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Inside SheepAI Hackathon: 80 Developers vs. Info Overload
If you heard a strange buzzing over Zagreb last week in November, don’t worry - that was just 80 developers trying to outsmart the internet at the SheepAI hackathon.
Around 80 developers descended on the Infobip Zagreb campus for the third SheepAI hackathon. Split into 20 teams, we spent nine intense hours building AI-powered tools to address one of the most stubborn problems of the modern web: information overload.
From Silicon Valley inspiration to Croatian innovation
SheepAI was founded by Viktor Gabaj (Software Engineer, Bugatti Rimac), Tonči Žilić (Product Strategist and Startup Business Consultant), and Domagoj Vuković (Software Engineer, VK Media) after they experienced the hackathon culture firsthand in the United States.
Determined to capture that same spirit in Croatia, they organized the first SheepAI hackathon in December 2024 with less than a month of preparation. With a successful follow-up in Zadar and now Zagreb again, it has grown into an established event in the Croatian scene.
9 hours, 20 teams, 1 goal – help AI filter information reliably
This edition was sponsored by Fonoa, Infobip, Farseer, Ignit, and ABC Bootcamps, with prizes including cash awards and participation in the ABC startup bootcamp in Silicon Valley.
Engineers from Fonoa presented the challenge: how can AI help users navigate the flood of online information without falling victim to hallucinations? We were tasked with building solutions around TheHackerNews.com, a cybersecurity news site. This was also a chance to demonstrate practical AI applications in a domain where accuracy is critical.
We had nine hours to build our solutions and submit a complete package: source code, a one-minute video demo, and a presentation. The judges then shortlisted seven teams for live demonstrations before selecting three winners.
The top prize went to Cyber Shepherd, built by Ivan Židov and Luka Minđek. Their solution scrapes the news, categorizes threats, and allows users to subscribe to specific categories, with notifications delivered through channels like Slack.
The project demonstrated technical skill and smart use of AI tooling to ship a polished product in a single day, impressing everyone (including the judges) – a well-deserved win!
Insights from the trenches
While the judges deliberated, we heard from two speakers with firsthand startup experience. Davor Tremac (CEO, Fonoa) shared lessons from his journey through several startups, including Uber, before founding and scaling Fonoa, with particular focus on the why and how of landing enterprise clients. Luka Mijatović (CTO, Farseer), offered a look into the company’s evolution, tech stack, AI integration strategy, and what lies ahead.
High-intensity fun
Well-run hackathons are always high-intensity affairs: a chance to meet and compete (in a friendly manner) with dozens of interesting, creative, and highly skilled people. SheepAI delivered on all that. It was exhausting, bursting with creativity and fun! And as the cliché goes, the true prize was indeed the new friends we met along the way.
Overall, the SheepAI hackathon was a blast, and I know I’ll be looking forward to the next one!
