Hardware and AI led this year’s Peloton Hackathon. Our ninth Hackathon since founding, and the fifth consecutive year in our week-long format, brought a wave of physical-product innovation to the top of the results, each project using AI to push its build further than a software idea alone could go.
Hackathon culture runs deep here. Each year, our global team trades their day-to-day roles for a week of open building, chasing ideas that could one day reach our Members. Some of Peloton's most beloved features have roots in Hackathon projects, including Auto-Resistance, 3rd Party Treadmill Metrics, target metrics for our Members during rides, QR Code Log-in, and the Peloton Android Widget.The Peloton Guide also started here, and its movement tracking, rep counting, and form feedback now live on Peloton IQ.
By the Numbers: 2026 Hackathon Highlights
This year’s Hackathon brought bigger participation and broader reach across the organization:
57 completed projects
250+ hackers participated
Teams across Product, Legal, Strategy, and more
Global collaboration from Taiwan, Poland, Woodinville, Sunnyvale, NYC, and remote team members worldwide
Artificial intelligence was the major theme once again this year, showing up both in the features hackers built and in the tools they used to build them. Hardware-focused hacks stood out, taking the top results and using AI to sharpen the software behind them.
No idea captures this year's spirit better than Peloton Arcade, the first place project from Ian Andersen, who reimagined what a Peloton workout could feel like.
"I wanted to see if I could build a full arcade experience on the bike, utilizing cadence, resistance, and a custom controller I made myself. Hackathon's the one week you actually get to take something like that from an idea to working hardware people can play."
— Ian Andersen, Sr. Manager, Engineering, Peloton
To bring the global team into the moment together, this year's expo, including roving reporter segments and the closing ceremony, was streamed live and made available for the full company to watch on their own time.
Many participants stepped outside their usual roles to explore new skills and disciplines. Product managers shipped features. Team members from legal and strategy joined the build. The result was a week defined by learning, camaraderie, and collaboration that crossed teams and blurred job titles.
What our team members had to say:
“Hackathon is a special time of year to turn your ideas into reality and pitch them to senior leadership. It's incredibly rewarding to challenge yourself and see how quickly you can bring those concepts to life.”
— Alex Niderberg, Director, Engineering, Peloton
Hack Week Format: From Idea to Demo in Three and a Half Days
The week-long format gives hackers three and a half days to bring a working prototype to life. The focus is on learning and exploration, with a bit of friendly competition to add motivation and fun.
Hack Week kicks off around the world, starting in Taiwan, then Poland, then New York. The New York kickoff is streamed live and recorded, so team members everywhere can watch, live or later.
This year, the expo became the exclusive venue for judging every hack, ensuring that projects presented live and those submitted remotely each received a thorough, consistent review.
From Concept to Possible Product
Judges visited teams in a live expo in our NYC HQ reviewing both live team pitches at expo booths and video submissions from our global team.
The most meaningful part of Hack Week isn’t just which projects rise to the top. It’s the momentum the week generates across the entire company. Team members leave energized, inspired, and ready to bring fresh ideas back to their day-to-day work.
This year's winning projects spanned the spectrum of what's possible at Peloton, from hardware that turns a workout into something playful, to features that reimagine how Members interact with the app day to day. And the community had a direct hand in the results too, casting live votes to choose their own favorite project of the week.
We’ll be watching closely to see which of this year’s hacks spark the next generation of features for our millions of Members around the world.
If you’re passionate about building world-class products and experiences that reach millions of loyal Members, and want to be part of a culture that fosters creativity and innovation, we’d love to meet you. Explore open roles by visiting our Careers page.
