IOAI 2026 officially opened in Astana, bringing together contestants, team leaders, organisers, partners, and guests from around the world. Following the Opening Ceremony, participants moved into the first phase of the Team Challenge, while community and regional meetings brought representatives together for discussions and exchange.
IOAI 2026 Videos & Pictures
Day 2 — First Round
The first round of the Individual Contest challenged participants with six hours of AI tasks across machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and multimodal AI. Alongside the competition, country representatives gathered for the IOAI General Assembly, while the afternoon continued with the Team Challenge debrief and activities for participants.
Day 3 — Activities & Community
After the first competition round, participants had the opportunity to explore Kazakhstan’s technology ecosystem with a visit to Alem.ai. The programme continued with community meetings, an AI ethics lecture under the patronage of UNESCO, and a cultural programme celebrating Kazakhstan National Day.
Day 4 — Second Round
Contestants returned to the competition hall for the second six-hour round of the Individual Contest. While they tackled the final individual tasks, team leaders and observers visited Alem.ai and community meetings continued. The day concluded with cultural and social activities, including ComicCon and the Huawei Cultural Exchange.
Day 5 — Finals & Closing Ceremony
The final day brought the Team Challenge to its conclusion before the IOAI community gathered for the Closing Ceremony. The achievements of contestants and teams from around the world were celebrated, and the IOAI 2026 medalists and award winners were announced.
The ceremony concluded with the official handover of the IOAI flag from Kazakhstan to Singapore, marking the transition to the next host of the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence in 2027.