Animoca and The Sandbox launch $10,000 Creative Minds Jam #1

The Sandbox and Animoca Brands are launching a four-week AI competition aimed at developing new tools for the creator economy, with US$10,000 in prizes and potential access to further investment support.

Creative Minds Jam #1, which opens on Tuesday 28th July, will bring together students, developers, designers, entrepreneurs and content creators to build working products using Minds, Animoca Brands’ platform for persistent, always-on AI agents.

Under the theme “Build What Creators Need Next,” participants will be asked to tackle practical challenges facing digital creators, including content discovery, audience engagement, production delays and inefficient workflows.

Projects can be developed using any technical stack, but Minds agents must play a central role in the final product. Rather than simply adding a conversational interface to an existing service, teams will be expected to show how autonomous agents can complete useful tasks, coordinate processes, personalize experiences or provide ongoing support to creators.

Projects will have to be submitted into one of three tracks.

The competition is open to all participants, with Animoca’s education arm Open Campus as the official community partner, supporting entrants through workshops, talks, mentoring sessions, open office hours and a dedicated community hub.

The program, which is mainly virtual but will have a local aspect, is also backed by several Hong Kong education and design organizations, including the Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology, Hong Kong Design Institute, PolyU Design, Index Academy and the Hong Kong Designers Association.

Entries will be judged on creativity, technical execution, user experience and the quality of their use of agentic AI. The judging panel is expected to include representatives from Animoca Brands, The Sandbox, Open Campus, universities, design institutions and creative-sector businesses.

Winning teams will share the $10,000 prize pool and may also be considered for the Minds Investment Program, which has an aggregate allocation of up to $10 million.

Registration begins on 28th July. Participants will then have until 28th August to submit their projects, with a public showcase and results announcement planned for September.

Find out more at the website.

Animoca BrandsAnimoca MindsGame JamHong KongThe Sandbox