Cognizant sets world record with global AI hackathon & 53,199 staff

Cognizant has achieved the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the most participants in an online generative AI hackathon, with 53,199 associates across 40 countries taking part in its “Vibe Coding” event.

During the ten-day event, participants developed more than 30,600 AI-powered ideas and working prototypes. Submissions included applications such as a wellness companion tool for HR professionals and an app designed to check brand compliance for marketing teams. The event aimed to promote AI fluency and democratise innovation within the organisation.

Record-breaking collaboration

Cognizant’s Vibe Coding event was open to employees across all major business functions, including HR, sales, engineering, finance, legal, marketing, and delivery. Associates were provided with a collaborative environment and access to a dedicated “Vibe Coding Hub”, which featured platforms from Cognizant partners Lovable, Windsurf, Cursor, Gemini Code Assist, and GitHub Copilot. The hub also offered tutorials on prompt engineering and masterclasses delivered by Cognizant AI experts and its partners.

The Vibe Coding Hub itself was created in 24 hours using vibe coding practices. Described by AI researcher Andrej Karpathy, vibe coding is an intuitive, AI-assisted programming method that allows users to describe intent in natural language, with generative AI tools managing code generation, debugging, and development based on those descriptions.

This approach to software development aims to make programming more accessible to a wider audience within the organisation.

“Cognizant’s vibe coding initiative isn’t just about setting a world record, it’s about setting the pace for the AI economy,” said Ravi Kumar S., CEO, Cognizant. “We’re building a workforce where everyone has the tools to innovate with AI, not just adapt to it. Through vibe coding and the Cognizant Global Vibe Coding Community, we’re unlocking creativity at scale and empowering people to reimagine what’s possible, both inside Cognizant and for our clients across the industries we serve.”

Partner perspectives

Cognizant executed the event with significant contribution from its technology partners. Sharryn Napier, Vice President, APAC at GitHub, commented on the impact of AI tooling on software development, stating:

“GitHub Copilot was the first at-scale AI developer tool, and it’s now evolved into a powerful coding agent reshaping how software gets built. Cognizant’s Vibe Coding event offers a glimpse of what’s possible with Copilot. It not only democratizes access and enables anyone to create software, but also helps teams move faster, think bigger, and bring ideas to life at speed and scale. Marathon software projects are now strategic sprints, and developers are empowered to innovate at the speed of thought.”

Anton Osika, CEO and co-founder of Lovable, highlighted the broadening of accessibility to software development:

“This wasn’t just a hackathon, it was a rehearsal for the future of work. Millions of people who never thought of themselves as builders are realizing they can create prototypes and products on their own. Once that door is open, there’s no going back.”

Michael Truell, co-founder and CEO of Cursor, commented on tool autonomy and workforce capability building:

“We’re thrilled to have partnered with Cognizant for this record-breaking hackathon. Cognizant empowered their teams to select which tool worked best for them and Cursor was one of developers’ top choices. Cursor enables a new approach to software development, with enterprise clients like Cognizant adopting AI-powered coding workflows at the scale of tens of thousands of developers. By investing in their workforce’s AI skills and tool autonomy, Cognizant continues to advance the future of the professional services industry.”

Jeff Wang, CEO of Windsurf, noted the opportunity for larger-scale participation in software creation:

“Windsurf has enabled all types of folks to participate in this historic hackathon. Imagine what it can do for large organizations to accelerate their ideas to reality. We are honored to support Cognizant and giving a glimpse into the future where 100x more code will be written.”

AI skills and workforce development

In addition to the 53,199 active event participants, Cognizant has registered over 250,000 associates to the newly launched Cognizant Global Vibe Coding Community. This initiative is intended to provide a collaborative space for sharing tools, ideas, tutorials, and technological advancements within the enterprise. The community is expected to operate as an ongoing platform for both in-house and client-focused innovation efforts.

The vibe coding initiative builds on Cognizant’s broader strategy around AI transformation. The company has previously outlined a USD $1 billion commitment to AI investments and established the Synapse training programme, with the objective of upskilling one million individuals worldwide in digital and AI skills by the end of 2026.