Applications are open for the blockathon running in Stockholm during Nordic Tech Week in September, and the programme is now taking shape.

The format is a hackathon — a time-limited event where developers and founders build working solutions to set problems within a few days. Here it is spread across four days, and there are two separate routes in.

One route is to apply as a founder with a startup, a product or a pitch, and be assessed for the programme itself. The other is to register as a participant without a pitch, with no company and no application required.

Only a limited number of teams will be selected for the programme, and the organisers say applications have started coming in. That gives the event two kinds of participants: those competing, and those present.

The first two days, 7 and 8 September, are given over to the building itself, hosted by Netlight at Regeringsgatan 25. The event then moves to Kungsträdgården at Jussi Björlings allé, where teams present to the jury on Demo Day on 10 September, before the awards close the week the following day.

Separating build days from showcase days gives teams a concentrated development run, then two distinct occasions to present the result — first to the jury, then to a wider audience.

Participants are given problem statements drawn from actual business opportunities across several sectors, with mentors and industry experts on hand throughout. The stated purpose is to make AI and blockchain solve concrete problems rather than demonstrate the technology.

The programme is not finished. Further partners, mentors and sponsors are to be announced ahead of September, which means anyone weighing an application is still looking at an incomplete picture.

Applications are open.

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