Labeled the KaiTETHON 2026, the recent AI Hackathon held in India from 04-07FEB26, was the first of its kind, hosted by Kale Logistics Solutions. The SaaS provider opened to the floor to university students, start-ups, industry innovators, as well as its own employees, giving them real-life industry problems being encountered in the air and maritime logistics industries. Within 48 hours, participants were challenged to create AI-based solutions – the best of which will go on to be developed by Kale Logistics Solutions. The event saw over 300 people register, of which a shortlisted 50 were split into 10 teams. These were mentored by Kale experts during the event, as they set about designing products in four topic areas: port community systems, airport cargo community systems, sales and business operations, and talent and HR. An independent jury of AI and tech leaders such as Sudarshan Mogasale (Dassault Systèmes), Rohit Pandharkat (EY), and Mithun John (HDFC Bank), selected the winners, who shared a USD 14,200 prize pool. The overall winner, Team Logicode, mentored by Dhiraj Dhule (FlytBase), received top honors for PLACI, an AI-based pre-loading cargo risk analyst. Kale will further develop winning solutions and plans to make KaiTETHON an annual innovation initiative.
Rajesh Panicker, Co-founder and COO, Kale Logistics Solutions, said: “Artificial intelligence is rapidly redefining supply chains; ensuring our industry has the skills and mindset to harness that change is essential. By engaging directly with students and start-ups through KaiTETHON, we are investing in the next generation of innovators who will help shape more intelligent, connected, and resilient logistics ecosystems.”
