Instructions & programme.
Everything you need to know. Read this before registering.
Your build must be deployed on Replit. Here's what that means for you.
Replit is the official build platform for AI BuildLab 2026. Every prototype you submit, from your first UI screens on 14 June to the live demo at your Pod Evaluation, must be a working Replit deployment. Submissions that are not on Replit will not be accepted at any stage.
- ▸$50 in credit per plan to build and deploy without hitting a paywall.
- ▸2 Replit Core plans, free for the full duration of the programme.
- ▸A live session with Replit's India Growth Head during Launch Week, covering everything you need to get started fast.
Replit requires zero setup. You open a browser, describe what you want to build in plain English, and the AI agent designs, builds, and deploys it. No prior coding experience required. If you have never used it before, go to replit.com. Your credits and Core access are distributed at registration.
This is the same tool you will demo live in front of evaluators and the jury on Finale day. Getting comfortable with it early is the move.
Choose carefully. Swaps take time.
Replit Core access is capped at 2 members per team, regardless of team size. You choose who gets it.
At registration, or on your next login if you have already registered, you will be asked to nominate 2 team members and provide their personal email addresses. These must be the personal emails they have used, or will use, to create their Replit accounts. ISB email addresses will not work here.
You will need to confirm each email address twice to prevent typos. Each nominated member will also receive a short verification email to that personal address. Once both confirm, your team's Replit access is activated.
Choose your nominees carefully. If you need to change a nomination after submitting, you will need to raise a change request by emailing AIBuildlab_26@isb.edu using the template available on your dashboard. Swaps are processed manually and take time, so get it right the first time.
Six stages.
Aggressive filtration.
Designed to filter early so that mentorship and evaluation effort goes into the teams most likely to produce real ventures.
Register and Submit
- Register your team (2 to 4 people). Solo registrants are pooled in matchmaking during Launch Week.
- Registration closes Sun 7 Jun, EOD. No exceptions, no late entries.
- By Sunday 14 June, 23:59 IST, submit two things: your one-page Venture Brief, and a link to a simple UI prototype. Both are required. Submitting only one will not qualify your entry.
Filtration to Top 30
- The organising team and IIDS review all submissions against the published rubric.
- Top 30 semi-finalists are announced Monday 22 June.
- Pods and mentor/evaluator assignments are published Friday 24 June.
Mentorship Round 1 + Build Sprint
- Semi-finalist teams are grouped into 7–8 theme-aligned pods of roughly 4 teams each.
- Each team books and completes a 30-minute session with their pod mentor. In parallel, teams build a working, live prototype and a pitch deck.
- A functional prototype link must be submitted by Sunday 6 July, 23:59 IST to be eligible for evaluation.
- Hard rule: all prototypes must be built and deployed on Replit. Your submission link at every stage must be a live Replit deployment.
Pod Evaluation
- Each pod's assigned evaluator hears a 20-minute pitch from every team in the pod.
- The evaluator scores against the published rubric and picks one winner per pod.
- Mentor and evaluator are always different people. This separation is hard and non-negotiable.
Mentorship Round 2 (Finalists Only)
- The 6 pod winners each get a 60-minute session with their pod mentor.
- Use it to sharpen the pitch, business case, and live demo ahead of the finale.
- Wild card finalists receive no coaching at this stage.
Grand Finale
- Shark Tank format. 8-minute pitch followed by 7 minutes of judge Q&A per team.
- 8 finalist teams pitch (6 pod winners + 2 wild card teams). Jury capped at 6.
- Winner and runner-up announced on the day. Incoming PGP PRO batch attends as part of their immersion week.
If a team member drops out during the programme
Registrations close on 7 June. After that, the website cannot accept new individual signups. If a team member exits after the programme is live and you need to bring someone in to replace them, raise a formal replacement request by emailing AIBuildlab_26@isb.edu using the template available on your dashboard.
Replacement requests are reviewed case by case. The replacement must be from an eligible ISB cohort. You cannot add a fifth member this way if your team is already at four. If the person leaving was one of your 2 Replit nominees, your Replit nomination also needs to be updated in the same request.
There is no guaranteed turnaround, so flag this to us as early as possible. Last-minute replacements close to evaluation or finale day create complications that may not be resolvable in time.
What to submit by Sunday 14 June, 23:59 IST
Your submission has two parts. Both are required.
Build it on Replit. When you submit your prototype link, it must be a Replit deployment URL. This applies to your 14 June submission and to every prototype link you submit after that.
