Enter with the form. Then post your build publicly with @vast_ai and #BuiltOnVast. That post is your submission.
Three steps. Post by Nov 29.
Share a screenshot or video on X, Discord #general or r/vastai by Nov 29, 11:59 PM PT. Tag @vast_ai and add #BuiltOnVast. Your post is your entry.
Fill in the form with your Vast account email. Your entrant card is right below it.
Vast.ai Showcase Contest · Fall 2026
Next: build something on a Vast GPU, then post it by Sun Nov 29 with @vast_ai and #BuiltOnVast. Your card is ready below.
Preview on this computer: nothing was sent to the entry sheet.
Prefer Google Forms? Use the original form
Type your handle. On X we pull your profile photo, or upload your own.
Attach your card to the post. To submit your build, post it by Sun Nov 29 with @vast_ai and #BuiltOnVast.
Build the coolest thing you can on Vast. Anything goes: a model, an app, an agent, a game, a film, a tool. The cards below are just ideas to get you started.
Prompt in, playable frames out, served from your own GPU.
Full duplex speech, open models end to end, sub‑second turn taking.
Pick one narrow task, build the eval, beat the base model.
Several agents, one shared log, a human approves the risky steps.
Not on this list? Even better. If it runs on a Vast GPU and it's the coolest thing you've built, it counts.
Top 3 win cash plus $100 in Vast credits.
Every entry gets seen. We reshare standout builds all month, and winners are featured on X, Discord and the Vast newsletter.
Credits are added to your Vast account and can't be exchanged for cash.
Judges review every eligible entry against four criteria. The panel decides.
| Criterion | What judges look for | What you should show |
|---|---|---|
| Ambition and difficulty | How hard it is, and whether you took on something most people wouldn't try. | What made it hard and how you got it working. |
| Functionality | The demo shows it doing what you say, live and unedited where it matters. | The result running, evidence for your claims, and the limits. |
| Originality | A new idea or approach, or something that shows us what we didn't know. | What you added and how it differs from existing work. |
| Craft and sharing | It's well made, and you showed how so others can learn from it or build on it. | Code, a write-up or a video that explains how it works. |
Sharing your code isn't required, but it counts toward Craft and sharing.
Picks the 5th finalist. Judges choose the other four and decide all prizes.
We choose the projects that stand out most across the four criteria, then the panel ranks the finalists. An ambitious promise needs evidence; a familiar idea can stand out through exceptional execution. For each winner we publish a short explanation of what was hard, what worked and what was original. Entries are assessed as they exist at Mon Nov 30, 12:00 AM PT.
Questions not covered here: ask on the launch post or in the Vast Discord.
If something on our side breaks entering, posting or a run check, the affected deadline moves. Any change is posted here and on the launch post before it takes effect.
Post it publicly on X, Discord or Reddit with screenshots or a short video of it working. Tag @vast_ai and include #BuiltOnVast; both are required. That post is your submission. There is no portal or upload. You also need to fill in the entry form, before or after you post, by Sun Nov 29, 11:59 PM PT.
Yes, before you enter. Sign up at cloud.vast.ai, then use that account's email in the entry form. Your build must run on that account.
Right after you submit the form on this page. Download it below the form and attach it to your post.
No. One GPU is enough to enter. Multi-GPU builds are welcome. Mention what it ran on in your post.
Work started on or after Nov 4. Building on open models, templates, datasets and tools is fine, and a new fine-tune of an existing model is fine. A project you had already published or were building before Nov 4 is not.
Either order works. Both the form and your post must be in by Sun Nov 29, 11:59 PM PT.
It picks the fifth finalist. When the judges announce four finalists on Mon Nov 30, we put the next four standout entries in the same poll on X (@vast_ai), in the Vast Discord and on r/vastai, Mon Nov 30 12:00 PM PT to Tue Dec 1 12:00 PM PT. We add up the votes from all three, and the entry with the most becomes the fifth finalist, announced Tue Dec 1. Ties go to the judges. The judges decide every prize.
Yes. Your official entry is the post on the platform you named in the form.
For finalists, yes. We check on our side from Vast's account records, using the Vast account email in your entry form, and we email that account so you can confirm it's yours. Beyond that, we contact you only if the check can't confirm the run; then we may ask for a short demo or your repo or commit as it stood at the cutoff. We may also check any entry if something looks wrong. We never ask for passwords or API keys.
Keep it public and send the direct link to @vast_ai on X or in the Vast Discord. On deadline day, do that right away.
1st place: $1,000 cash, $100 in Vast credits and Vast swag. 2nd place: $500 cash and $100 in Vast credits. 3rd place: $200 cash and $100 in Vast credits. Each winner gets both the cash and the credits. Winners are announced Fri Dec 4 and are provisional until our checks are done. Credits are applied to the Vast account in your entry form within seven days after final approval, and cash is paid within 30 days. Nothing to redeem.
This is our first showcase, and we plan to run more.