What is Vibers League?

01The short answer

Vibers League is the competitive league for AI creators, an AI build competition filmed in Vancouver. 4 vibers, builders who ship software by directing AI, get the same real problem from a real business owner and 60 minutes to solve it. The build can be an app, a website, a short film, a music video or a game, and it has to run at a public URL that anyone can open and use. The vibers compete remotely, and 2 judges and a small crowd in the Vancouver room pick the winner.

02Is it a hackathon?

Searches for a vibe coding competition, an AI hackathon or a hackathon in Vancouver all land near it, and the comparison holds up to a point. The format is tighter than a hackathon in 4 ways.

• The build is 60 minutes with the clock on screen. A hackathon usually runs a weekend.
• Each viber builds alone. There are no teams.
• The brief is secret until the whale reads it aloud on the night. Nothing about the challenge is published in advance.
• The judges and 1 guest from the crowd use each build themselves before they score it. Nobody scores a pitch.

If you have shipped something by directing AI and can hold your nerve for an hour on camera, apply.

03How a night works

The show runs 105 minutes in 4 blocks.

• The brief, 15 minutes. The whale, a business owner judge, reads the challenge aloud, and each viber asks 1 clarifying question. Nobody knows the challenge before that read, vibers included.
• The build, 60 minutes. 1 round with no elimination, and all 4 vibers build for the full hour from their own machines. At minute 30 a twist card may land, 1 extra requirement that is the same for all 4.
• The demos, 20 minutes. Each viber gets 5 minutes, hands on, and both judges and 1 audience member use the build themselves.
• The call, 10 minutes. The 3 scorecards are added up and the winner is named.

What is published in advance is the technical frame. When the clock stops, the build must run at a public URL a stranger can open and use, with no login wall, and it has to hold up without the viber narrating.

04Where and when

The first card is filmed in Vancouver, BC, on a date called once 6 vibers are on standby. The 4 vibers compete remotely from their own machines, and their screens reach the room on a private feed. The emcee, the 2 judges and a small crowd are in the room in Vancouver. The night is not broadcast live. It is released afterwards as an edited episode and as the full uncut recording.

Seats in the room are limited. Request a seat and we email you if one is yours, or leave your email and we send you the episode when it drops.

05Who can enter, and how

Anyone 18 or older, anywhere in the world where taking part is legal. There is no entry fee. You compete remotely from your own machine and never need to travel. You must be free for both the dress rehearsal and the first card, on dates we give you in writing when you are selected. Applications are open with no closing date. The first card is called once at least 6 vibers are confirmed on standby, and 4 vibers and 2 alternates are named then.

The application asks for your name, email and time zone, a link to something you have shipped, a short answer on why you want a seat, and your confirmation that you will make both dates. A 60 to 90 second tape of you on camera is optional, as an unlisted YouTube or Loom link. Personality counts most in selection, then your portfolio, then the tape and your AI fluency equally.

06How the winner is decided

The result comes from 3 scorecards worth 30 points in all. The 2 judges are the whale, a business owner, and the shark, a domain expert. Each judge ranks the 4 vibers: first place earns 4 points, second 3, third 2 and fourth 1. After all 4 demos, the guests in the room vote, 1 vote per person. The crowd card ranks the vibers on the same scale: the largest share of the vote earns 4 points, the next 3, and so on. The highest total wins, and any tie goes to the viber the whale ranked higher. The viber with the largest share of the crowd vote also takes People's Choice, separate from the main result. The criteria the judges weigh and the full scoring are in the rules.

07The prize

A cash prize and the trophy. The amount will be announced in an updated version of the rules, and the cash is paid in Canadian dollars. People's Choice goes to the viber with the largest share of the crowd vote. It is a trophy or recognition with no cash, and a viber can win both. The winner is announced in the room during the call and published on this site within 48 hours.

08Bring a problem

Every Vibers League night starts with a real business owner's real problem. Bring a problem through a 3 minute form, and the founders read and answer every one. If yours could make a good brief, we call you before anything is agreed, including what happens to the builds. You could read it in the Vancouver room as the whale and judge what gets built, or let us use it as the brief with your permission. Either way it stays secret until it is read on the night, and sending it commits you to nothing.

09Who runs it

Vibers League is operated by its founders Ashish Shetty and Ashutosh Tiwari pending incorporation in British Columbia, Canada. On the night an emcee hosts the room in Vancouver, and 2 judges score the builds: the whale, a business owner, and the shark, a domain expert. The judges' names are not announced yet.