Bengaluru, India, July 23rd, 2026: Pocket FM, the world’s largest audio series platform, today announced ‘Zero to One,’ a Generative Media Hackathon taking place on July 25–26 at IIM Bangalore, in partnership with OpenAI and Lightspeed.
The 36-hour hackathon will bring together more than 150 builders, founders, AI engineers, developers, researchers, creators and students to build new experiences across storytelling, audio, and visual media. Participants will explore how AI can support creative tools, immersive storytelling formats and consumer experiences.
‘Zero to One’ reflects Pocket FM’s long-term vision of building an AI-first entertainment ecosystem where technology amplifies human creativity and expands the possibilities of storytelling. By bringing together academia, frontier AI research, venture capital, and India’s developer ecosystem, the hackathon is designed to help promising ideas move quickly from concept to prototype.
Participants will receive mentorship from industry leaders and the opportunity to present their work to judges and experts from across the AI and technology ecosystem. The endeavor is to encourage practical experimentation and help teams build real-world AI applications in media.
Speaking about the initiative Vasu Sharma, Head of AI, Pocket FM said, “At Pocket FM, we believe that technology has the power to transform how stories are created, experienced and shared. ‘Zero to One’ is our invitation to India’s brightest AI builders to push the boundaries of what is possible at the intersection of Generative AI, media and storytelling. Together with OpenAI, Lightspeed, we are creating a platform where founders, researchers, engineers, creators and students can collaborate, experiment and build ideas that have the potential to shape the future of entertainment. We believe some of tomorrow’s defining AI-powered media experiences could begin here.”
Highlighting the importance of fostering a collaborative innovation ecosystem, Prateek Dixit, Co-founder, Pocket FM said, “The most meaningful innovations often emerge when diverse perspectives come together with the freedom to experiment. ‘Zero to One’ is an opportunity for aspiring builders, creators and technologists to step outside the classroom, collaborate with peers, and transform ambitious ideas into working solutions. We’re thrilled to join hands with OpenAI and Lightspeed to create an environment that encourages curiosity, creativity and rapid experimentation. Beyond the Hackathon itself, we hope participants leave with new perspectives, lasting connections, and the confidence to continue building with AI.”
Nitin Bawankule, Head of Enterprise Sales, OpenAI, India said, “There is an extraordinary community of builders in our country, and we’re seeing growing interest in how tools like Codex can help people move more quickly from an idea to something they can test, refine, and share. ‘Zero to One’ provides a platform that brings founders, developers, researchers, creators, and students together to build, learn from one another, and explore new ways AI can support the development of useful products and experiences.”
Harsha Kumar, Partner, Lightspeed added, “Great ideas take shape when the people building the future – academia, industry, and the next generation of builders – come together to solve problems that matter. ‘Zero to One’ gives these curious tinkerers a platform to experiment with the latest AI models and contribute to the future of media and storytelling. We are excited to be a part of it!”
Registrations are now open for founders, developers, engineers, students, researchers, creators and innovators looking to build the next generation of AI-powered media experiences.
Learn more and register here: https://zerotoone.hackculture.io/
About Pocket FM:
Pocket FM is the world’s largest audio series platform shaping the future of serialized storytelling. With a global community of over 250 million listeners, Pocket FM has pioneered the audio series format and turned it into a mainstream entertainment category, powered by long-form, episodic narratives that drive deep engagement and binge-listening.
As an AI-first entertainment company, Pocket FM combines human creativity with advanced AI to help writers create stories faster, adapt them across languages, and scale successful IPs for global audiences. Its creator ecosystem includes more than 300,000 writers and a rapidly growing library of over 100,000 audio series.
Available on iOS and Android, click here to download Pocket FM. For more information, please get in touch with [email protected]
