briefs
- → Personalized news feeds while maintaining editorial controls
// The_Projects
Meet the 2026 Teams
The selection was tough, with many high-quality applications. We are thrilled to welcome these 10 teams and can't wait to help them bring their ideas to life at the end of August.
B4Press
An AI editorial assistant that helps journalists identify blind spots and potential harm before publishing a story.
// Team
Booklytics
A market intelligence for independent authors and publishers allowing them to create content and a strategy with more outreach.
// Team
CostumeNet AI
An AI-assisted cataloguing middleware designed for costume collections in the performing arts and audiovisual production sectors.
// Team
Echoes
An app-free, conversational AI guide for museums and cultural-heritage sites.
// Team
FUSE
An AI framework that reconstructs missing fragments of broken cultural or decorative objects.
// Team
Memoir
An AI-powered adaptive audiobook platform that helps people with memory and cognitive challenges continue enjoying books they love.
// Team
Memora
A platform that turns cultural sites into navigable digital twins, allowing users to travel through their past.
// Team
Roami
A mobile application that transforms the way people discover cities, monuments and cultural sites.
// Team
SandroAI
A publishing-first AI co-designer to help companies find the right typography for them.
// Team
Volumen
A tool that transforms written text into navigable 3D environments with matching soundscapes, allowing readers and publishers to experience stories spatially.
// Team
*Flags indicate the team members' current country of residence.
Timeline & Program
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Submit your project
Form a team and submit your project idea.
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Selections
Selected participants will be announced.
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Hackathon
9 days of hacking, activities, and lots of fun!
Challenge activities
- Hacking
- Pitch prep & mentoring
- More hacking
- Start-up experiences & talks
- Even more hacking!
- Networking
- Fun activities
Discover the ICC in video
// ICC'25 Winning team
// ICC'25 Participant
// Sponsor
// Innovation mentor
Backed by a strong ecosystem
Organized by
Main Sponsors
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