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Rewire hosts the Power of Europe Hackathon, a one-day sprint dedicated to building prototypes using European AI tools
On Friday, July 26, Rewire hosted the Power of Europe Hackathon.
The idea was simple but ambitious:
What can be built in one day, using a European AI stack as much as possible?
To make it happen, Tech Makers, Build Europe, AI for Good, Mistral AI, Weaviate, Koyeb, Orq AI, and Kilo Code AI joined forces and provided the tools and platforms that made the day possible. From open-source models to homegrown infrastructure, teams were encouraged to think locally.
The AI hackers
By 10am, over 70 AI hackers (a mix of software developers, data & ai scientists, systems and infrastructure engineers, designers, product specialists, etc.) had gathered at Rewire, ready to build. Some arrived as full teams, others came solo – or just with an idea. Within the hour, 27 teams had formed and were off designing, building, and testing their projects.
The jury
To evaluate the prototypes, we brought together a jury of seasoned experts whose feedback offered valuable insights into each team’s concept and growth potential. The jury:
- Daniel Gebler: Co-founder & CTO, Picnic Technologies
- Jorn Eiting van Liempt: Entrepreneur & Startup Village Advisor
- Katherine Elizabeth Bustos Rodas: AI Ethicist and Head of Technology at Felyx
- Kevin Kuipers: Co-founder & Partner, Galion.exe
- Simon Koolstra: Principal Advanced Analytics & Head of Agentic Lab, Rewire
- Yeni Joseph: Head of Ecosystem Strategy, The Next Web & TEDxAmsterdam Board Member
The prototypes
At 5:30pm, the teams pitched their prototypes: 2 minutes for the demo, followed by 2 minutes of Q&A. Most prototypes were impressive. Some highlights:
- A glaucoma progression tracker tailored for developing countries
- A rare earth supply chain audit and recommendation engine
- A startup idea validator powered by AI
- A vision-RAG toolkit for developers to connect LLMs with custom data
- A public transport network analyzer
- A compliance assistant for coders who “vibe-code” a bit too freely
And many more that impressed with both ingenuity and execution.
Why this matters
Europe is at a turning point in History. It has the talent to compete on the global stage and to shape the innovations of the future. But progress is needed to achieve long-term digital sovereignty. Within that context, the Power of Europe Hackathon wasn’t just a coding sprint. It was a statement: Europe can shape its own future.
What’s next?
At Rewire, we’re committed to helping build that future — and this event was just the beginning. If you're building something with data and AI, we want to hear from you.
