Innovate Alabama Entrepreneurship Hackathon set for January 29 in Birmingham
Improving public safety through responsible AI innovation is the focus of the Innovate Alabama Entrepreneurship Hackathon 2025-2026. Scheduled for Thursday, January 29, in Birmingham, the Hackathon is the culmination of a statewide challenge to students at Alabama colleges and universities to propose responsible AI-driven solutions to public safety issues affecting communities throughout the state.
Winners of investments at last year’s Innovate Alabama Entrepreneurship Hackathon. (Contributed)
Presented by Innovate Alabama and The Alabama Collective, in partnership with the Alabama Power Foundation, the Hackathon will feature pitches from 10 finalists selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants. A total of 81 students from eight schools participated, in teams that collectively submitted 33 projects for consideration — the most applications in the three-year history of the Hackathon.
For this year’s competition, the Hackathon solicited business concepts that use AI to address public safety challenges, with an emphasis on equity, innovation and long-term impact. The overall objective is to use artificial intelligence responsibly to enhance safety, deepen community trust and support sustainable workforce advancements and economic development.
Meanwhile, the prospective entrepreneurs receive training, mentorship and resources, potentially including capital investment. According to Charisse Stokes, executive director of The Alabama Collective, the goal is to offer opportunities that encourage the students to “put down roots and grow in Alabama.”
Charisse Stokes, executive director of The Alabama Collective. (Contributed)
“We’re challenging them to hack a problem,” explained Stokes. “We want to engage their entrepreneurial spirit in leveraging AI to develop their business ideas, but also to contribute to meeting public safety challenges.
“Incentivizing homegrown entrepreneurs to implement their solutions encourages them to stay in Alabama,” Stokes added. “As they help to address needs and opportunities affecting public safety, they’re also helping to make Alabama more attractive to companies and talent from outside the state.”
Submissions to the Hackathon were in eight competitive categories:
- Real-Time Situational Awareness/Safety Communication
- Emergency Response Optimization/911
- Crime Prevention and Violence Reduction
- Domestic Violence Safety
- Disaster Preparedness and Weather Response
- Cybersecurity Public Safety
- Public Safety Workforce and Training
- Safe Routing/Navigation/Location Intelligence
The Pitch Finale on January 29 will take place at Birmingham’s Fairway Social virtual golf and event space. The 10 finalists will participate in a full day of workshops, training sessions and collaborative learning, including panel discussions featuring founders and funders. The day will conclude with pitches from each finalist to a panel of judges. The judges will name a Top 5 and then select first, second and third place winners.
The Alabama Power Foundation is the lead sponsor of the Entrepreneurship Hackathon. The focus and reach of the event make it a fit with more than one aspect of the Foundation’s mission, said Staci Brown Brooks, president of the Foundation and vice president of Charitable Giving for Alabama Power.
Staci Brown-Brooks, president of the Alabama Power Foundation. (Alabama Power)
“Innovate Alabama and The Alabama Collective are important partners as we continue to amplify the impacts of our giving,” said Brooks. “The Hackathon not only touches the areas of education and entrepreneurship, but also our support for community development and efforts to create more opportunities for all Alabamians.”
The Foundation’s support for the Hackathon is only one aspect of Alabama Power’s investments of time, money and other resources to support innovation and entrepreneurship. Those are investments in the state’s future, reminded Chris Blake, assistant treasurer for Alabama Power.
Chris Blake, assistant treasurer of Alabama Power. (Contributed)
“Our company has been a strong supporter of growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Alabama,” Blake said. “We help by supporting things that bring more ideas into the funnel, and we’ve seen viable results begin to come out of it, in the form of viable new businesses that provide jobs and contribute to local economies.”
Looking forward to attending the Hackathon, which he called “a pretty cool event,” Blake said it exemplifies Alabama Power’s “two-pronged approach” to economic development. That includes focus on both recruitment of major companies and projects and creating opportunities to retain talent, encourage startups and help them flourish.
“It’s fun just to watch the excitement and enthusiasm of these college students,” he said. “But there’s an added element that comes from seeing the results of their being engaged in solving challenges that are meaningful to Alabamians.
“That’s why we do it.”