INTERNATIONAL AI CREATOR AWARDIn INTER BEE 2026 · NOV 18–20th
INTERNATIONAL AI CREATOR AWARD 2026
The 1st International AI Creator Award [a.k.a AICU Award]

A new light for
global creativity.

Creating People Who Create in the Creative AI Era

AICU, the media that creates people who create, puts works made with generative AI and released in 2025-2026 into the record, and honours the people who make them, across ten fields reaching out to the world.

Enter your work Become a partner
Public Date from 2025 to 2026
Public vote with a 10,000-participant goal
Awarded at INTER BEE IGNITION × DCEXPO 2026, Makuhari Messe
WHY THIS AWARD

A fair stage for talent without borders.

Generative AI has released creative power beyond borders and organizations. Combining preliminary review with a public vote, this award aims to become an international benchmark for technology and creativity—open to individuals, startups, and companies alike.

01

Independent

Operated independently from specific capital and interests

02

Inclusive

Opportunity beyond language, geography, and company size

03

Creative

Recognizing new expression and social impact—not technology alone

10 CATEGORIES

Ten fields. One summit. Create.

2026 ROADMAP

From discovery to the global stage.

Eligible works: Public Date between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026, viewable by third parties without a login. Selection combines a preliminary review with a free public vote from late October to mid-November — one vote per field, across all ten fields.

SUBMISSION STATSREALTIME

Works are arriving from around the world.

Counting the entries received so far…

Counted live from the entry database, whatever stage each work has reached. Only rehearsal submissions and our own end-to-end test rows are left out — everything a creator actually sent is here.

WINNER CREDENTIALS

An award that keeps opening doors.

Every winner receives a verifiable credential at cert.aicu.ai—designed to turn recognition into commissions, collaborations, licensing, speaking invitations, employment, and investment conversations.

CERT.AICU.AI · VERIFIED CREATOR RECORD

A public certificate built to be checked.

The credential connects the award year, category, rank, creator, winning work, and public source URL in one shareable record.

Visit cert.aicu.ai ↗
01 · RECOGNITION LEVEL

A clear international distinction.

A legible hierarchy makes achievement easy to understand across borders and industries.

GRAND PRIXCATEGORY WINNERNOMINEE
02 · VERIFIED PROFILE

Proof that travels with the creator.

A permanent, shareable record gives studios, brands, publishers, agencies, and media a trusted starting point.

03 · OPPORTUNITY NETWORK

From award stage to the next offer.

Winner profiles are designed for discovery and future invitation workflows. Opportunity features will make it easier for verified organizations to reach creators without publishing private contact details.

04 · ACADEMY PARTICIPATION

Winners become judges for the next generation.

In the AI era, it is not AI or the market but AI creators themselves who can recognize a creator's true value. Talent that takes home a trophy at this award also joins as an AI Creator Academy member for the generations that follow — the ecosystem, and the DNA, that keeps humans at the pinnacle of AI creativity.

STUDENT RECOGNITION

Special recognition for emerging student creators.

We plan to recognize students making an impact in each creative field.

PARTNER WITH US

Take the next generation to the world with us.

Companies, INTER BEE IGNITION × DCEXPO exhibitors, institutions, media organizations, and individual supporters all build this award together. Partners gain visibility to an international creator community, co-creation with winners, and — through our cooperation with DCAJ — direct reach into Japan's largest digital content event.

WHEN✦ Partner applications close October 5, 2026
WHERE◎ Ceremony at INTER BEE IGNITION × DCEXPO 2026, Makuhari Messe
HOW↗ Pay in USD through AICU Checkout, or talk to us first
Read the partnership guide Talk to us

Partner applications received after October 5, 2026 may miss nomination announcements and printed ceremony materials. This is the deadline for partners, not for entries. The ceremony and networking reception are by invitation.

MEDIA & INSTITUTIONAL

Amplify the creators everyone will talk about next.

Media partners join nominee discovery, winner interviews, editorial features, and international distribution around the award.

AICU has supported Japan's generative-AI creative community since 2022 — four published books, the monthly 150-page full-color AICU Magazine, a shelf at Shibuya AICU Bookstore, a serialized feature on Impress's Forest of Windows (窓の杜), and the Weekly AICU newsletter.

Explore AICU Magazine ↗
4 BOOKS PUBLISHED 150P MONTHLY MAGAZINE SHIBUYA AICU BOOKSTORE IMPRESS 窓の杜 SERIES WEEKLY AICU NEWSLETTER
AICU ecosystem grant · reference ElevenLabs Grants

An existing AICU ecosystem grant relationship shown as a logo-placement reference. Award partnership is agreed separately.

MEDIA PARTNER

Your logo belongs beside the next generation.

Open to publishers, broadcasters, newsrooms, platforms, communities, festivals, and creator-economy media. Bespoke editorial and distribution partnerships are available.

MEDIA PARTNER
OPEN SLOT 01
MEDIA PARTNER
OPEN SLOT 02
MEDIA PARTNER
OPEN SLOT 03
Discuss a media partnership ↗
TAKE PART

Three ways to shape the award.

Submit work, support the creator community, or take part in the international public vote.

01 · ENTRY

Enter the award

Eligibility, fields, what to submit, and the entry schedule.

Opens mid-September · nominees mid-OctoberOpen portal →
02 · PARTNER

Partner with us

Partnership plans, institutional cooperation, media, and community participation.

Partner applications close Oct 5, 2026View below ↓
03 · VOTE

Vote for nominees

Nominee discovery, voting rules, integrity measures, and results.

Late October – mid-NovemberOpen portal →