Ring AIdea was a regional internal hackathon that united teams from our EMEA development hubs. The goal was simple: inspire and empower employees to experiment with AI, bring bold ideas to life, and collaborate across borders — while having fun along the way of course. Thanks to the collaboration and support from our leadership teams across EMEA, the event grew into something truly special — a celebration of creativity, teamwork, and cool ideas. Leaders from various business units helped shape the judging criteria, the selection format, and the overall experience, pulling in best practices from previous RingCentral hackathons in India and China.

From idea to demo

The hackathon kicked off in mid-September, and over the next two weeks ideas poured in. Over 100 colleagues joined from across EMEA, developing projects that ranged from fun video call filters and smart AI assistants to tools for detecting spam and improving productivity.

After weeks of intense collaboration, teams presented their projects to the judges over three days of live sessions. It was tough to choose the best among so many impressive ideas, but 12 teams made it to the final round.

Judges, mentors, and teamwork

Our judging panel included senior leaders and technology experts from different regions of the company — the US, India, China and Bulgaria— all bringing their unique perspectives to evaluate the projects. Each participating team also had a dedicated mentor who helped refine their concepts, improve prototypes, and prepare for presentations.

The Grand Finale

Two weeks later, the finalists showcased their upgraded projects. On November 7, the final event streamed live via RingCentral Events — complete with snacks, a celebratory cake, and enthusiastic cheers from every location.

And finally, the winners were announced! The top three teams were celebrated for their creativity, technical talent, and impact.  One standout team earned the People’s Choice award, and another received a special leadership prize for their innovative idea.

Celebrating across offices

During both the qualifying and final stages, local offices in Georgia, Spain, and Bulgaria hosted viewing zones, watch parties, and themed events. HR teams went all-in, organizing snacks, decorations, and merch giveaways to keep the energy high and the community spirit strong.

To make things even more exciting, the prize pool included cash awards for the top three teams. There was also a “People’s Choice” award and a special gift — an annual ChatGPT subscription for the winners. 

Every finalist received a limited-edition merch bundle to remember the occasion by.

Looking ahead

Ring AIdea showed just how much talent and imagination exists across our EMEA teams. It proved that when we combine creativity, collaboration, and AI, we can spark real innovation — and have a lot of fun along the way.

Kudos to all taking part in the Hackathon: the organizers, the participants and our audience. It’s been an amazing experience, and we can’t wait to see how these projects evolve into future solutions that shape the way we work. 

Updated Nov 24, 2025