MLH Partners with Backboard.io for AI Memory in Student Development

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Major League Hacking (MLH) has announced a 12-month promotional partnership with Backboard.io, the top-ranked AI memory platform. Launching ahead of Global Hack Week (GHW), the collaboration positions Backboard as the primary AI memory layer for emerging developers, aiming to make “memory-first” development a new standard in the AI stack.

Building Persistent AI: Memory First, Stateful by Default

At MLH, the mission has always been to help developers learn by doing. As AI applications shift from simple chat interfaces to complex, long-running agents, the need for persistent state has become critical. Backboard.io provides the stateful API necessary to ensure AI applications stay consistent across prompts, sessions, and users. Backboard is model agnostic across 17,000+ models with built-in model routing, so developers can use any model, coordinate agents, and build AI apps that stay consistent across prompts and sessions without piecing together their stack. 

Through this partnership, MLH will introduce a “Best Use of Backboard.io” category across 50 hackathon events worldwide, 3 Global Hack Weeks, and a DEV Challenge. This category challenges participants to move beyond “stateless” prototypes and build production-ready applications that remember user context and maintain state across the entire development lifecycle.

Benefits to the Global Developer Community

The MLH community, spanning over 135 countries, will receive direct access to Backboard.io’s cutting-edge technology through several key initiatives:

Free State Management for Life: Powered by MLH, students can maintain the state of their projects indefinitely without cost. With Backboard.io’s bring-your-own-API-key support, any model or existing API they’re already using becomes instantly stateful.Software Credits: Participants at MLH events will receive free credits to access Backboard.io’s premium AI memory features.Exclusive Rewards: Hackers building with Backboard.io will be eligible for specialized swag and high-value prizes.

A Word from Leadership

“MLH is where the most ambitious developers, hackers, and software creators go to learn fast and build the future of technology,” said Mike Swift, CEO and Cofounder of MLH. “By integrating Backboard.io into our global hackathon league, we are giving student developers the foundation they need to build more sophisticated, context-aware AI. Backboard.io’s ability to handle persistent state and model routing through a single API allows our community to focus on what they do best: innovating and shipping real-world solutions.”

Jonathan Murray, CSO and Cofounder of Backboard.io, added: “We believe the next wave of world-changing tools will come from this community. We’re making Backboard.io the starting point of the AI stack for MLH builders, ensuring they can scale from weekend tinkering to enterprise-ready deployments without reworking their foundation”.

Get Involved

Developers can start building with Backboard.io at upcoming MLH events; find a hackathon near you at mlh.io/events

Developers can start building with Backboard.io at upcoming MLH events. To find a hackathon near you or to join Global Hack Week, visit the website here.

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Taylor Graham, marketing grad with an inner nature to be a perpetual researchist, currently all things IT. Personally and professionally, Taylor is one to know with her tenacity and encouraging spirit. When not working you can find her spending time with friends and family.