15 Teams, One Sabotage Round: The AI Battle of AI Challenge Sri Lanka 2026
Building an AI prototype is one thing. Defending it while rival teams try to break it is another. As Chairperson of AI Driven Sri Lanka, Geenoth Viksura led AI Challenge Sri Lanka 2026, a national-level, 8-week AI innovation program that brought together 100+ participants. At its heart was the AI Battle, a sabotage round designed to test whether student-built AI solutions could stand up to real pressure.
The journey began in July with registrations and an AI Buildathon, where teams of 3–5 undergraduates and postgraduates built their first prototypes with the support of mentors and awareness sessions. On 23rd August, 15 selected teams entered the AI Battle. Each team had to defend its solution against attacks from rival teams, exposing weak points and proving how well their products held up under adversarial testing.
- - Insightful Awareness Sessions: A big thank you to Mr. Rasal Jayasinghe (Cursor Ambassador and Regional Lead, South Asia), Mr. Mihin Kariyawasam (Software Engineer, Zone24x7) and Mr. Udara Nilupul (Senior Machine Learning Engineer, Acsentic) for preparing the participants with valuable knowledge.
- - AI Battle Judge Panel: Sincere thanks to Mr. Mithushan Jalangan (Co-founder & CTO, Asyncdot), Mr. Sanath Thusaya Hewa (Tech Lead, Zone24x7) and Mr. Mihin Kariyawasam (Software Engineer, Zone24x7) for their sharp and fair evaluation.
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Under Geenoth’s leadership, the AI Battle turned a typical competition into a real stress test, pushing teams to think like both builders and attackers. The top 5 teams moved forward to the AI Impact round, where they tested their products with real users on the road to the Grand Finale. Geenoth congratulated the organising committee and every team that took on the challenge.