On November 22, 2025, Omi participated in “THE DROIDS STRIKE BACK”, an invite-only hackathon presented by AI Valley and hosted by Victor Su-Ortiz, Daniel Kim, and Afore Capital in San Francisco.
The sprint ran from 9:00 AM to 9:30 PM (PST) and brought together a packed room of founders, developers, and frontier researchers. The event page showed 536 attendees.
Event snapshot
- Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025
- Time: 9:00 AM to 9:30 PM PST
- City: San Francisco, California
- Presented by: AI Valley
- Hosted by: Victor Su-Ortiz, Daniel Kim, Afore Capital
- Prize pool: $5,000
- Venture pathway: selected teams considered for Afore Capital’s pre-seed program, $500k to $2M+
What the sprint was built to do
The Droids Strike Back was designed as a high-intensity, invite-only build day focused on the intersection of AI and hardware. Teams were encouraged to design, prototype, and deploy systems that combine intelligence with devices and physical-world integrations.
The scope was intentionally wide. Builders could go deep on robotics and hardware integrations, or stay software-first if that was their strength. The bar stayed the same either way. Create something that works, demonstrates clearly, and can grow beyond a weekend.
Why the incentives mattered
This event wasn’t structured around “just winning.” Afore Capital made the stakes real by opening a path for selected teams to be considered for a pre-seed program in the $500k to $2M+ range. That shifts how teams build. More focus on clarity, viability, and the next version.
The hackathon also included $5,000 in prizes, plus recognition and fast-track opportunities for teams whose demos showed strong product direction.
What builders worked on
Across the room, projects tended to cluster into a few patterns that naturally fit AI plus hardware:
- Embodied agents that connect perception to action
- Robotics and device integrations that make AI tangible
- Simulation-heavy systems where planning and control matter
- Software-first AI products designed to plug into hardware later
The shared thread was execution. Working prototypes, fast iteration, and demos that were easy to understand in minutes.
The format. build, get mentorship, then demo
The day combined hands-on momentum with real support. Builders had access to technical workshops and mentorship from industry leaders, then wrapped with a judged showcase evaluated by investors, operators, and AI experts.
That final showcase format matters. It forces crisp storytelling. What did you build, why does it matter, what makes it defensible, and what’s the next step.
Omi’s role
Omi joined because this is exactly where the next wave of AI and hardware products gets shaped. When teams are building systems that sense, listen, and act, the problems get practical fast, and the solutions get interesting fast.
Events like this help strengthen the developer ecosystem around real-world applications, and they create space for builders to pressure-test new interaction patterns, integrations, and hardware-aware workflows.
Looking back
The Droids Strike Back captured a clear shift in late 2025. Builders weren’t just shipping AI apps, they were shipping integrated AI systems designed to operate in the real world. That is the frontier Omi cares about, and it’s why we were excited to be part of this day in San Francisco.
www.omi.me