One-page Venture Brief
A PDF or Word document, maximum one page. Cover these five things: the problem you are solving, who experiences it, why AI is central to your solution (not just an add-on), what your product concept looks like, and your initial business case (who pays, roughly how much, and why).
A link to your UI prototype
This is simpler than it sounds. We are asking for a link to a set of screens that shows what your product looks like. Think of it as a visual sketch of the app or tool you want to build. It does not need to work. Buttons do not need to do anything. There is no backend, no database, no real data. All we want to see is: what screens does your product have, what does the user see, and does the flow make sense.
You can build this in Replit (recommended) or any web-based tool that gives you a shareable link. If you use Replit, the AI agent can generate basic screens from a description in minutes.
What passes: a few linked screens that show the core user journey, even if none of it is clickable.
What does not pass: a pitch deck screenshot, a flowchart, or a text description.
If you are a non-technical team member reading this and the word "prototype" is making you nervous, it should not. You are not being asked to write code or build a working product at this stage. You are being asked to show what you are imagining. A simple page with a header, a form, and a button that does nothing is enough to pass this stage.
The four seats.
Venture Lead
Owns the pitch, the story, and the investor narrative. Presents at every checkpoint.
Builder
Owns the prototype on Replit. Comfortable using AI coding tools to ship a working product.
Domain Expert
Brings industry knowledge and customer access. Runs the user interviews. This role is where ISB cohort experience becomes the unfair advantage.
Business Architect
Optional 4thOptional 4th. Owns financial modelling, market sizing, go-to-market, and competitive analysis.
Once the Top 30 semi-finalists are announced, teams are grouped into pods by the theme they declared at registration. Every team in your pod is working in the same domain. Your assigned mentor is matched to that theme. Your evaluator is too. If fewer than 3 teams qualify in a given theme, adjacent themes are merged (FinTech with GovTech, EdTech with Workforce Development, and so on) to keep pod sizes viable.
The principle is simple: the best venture per theme advances, not the best venture overall. A strong FinTech pod does not squeeze out a promising Climate team.
The theme you declare at registration determines your pod. Choose the one that best fits your venture.
Working back from 19 July 2026.
Registration closes Sun 7 Jun, EOD. Grand Finale on Sun 19 Jul 2026 at Khemka Auditorium, ISB Hyderabad.
Pre-Programme
Registration has been open since 11 May. If you have not registered yet, do it now at btcbuildlab.in.
Registration + Pre-launch
Your last chance to register. Registration closes Sun 7 Jun, EOD. No extensions. Browse the 8 themes, form your team, and complete your Replit nomination on your dashboard. Adil, Replit's India Growth Head, runs a live session this week covering everything you need to start building. Attend it.
Discovery Sprint
Talk to customers. Run at least 3 interviews with people who have the problem you are solving. Write your one-page Venture Brief. Build a simple UI prototype on Replit showing what your product looks like.
Filtration
The organising team and IIDS review every submission and build the pods. No action required from you. Use this week to keep talking to customers and sharpening your thinking regardless of the outcome.
Results + Pod Formation
Top 30 semi-finalists announced Mon 22 Jun. If you make it, your pod is formed by theme on Thu 23 Jun. Your mentor and evaluator are assigned Fri 24 Jun. Slot booking goes live Fri 24 Jun. Book your Mentorship Round 1 session before EOD Sun 28 Jun. If you do not make the Top 30, the Wild Card window opens the same day results are announced — 2 spots in the Grand Finale are reserved for wild card entries. Full details and the submission portal are on your dashboard.
Mentorship Round 1 + Build Sprint
Complete your 30-min mentor session. Build a working, live prototype on Replit. Build your business case. This deadline applies to semi-finalists and wild card teams equally. Wild card teams build independently with no mentor access.
Pod Evaluation + Wild Card Review
Your pod evaluator runs a 20-min session with each team in your pod between Mon 6 and Fri 10 Jul. One team per pod advances. IIDS and the organising team review wild card submissions in parallel during the same window.
Grand Finale Week
Pod winner finalists have the option to book a 60-min Mentorship Round 2 session with their pod mentor between Mon 14 and Wed 16 Jul. Wild card finalists receive no coaching at this stage. Dry runs and AV check at Khemka Auditorium run Thu 17 – Sat 18 Jul. The Grand Finale is Sun 19 Jul at Khemka Auditorium, ISB Hyderabad. 8-minute pitch, 7-minute Q&A per team.
Pin these to your calendar.
Every deadline is final. No extensions.
Need to swap a teammate after 7 Jun? Use the formal request template on your dashboard and email it to AIBuildlab_26@isb.edu.