About · Inaugural cycle

Built for the founders who can’t wait.

The next generation of great AI companies will be started by people who are in high school right now. 2026–27 is our inaugural cycle — no track record yet, and we say so plainly.

Mission
Empower students ages 13–18 worldwide to launch AI-powered startups that solve meaningful real-world problems — regardless of where they live or what resources they start with.
Vision
A world where the most ambitious teenagers don't wait for permission to build. Where a 15-year-old with an idea and modern AI tools can create something thousands of people use.
Why IASC exists
AI has collapsed the distance between an idea and a product. Most competitions still test coding endurance over a weekend. IASC tests what actually matters now — problem selection, creativity, entrepreneurship, and how effectively you leverage AI.
Where we're headed
A growing judging panel, regional participation on every continent, and eventually a funded grant pool. We're starting with what we can guarantee and building from there.

Who runs IASC

A small team, named.

This is the inaugural cycle and a small team. You should know exactly who is organizing the competition you're entering, and who is advising it.

Akshay Singh

Organizer

Akshay started IASC because the competition he wanted to enter did not exist. Existing student contests either ran for a single weekend — too short to build anything real — or treated AI as something to be worked around rather than worked with. He runs the competition day to day: the rubric, the schedule, the scoring process, and this website.

  • Founder, Reach for Relief (humanitarian nonprofit)
  • Research intern, Grand Canyon University
  • Top 30 internationally, Blue Ocean Competition
  • Commended, John Locke Institute Essay Competition

Paul Hintz

Faculty Advisor

Paul teaches AP Computer Science Principles and AP Computer Science A, and has spent his career getting students from never having written a line of code to sitting a college-level exam. He advises IASC on whether what we ask of competitors is actually reasonable for a student to do in seven weeks — and pushes back when it isn't.

  • AP Computer Science Principles instructor
  • AP Computer Science A instructor
  • Advises on scope, fairness, and what is realistic for students
  • Reviews competition materials before they are published

Shashank Mahankal

Go-to-Market Advisor

Shashank founded and ran Self-Sculpting Center, a direct-to-consumer self-improvement brand he took from zero to paying customers using organic short-form social marketing rather than paid acquisition. He advises IASC teams on the part most student founders get wrong: finding real customers and convincing them to buy.

  • Founder, Self-Sculpting Center (direct-to-consumer)
  • Built an organic TikTok acquisition channel from scratch
  • Generated direct product revenue from a standing start
  • Advises on go-to-market, positioning, and customer acquisition

Principles

What we believe

  1. 01Ambition shouldn't have an age requirement.
  2. 02Using AI well is a skill, not a shortcut.
  3. 03Great startups begin with important problems, not impressive technology.
  4. 04Access should be global and free.
  5. 05Promise only what you can deliver.

Be part of the first cycle.

Compete as a founder, or lead as an ambassador at your school.

Register free Become an ambassador