Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: September 11, 2026

Description

The 2026 QHack Competition (the “Competition”) consists of several events (each an “Event”) that are independently entered, judged, and awarded prizes (each an “Award”). Such Events include the following: 1. QHack Registration Competition (Referral Program) 2. QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges)

Terms and Conditions applicable to each Award are detailed in the section labeled “Awards” below. In addition, all Awards are governed by the QHack General Rules and Regulations set out below. These Terms and Conditions may be revised at any time and their contents are non-negotiable.

Organizer and Sponsors

The organizer and sponsor of this Competition is Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc.; 777 Bay Street, Suite 2400, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C8 Canada (“Organizer”, “Xanadu”, “we”, or “us”).

Entry Period

The entry period and closing date for each Event where Awards are distributed are defined separately below.

Awards

QHack Registration Competition Award (Referral Program)

  • Awards: There will be ten (10) Awards, each consisting of USD $100.
  • Description: The username of each QHack participant who refers another QHack participant (the “referee”) during the Award Entry Period will be collected. Following the end of the Award Entry Period, the top ten (10) referee usernames that refer the most Competition participants will be selected by Xanadu organizers.
  • Rules:
    • Entrants and any submission made by an entrant (each a “Submission”) must conform to the QHack General Rules and Regulations.
    • Entrants can only sign up once for QHack 2026 and, therefore, are only eligible to submit a referee username once.
    • Entrants creating more than one account for purposes of increasing usernames for the Referral Program will be ineligible for any QHack 2026 Awards, including but not limited to the Referral Program Awards.
    • In the event of a draw, the entrant who reaches the winning number of referrals first will be ranked higher.
    • Winners must successfully answer a skill testing question (e.g. 2+5x2=X) before receiving a QHack Referral Program Award.
  • Selection Criteria: Xanadu organizers will select the top ten (10) referee usernames from the collected set of usernames who have referred the most Competition participants.
  • Award Entry Period: Monday, August 24th, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET until Friday, October 23rd, 2026 at 6:00 PM ET.
  • Other Considerations: Winners may be profiled on Xanadu’s social media, at Xanadu’s sole discretion. Please refer to the QHack General Rules and Regulations below for more information on how Xanadu may use the name and likeness of Competition participants.

QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges)

  • Description: Each team who has registered at https://qhack.ai/ will have the chance to submit answers to up to twenty (20) coding challenges across three (3) difficulty levels, which will appear in the automated system used to run the QHack Coding Competition (the “Challenge System”). Awards are rewarded based on QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges) rankings.
  • Rules:
    • Entrants and Submissions must conform to the QHack General Rules and Regulations.
    • Participants may compete as a team consisting of between one (1) to four (4) team members.
    • All team members must be signed up to QHack 2026 by the time the QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges) closes.
  • Selection Criteria: The Challenge System will grade Submissions and award pre-specified points for each successful Submission for each QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges) problem, based on difficulty. For each correct Submission, points are only awarded once.
  • Award Entry Period: The QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges) challenge board will open for Submissions on Friday, October 16th, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET and close on Friday, October 23rd, 2026 at 6:00 PM ET to be eligible for Award(s).
  • Awards:
    • Top 10 (Ten) Coding Challenge Winners
      • There will be ten (10) Awards.
        • First (1st) Prize: USD $15,000 cash distributed amongst members of the team, up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member), and up to four (4) QHack swag packs (one pack per team member).
        • Second (2nd) Prize: USD $13,000 cash distributed amongst members of the team, up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member), and up to four (4) QHack swag packs (one pack per team member).
        • Third (3rd) Prize: USD $11,000 cash distributed amongst members of the team, up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member), and up to four (4) QHack swag packs (one pack per team member).
        • Fourth (4th) Prize: USD $7,000 cash distributed amongst members of the team, up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member), and up to four (4) QHack swag packs (one pack per team member).
        • Fifth (5th) Prize: USD $6,000 cash distributed amongst members of the team, up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member), and up to four (4) QHack swag packs (one pack per team member).
        • Sixth (6th) Prize: USD $5,000 cash distributed among members of the team, and up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member).
        • Seventh (7th) Prize: USD $4,000 cash distributed among members of the team, and up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member).
        • Eighth (8th) Prize: USD $3,000 cash distributed among members of the team, and up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member).
        • Ninth (9th) Prize: USD $2,000 cash distributed among members of the team, and up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member).
        • Tenth (10th) Prize: USD $1,000 cash distributed among members of the team, and up to four (4) PennyLane certificates (one certificate per team member).
    • Coding Challenge: Eleventh (11th) – One Hundredth (100th) Place Winners
      • Every member of a team finishing between 11th and 100th place on the leaderboard in the coding challenge will receive a PennyLane certificate.

