PayPal and Braintree have brought the BattleHack concept to Australia and are inviting developers to compete for a trip to Silicon Valley and a US$100,000 prize.
Hackers will be asked to build a mobile app that solves a problem of their choice, using the PayPal API or Braintree SDK, during a 24-hour hackathon in Sydney on July 26 and 27. They can compete as individuals or as a team of up to four people.
The winner of the Sydney Battle Hack will be flown to the finals at PayPal’s headquarters in Silicon Valley to compete against winners from other events in 14 cities for the US$100,000 prize.
The Sydney judging panel will include John Lunn, global director of the PayPal Developer Network, and “other influencers” within the Sydney tech scene, PayPal said.
Lunn said unlike other hackathons, BattleHack isn’t looking to take equity in participating companies or influence their work in any way.
“We evaluate every app based on the quality of their code and the integration of our API, not the feasibility of their business idea,” he said.
“By helping developers monetise their ideas, we’re not only enabling innovation, but we are powering next-generation companies that have the potential to be as disruptive and successful as Uber and Airbnb.”
Last year, the competition was won by a team of Moscow developers who created Donate Now, an app that users Bluetooth Low Energy technology and PayPal to enable anyone to instantly donate to a cause from their mobile devices.
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