Powering Innovation Across the Portfolio: How Vista’s Hackathons Advance AI and Enterprise Software

Innovation as a Continuous Practice

Through Vista’s Hackathon program, developers and operators come together to compete in a 24-hour competition to advance enterprise software solutions in their portfolio companies.

What began as a coding competition has evolved into a continuous cycle of experimentation and learning—a living platform for talent to collaborate, explore emerging technologies and accelerate value creation across the portfolio.

Where People and Technology Meet

Vista’s Hackathons are designed around a simple but powerful idea: innovation thrives when great people are given space to create. The competitions – which have been around for almost a decade – take place annually in the U.S. and India.

Participants range from engineers and product leaders to data scientists and designers, all motivated by a shared goal: to design new solutions for their companies that will advance their product roadmap.

Each event connects teams across our portfolio, fostering collaboration that extends beyond any single company. Developers not only sharpen their skills but also build relationships and share best practices.

At their core, Vista’s Hackathons turn bold thinking into tangible outcomes. Participants experiment with AI tools, test new approaches in real time and learn from peers who are tackling similar challenges – creating an environment where innovation is built, tested and shared.

Advancing the Future of Enterprise AI

AI has become a cornerstone of modern enterprise software and Vista’s Hackathons provide a sandbox to test what’s next.

This year, the teams experimented with agentic AI, building solutions that can autonomously analyze data, optimize workflows and enhance decision-making. Submissions were judged based on innovation and originality, feasibility of productization and deployment, potential business impact, completeness of vision and clarity of presentation.

Through this collaborative approach, Vista’s engineers don’t just explore new technologies—they apply them with an eye toward scalability, governance and measurable impact.

A Platform for Shared Learning

The Hackathon program acts as a catalyst for learning across the portfolio. By connecting teams and sharing open-source tools, the program accelerates adoption of emerging technologies and embeds AI capabilities into existing platforms.

Workshops from AI leaders such as Amazon and Google complement the creative sprints, helping participants leave with both practical prototypes and transferable knowledge.

Building the Future, Together

Vista’s Hackathons are more than innovation showcases, they represent the culture of continuous improvement that defines our firm.

They reinforce our belief that when people and technology align, meaningful progress happens.

As AI and agentic AI continue to transform enterprise software, Vista remains committed to empowering the talent behind it—creating environments where ideas can scale, collaboration drives growth, and innovation is always in motion.