INTERNATIONAL AI CREATOR AWARD 2026
What the award is, what a partner brings, what a partner receives, and by when. The numbers on this page come from the same files the award itself runs on.
Generative AI does not exist only for the companies that build it. However strong a technology is, it becomes part of culture only when people use it, are surprised by it, work around its limits, and turn it into something worth showing.
The International AI Creator Award 2026 exists to find those people and put them on a stage. We are asking companies, institutions, schools and communities to build that stage with us.
Our manifesto puts it as a fleet of small boats. The strong AI technology and tools that a global company holds are not cargo too heavy for a small boat. Turned into API credits, they become the thrust for a voyage: a new medium, a new sail, an engine, fuel — and a harbour that sends the next voyage out. That harbour is the role we are asking you to take.
What a partner brings is not only money. It is the tools, the compute, the venues, the reach — and above all, the creators already gathered around you.
These are the questions we were actually asked in a supporting-organisation application, answered here so you can take them to your own approval process.
| Who runs it | AICU Inc. (Delaware) for international operations; AICU Japan K.K. for the Japanese programme. Contact: award@aicu.ai |
|---|---|
| What happens, and when | August to November 2026. Open call in ten fields → entry and screening → open public voting → online final judging → ceremony and reception on Friday 20 November, 15:50–16:50, INTER BEE IGNITION stage IG-205 at Makuhari Messe (show runs 18–20 November). |
| How large | Around 1,000 participants and a target of 10,000 votes, in seven languages. Voters range from high-school students to audiences outside Japan. |
| What the entry fee is for | USD 10 a year as an individual supporter. It pays for the award office, the measures against vote manipulation, the storage that keeps video works, and translation into seven languages. |
| Is it a business | The award itself is not run for profit. Sponsorship and fees go to actual running costs, and any surplus carries into the next edition and into support for creators. The archive business that follows the event — pay-per-view, screenings — is designed and accounted for separately. |
| Who is already supporting it | Supported by the Digital Content Association of Japan (DCAJ). Technology partners: OpenAI, ElevenLabs Grants. |
| Is it open to everyone | Entry and voting stay open to anyone. Screening checks only safety and rights — whether the URL opens without a login, whether the public date is in range, whether permissions are in place. |
Money is one way. It is not the only one, and for a community organisation it is often the least interesting one.
690 USDFree until 15 September
Companies, communities, meetups, schools, labs and media that gather creators.
2,300 USDFree until 15 September
Companies and organisations that want a team at the reception, and public institutions applying by 15 September.
6,900 USD
Companies that want a named award and direct contact with winning creators.
USD $10
Logos are published after agreement and payment is confirmed — a name on the site is a statement that the relationship exists, so we do not put it up before it does. For the free early tier, confirmation of the application is what stands in place of payment.
A horizontal banner logo on a white background is preferred, because this ends up in print — the award is covered in AICU Magazine — and every slot we place it in is horizontal. If your brand has an isolation rule, tell us and we will honour it rather than guess.
Screening checks eligibility only: is the URL reachable without a login, is the public date in range, are the permissions in place.
The first round is free and open to anyone. One vote per field, ten fields, so a voter votes in all ten — including fields they know nothing about. That is deliberate: every field is judged by the same body of people, and a voter meets work they would never have searched for. Each field selects 3 to 10 finalists.
The final round is cast by community judges taking part as individual supporters, with a comment and a written critique attached, and the critiques are published with the result. One person, one vote per field, whatever they gave.
A partner's place in this is the recommendation. A recommendation says "look at this one" — it puts a work in front of the award office and in front of the voters, and a recommended work then goes through the same screening and the same public vote as every other entry. It is a way to bring the makers around you into the light, which is exactly what a partner is best placed to do. Partners are credited and listed; the voting is left to the voters, and we say so on the public partner page too. An award whose result can be bought is worth nothing to the creators who enter it, and nothing to the names printed beside it.
From next year, the creators who won will join the judging. That is the point of calling it an academy rather than a prize.
| 2026-09-11 | Entries open |
| 2026-09-15 | Silver early free tier — apply by |
| 2026-09-24 | First entry deadline |
| 2026-10-05 | Partner application deadline |
| 2026-10-15 | Logo artwork deadline |
| 2026-10-26 | Public vote opens |
| 2026-11-20 | Ceremony |
Two ways in, and neither of them is a meeting.
The form takes an organisation, a contact name and an email. That is all. It reaches the award office, not one person's inbox, so it does not wait on anyone's calendar.
Or just reply by email. award@aicu.ai goes to the office — three of us read it. Tell us what you are thinking and we will tell you what fits; we can put the paperwork together for you.
If a call would genuinely help, say so and we will arrange one. We would rather not make booking a meeting the price of asking a question.
Organized by AICU Inc. (Delaware) · Operated by AICU Japan K.K.
Award ceremony: Friday 20 November 2026, 15:50–16:50, INTER BEE IGNITION stage IG-205, Makuhari Messe (INTER BEE × DCEXPO, 18–20 November)