SharkNinja Halts Normal Work for Four-Day AI Hackathon at Boston Headquarters

SharkNinja paused normal work for a four-day AI hackathon called Jailbreak at its headquarters near Boston earlier this year. Business Insider reported that CEO Mark Barrocas made the decision to immerse employees in the event after observing uneven adoption of the technology. Leaders formed teams of 10 to 15 employees to address about 20 major initiatives.

Employees whose roles required less cross-team coordination created roughly 400 additional departmental projects. " A recent hire built an AI tool that automated project tracking and team accountability in about 90 minutes. Word of the tool spread through the office.

One group created an AI system that rates product concepts by analyzing consumer demand, manufacturing feasibility, and business potential. Another team used AI to generate ideas and prototypes, then built two new products, connected them to the cloud, and developed recipe apps. An employee said what used to take months now takes days.

One project mined global consumer feedback from social media and sorted it by country or demographic group. Kaitlyn Hebert, CMO of global brands, led work on identifying factors that make products break through on social media. " Dozens of local college students joined a related event to build skills and allow SharkNinja to identify potential recruits.

The company plans to award $1 million in prizes in 2026 for major AI ideas and has already issued $20,000 bonus checks to several workers. Barrocas said AI strategy advice from consultants is often outdated within three months. He stated the company's job is to avoid leaving any worker behind and described SharkNinja as a problem-solving company rather than a tech company.