Alpaca x Conviction Hackathon

the vibe

What if you could turn a trading idea into a backtested strategy in minutes — without writing code? Join Alpaca × Conviction (YC S25) for an evening of AI, markets, and hands-on building. We’ll kick things off with a conversation from the Alpaca team on building the infrastructure behind modern investing, followed by a demo of Conviction, an agentic trading desk in your pocket. Conviction lets you describe ideas in natural language, backtest them and turn them into AI agents which monitor the market and execute trades. Then, you’ll build. Come with a trading idea - or find one at the event - and use Conviction to turn it into a working strategy. At the end, we’ll share some of the most interesting strategies people created. No trading or coding experience required. What to expect Hear from the Alpaca team Hear from Oscar Levy, Founder & CEO of River Markets, on prediction markets and the evolution of professional trading See how AI is changing the way people research and trade Build and backtest your own strategy in natural language Meet other students, traders, builders, and fintech enthusiasts Share your strategy and see what everyone else built Compete for prizes Bring your laptop and an idea. We’ll take care of the rest.