Building at the Daytona HackSprint: A Day of AI Agents in San Francisco

Last Saturday, I found myself at 660 Market Street in San Francisco for the inaugural Daytona HackSprint. Not another generic hackathon, but a focused sprint on building AI agents with sharp reasoning and independent decision-making capabilities.

The Setup

The event brought together San Francisco’s AI builders for an intense one-day sprint. Powered by partnerships with Anthropic, Galileo, Browser Use, and WorkOS, the hackathon ran from 9 AM to 6 PM at the WorkOS office.

The challenge was clear: design AI agents that demonstrate originality, technical strength, and real-world impact while maintaining safe integration with industry-relevant tools.

What We Built

I had the opportunity to hack alongside Anelya Grant, our Co-Founder & CPO at JustPaid. Together, we vibe coded a design layout tailored for finance professionals.

The experience reinforced something I’ve been thinking about lately: we’re in the middle of a fundamental shift in how AI systems operate. We’re moving beyond simple task execution toward systems that can genuinely reason, make independent decisions, and operate autonomously.

Why This Matters

The focus on “agentic AI” isn’t just buzzword engineering. It represents a meaningful evolution in how we think about automation. The agents being built today aren’t just following predefined scripts — they’re adapting, reasoning, and making contextual decisions.

What made this hackathon different was the emphasis on safe integration. It’s one thing to build an agent that can act independently. It’s another to ensure it does so responsibly, especially when dealing with industry-relevant tools and real-world applications.

The SF AI Ecosystem

Events like this remind you why San Francisco remains the center of gravity for AI innovation. The density of talent, the quality of technical conversations, and the shared understanding of where this technology is heading — it’s hard to replicate anywhere else.

The energy in the room was palpable. Builders were focused, collaborative, and genuinely excited about what they were creating. That’s the kind of environment where real innovation happens.

Final Thoughts

Big thanks to the Daytona team for putting together such a well-organized event. From the venue to the partnerships to the structure of the day — everything was designed to maximize building time and meaningful collaboration.

If you’re working on AI agents or thinking about the future of automation, keep an eye on events like these. They’re not just about the projects built in a day — they’re about the conversations, connections, and ideas that shape where this technology goes next.

The next Daytona HackSprint is scheduled for November 15. If you’re in SF and building in the AI space, it’s worth checking out.