Chutes (SN64) Last Week: APU Hackathon and Reddit Ads
Chutes (SN64) last week delivered a packed cycle for the decentralized inference platform. The team pushed forward on three fronts at once, covering hackathon judging in Kuala Lumpur, an in-person company meetup in Toronto, and the launch of a fresh advertising push aimed at mainstream AI users. According to the latest update from the Chutes team, momentum is building across product, community, and growth.
APU AI Marathon Hits Its First Submission Deadline
First, the APU AI Marathon reaches its initial submission deadline on Wednesday at 1pm local time. Roughly 150 teams are sending in their builds, with the team set to spend the back half of the week judging. Then comes the top 10 round over the weekend, where finalists will present in person.
According to early signals from Kuala Lumpur, the builder cohort has been strong throughout the event. Meanwhile, the parallel Chutes Hack Malaysia 2026 with Nyala Labs runs on a longer timeline, since it operates as a month-long hackathon with later submissions.
Notably, both events feature a dedicated Sign In With Chutes category, with a prize going to the best implementation. The Chutes team added this track because most developers have lacked a working identity option for decentralized AI platforms. Now, with the feature in builders' hands, the team wants to see what gets shipped.
Winners from the APU side go public next Monday.
Chutes Team Gathered in Toronto
Second, almost the entire Chutes team convened in Toronto over the weekend. Two team members, Rykorb and Fezicles, were the only ones who missed the trip. Rykorb fell ill at the last minute, while Fez stayed in Malaysia to run point on the hackathons.
Most of the agenda focused on in-person bonding and getting to know each other face to face. However, a portion of the weekend went to roadmap planning, covering shipping priorities for the next couple of quarters and where the team wants Chutes positioned by the end of the year. As a result, the team finally resolved several decisions that had been bouncing across chats.
Effects of those conversations should appear in the product over the coming weeks.
Reddit Ads Push Chutes Beyond the Crypto Bubble
Third, the team launched Reddit ads for the first time last week. Until now, Chutes has performed well with the crypto-native and Bittensor community audiences. However, most mainstream AI users sit well outside that bubble, on platforms like ChatGPT or Claude, and many have never heard of decentralized inference.
That mainstream audience is the next target. Currently, the team is still testing which subreddits and creatives perform best. According to the recap, the team will share learnings publicly as the campaign data rolls in.
Chutes (SN64) Last Week: What Comes Next
Looking ahead, the next stretch focuses on closing out the APU AI Marathon. Submissions land today, the top 10 finals run over the weekend, and Reddit testing continues in parallel.
For followers of Chutes (SN64) Last Week updates, expect winner announcements next Monday and fresh data points from the Reddit experiment. Meanwhile, product updates from the Toronto roadmap conversations should begin landing across the platform soon.