Any costs or expenses (including taxes) incurred by the winners in claiming or using their Awards will be the responsibility of the winners. Awards must be accepted as awarded. Xanadu reserves the right to substitute an Award of equal or greater value if stated Award becomes unavailable for reasons not related to the winner.

General Rules and Regulations

By registering for the Competition, you agree to abide by the following Terms and Conditions.

  1. The Competition is not open to residents in Ineligible Jurisdictions. For the purpose of these General Rules and Regulations "Ineligible Jurisdictions” includes the Canadian Province of Quebec, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Belarus.

  2. To be eligible for the Competition, an individual must:

    • not be a resident of an Ineligible Jurisdiction;
    • either be the age of majority under Ontario law (18 years +) or have a parent or legal guardian’s written consent to participate in the Competition;
    • not be an employee of (a) Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., or (b) any of Xanadu’s advertising and promotional agencies; and
    • not be the parent, sibling, child or spouse of any of the employees listed above.

    THE COMPETITION IS VOID WHERE IT IS OTHERWISE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

  3. No purchase is necessary to enter. Limit of one (1) entry per person per Event (regardless of method of entry). Each Event where Awards are distributed has specific open and closing dates.

  4. Entries:

    • must be the original work of the entrant (individual or team);
    • must be submitted in English;
    • must not contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, contain profanity, nudity, sexual content; hateful content of any kind; content that promotes violence or harm to another living creature; or any other offensive content (as determined by the Organizer in its sole discretion);
    • must not contain material that promotes any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous;
    • must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;
    • must not contain advertisements, personal solicitations or commercial solicitations, or promote any political agenda or party;
    • must not contain any content about Xanadu’s stock price, exchange listings, status as a public company;
    • must not include any trademarks, logos, or copyrighted materials for which you do not have the necessary rights, permissions or authority under applicable law, other than Organizer related materials, or advertise or promote any brand or product owned by any entity other than Organizer;
    • must not contain materials for which you do not have the necessary rights, permissions or authority under applicable law to submit (e.g., materials embodying the names, likenesses, photographs, or other identifying elements of any person for which you have not obtained their relevant consent or do not otherwise have the authority to submit in your entry);
    • must be in keeping with Xanadu’s image and not contain any material that could reflect negatively on the name, reputation, or goodwill of Xanadu, its subsidiaries or affiliates;
    • must not violate or encourage the violation of any law, rule or regulation;
    • must include citations/references acknowledging past work used.

    Entries or Submissions that violate these General Rules and Regulations will be immediately disqualified, and prizes may be forfeited.

  5. Submissions are final when the online Submission is completed and submitted and the appropriate entry period is closed. The Submission may not be edited, revised, or updated after the entry period is closed. If a Submission for the QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges) is rejected due to failing the Selection Criteria, new Submissions may be prepared and submitted until the Selection Criteria are met or the appropriate entry period is closed. This applies only to the QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges).

  6. Each Competition participant hereby grants Xanadu a world-wide, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license and right to use, copy, reproduce, display, perform and publish, and otherwise exploit your Submission and waive all moral rights therein, including the right to make available any part or all of your Submission publicly available in an online gallery hosted by Xanadu on https://pennylane.ai/ or its subdomains.

  7. Xanadu owns all rights, title and interest in all intellectual property, data, content and other materials made available to participants in connection with the QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges).

  8. Xanadu reserves the right to have any Submission removed which, in its sole determination, does not comply with these General Rules and Regulations. In such an event, the entry associated with such Submission will be void.

  9. Any costs or expenses (including taxes) incurred by the winners in claiming or using their Awards will be the responsibility of the winners. Awards must be accepted as awarded. Xanadu reserves the right to substitute an Award of equal or greater value if stated Award becomes unavailable for reasons not related to the winner.

  10. Xanadu reserves the right to change the number of Awards awarded for the QHack Coding Competition (Coding Challenges) based on the volume of participation, but the number of Awards will be no more than ten (10) sets consisting of a cash prize and a QHack certificate. No more than five (5) swag packs.

  11. Winners for the Referral Program and Coding Challenges will be announced via X (formerly Twitter) and email (pending any delays in confirming Submission requirements are met). The scheduled dates for announcing winners will be released leading up to the event start date. Judges reserve the right to recuse themselves, at their discretion, in the case of a past or present relationship with the submitter. In such a case, an alternative judge will participate in the evaluation of the Submission. All decisions of the Organizer and judging panel are final and not subject to appeal. After the verification and acceptance by all Award winners, a list of winner(s) for each Award may be posted to the PennyLane webpage, QHack website and/or shared via social media.

