Summary

  • Hashed and MarketFitLab said more than 50 builders gathered at the "OBA.RUN 2nd Hackathon" to develop AI agent and payment services.
  • Participants said they built services addressing challenges in finance, payments and fashion using APIs, open-source resources and AI tools provided by companies.
  • Maroo proposed a payment and settlement service for AI agents using blockchain infrastructure based on a Korean won stablecoin, while Hashed said it is continuing efforts to support the AI ecosystem and expand startup opportunities.

Forecast Trend Report by Period

A hackathon bringing together companies and developers to turn ideas into real services was held as advances in artificial intelligence sharply cut the time and cost of building new products.

The "OBA.RUN 2nd Hackathon" was held on November 7 at Hashed Lounge in Seoul's Gangnam district. More than 50 builders gathered to develop services that use AI agents to handle tasks and even make payments on users' behalf. The event was hosted by Hashed, a global venture capital firm specializing in digital assets and frontier technology, and MarketFitLab, and organized by the Open Builders Alliance, or OBA. OpenAI, SK Telecom, F&F and Shinhan Card supported service development.

The hackathon was structured so participants could build new services in a single day using application programming interfaces provided by companies, open-source resources and AI tools. Participants were free to pitch their own ideas or take on company-proposed challenges in areas including finance, payments and fashion.

Hashed Chief Executive Officer Kim Seo-jun said advances in AI had sharply lowered the time and cost required for service development, ushering in an era in which anyone can quickly turn an idea into a product. He added that companies need to open their APIs and expand collaboration among developers as AI agents begin using a range of services on behalf of users.

"In the US, many companies are opening up APIs and building related standards, but Asia still lacks the open infrastructure and community that developers can use together," Kim said. "I hope the companies and developers gathered here can build that ecosystem together and help open the way."

Companies participating in the event presented development challenges tied to their businesses and technologies. SK Telecom introduced "Agentic Pay" as a key project aimed at enabling AI agents to understand user requests and complete payments. Fashion company F&F proposed an AI service to optimize product displays by store. Generative UI platform GGUI suggested building AI agents tailored to specific industries. Maroo, which is developing blockchain infrastructure based on a Korean won stablecoin, proposed a payments and settlement service combining AI agents and blockchain.

The event was designed to let developers build new services using corporate technology while also sharing experience and development know-how with one another. At the first hackathon, some participants went on to launch new projects together or start companies after meeting through the event.

Hashed, a blockchain-focused investment firm, has also continued broader efforts to support the AI ecosystem, including operating Nitro, a community for AI founders and developers. It is working to expand exchanges between developers and founders, widen the intersection of AI and other industries, and support new service development and startup opportunities.

Minseung Kang