  12. Winners may be required to sign a release form confirming acceptance of the Award as awarded and releasing Xanadu and its affiliates from any liability relating to their Award. By entering this Competition, entrants consent to the use of their names and/or photographs for publicity purposes without compensation, worldwide in perpetuity and in any form of media including the Internet. Without limiting Xanadu’s rights under Section 6, and for greater clarity, the winners consent to the promotion and hosting of Submission materials across Xanadu’s website, blog, social media accounts, and press releases.

  13. ANY XANADU SOFTWARE, PLATFORMS, CODING CHALLENGES, OR MATERIALS OF ANY KIND USED IN THE COMPETITION (“XANADU MATERIALS”) ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO PARTICIPANTS ON AN “AS IS”, “WITH ALL FAULTS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH THE EXPRESS UNDERSTANDING THAT THE XANADU MAY NOT MONITOR, CONTROL, OR VET PARTICIPANT CONTENT. AS SUCH, YOUR USE OF XANADU MATERIALS IS AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK. XANADU MAKES NO CLAIMS OR PROMISES ABOUT THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR RELIABILITY OF XANADU MATERIALS, ITS SAFETY OR SECURITY, OR THE SITE CONTENT. ACCORDINGLY, XANADU IS NOT LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT MIGHT ARISE, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM XANADU MATERIALS’S INOPERABILITY, UNAVAILABILITY OR SECURITY VULNERABILITIES.

  14. XANADU EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. PARTICIPANT’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE RIGHT AND REMEDY IN CASE OF DISSATISFACTION WITH XANADU MATERIALS OR ANY OTHER GRIEVANCE SHALL BE YOUR TERMINATION AND DISCONTINUATION OF ACCESS TO, OR USE OF XANADU MATERIALS. XANADU’S MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO PARTICIPANTS FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES SUFFERED IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMPETITION OR XANADU MATERIALS IS LIMITED TO (USD) $100.

  15. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Xanadu, its affiliates, or any of their employees, officers, directors, consultants, contractors and agents have any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, punitive or other liability to participants, even if notified in advance of the possibility of such liability. In addition, Xanadu is not responsible for, (i) late, lost, delayed, not received, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, stolen, or illegible Submissions; or (ii) failure to receive Submissions due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including malfunctioning of any network, servers, access providers, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or recipient. Xanadu reserves the right to cancel or modify (e.g., freezing work until such time the Competition can resume) the Competition if, in its sole discretion, it determines that the Competition is not capable of running as originally planned for any reason (such as tampering or infection by computer virus, fraud, technical failures, printing or distribution errors, or any other causes or occurrences have compromised the fairness or integrity of the competition). If, as a result of an error relating to the entry process, drawing or any other aspect of the competition, there are more potential winners of Awards than contemplated in the rules, there will be a random draw amongst all eligible Award claimants after the end of the Entry Period to award the Award.

  16. Xanadu reserves the right to modify these General Rules and Regulations at any time. If the General Rules and Regulations are modified immediately preceding or during the Competition, Xanadu will notify participants and provide them with an opportunity to review and accept the revised terms. When participants accept such modified General Rules and Regulations or are proceeding to participate in another Event after having been made aware of such modification, participants are agreeing to accept the modified General Rules and Regulations. Xanadu may modify these General Rules and Regulations for future QHack events. Entrants are encouraged to review these General Rules and Regulations each time they participate in a QHack event organized by Xanadu.

  17. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between these General Rules and Regulations and disclosures or other statements contained in any competition-related materials, including the entry form, or point of sale, television, print or online advertising, these General Rules and Regulations shall prevail, govern and control.

  18. Persons who intend to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrant or any representative of Xanadu or who are in violation of these General Rules and Regulations, as determined by Xanadu in its sole discretion, will be disqualified and all associated entries and Submissions will be void. Any attempt to deliberately damage the content or operation of any of the competitions or challenges is unlawful and subject to legal action by Xanadu and/or their respective agents. Disqualification may occur at any stage of the competition, and Awards may be forfeited.

  19. We will accommodate accessibility requests for the Competition within reasonable effort and cost. If you have an accessibility request, please contact Xanadu at hr@xanadu.ai.

  20. Xanadu is not liable if any aspect of the Competition is, in whole or in part, cancelled, rescheduled, or postponed, or for any failure or delay to perform our obligations under these General Rules and Regulations, if such event results from anything beyond our reasonable control (e.g. acts of God, acts of terror, war, labour strike, communications failure or degradation, or any other emergency) or anything else that renders the performance of the Competition, in whole or in part, impracticable, illegal, or impossible.

Subscribe to the PennyLane newsletter

for exclusive QHack 2026 announcements and event updates.

2026 XanaduTerms and ConditionsPrivacy PolicyAccessibility PolicyCode of Conduct