NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 13, 2026--
Perfect Corp., the leading provider of AI and AR beauty and fashion technology solutions, today announced its participation in the DeveloperWeek 2026 Hackathon, taking place in-person at the San Jose Convention Center (February 18–20, 2026) and online from February 2–20, 2026.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260213020958/en/
As part of the Global Hackathon Challenge, Perfect Corp. will award $2,500 in cash prizes to two winners who design and build immersive web or mobile experiences using Perfect’s AI and AR-powered API suite. The competition will recognize projects that demonstrate real-world consumer and retail value through innovative use of AI.
The Perfect Corp. Hackathon Challenge will award:
Participants are required to integrate at least one Perfect Corp. API and create a working prototype experience, complete with a project page, screenshots, and a 1–3 minute demo video showcasing the solution end-to-end.
Perfect Corp.’s flexible, pay-as-you-go API model makes it easy for brands, startups, retailers, medical spas, and independent business owners to integrate enterprise-grade AI experiences without heavy development resources or large upfront investments. The APIs are designed for fast implementation, scalability, and measurable ROI, enabling businesses to deliver highly personalized consumer experiences at speed.
Empowering Developers with Best-In-Class API Tools to Democratize AI in Beauty, Skin & Fashion
Hackathon participants are encouraged to explore creative and unexpected applications of Perfect Corp.’s API suite, which include:
To support developers, Perfect Corp. is offering 1,000 free API units to help teams rapidly prototype and test their ideas.
Driving the Future of AI-Powered Consumer Experiences Through Powerful API Technology
“We are excited to collaborate with the global developer community at DeveloperWeek 2026,” said Alice Chang, Founder and CEO of Perfect Corp. “AI-powered personalization is no longer a luxury — it is an expectation. Through our API suite, we are democratizing access to advanced AI and AR technologies, enabling developers to build immersive, intelligent consumer experiences that solve real-world needs in beauty, fashion, retail, and beyond. We look forward to seeing the creativity and innovation that emerges from this year’s hackathon.”
By participating in DeveloperWeek 2026 Hackathon, Perfect Corp. continues its commitment to advancing agentic AI assistants, generative AI technologies, and scalable API solutions that empower developers and brands to meet the evolving expectations of modern consumers.
How to Participate
Developers can register via the DeveloperWeek 2026 Hackathon page on DevPost and must be pre-registered on both Eventbrite and DevPost to compete. The hackathon officially kicked off online on February 2, 2026, with in-person programming taking place February 18–20, 2026.
To register and claim 1,000 free API units ($179 value) and begin building, visit:
https://developerweek-2026-hackathon.devpost.com/
About Perfect Corp.
Perfect Corp. (NYSE: PERF) is a global leader in AI and AR technology, redefining creativity across beauty, fashion, skincare, and digital content creation. Its YouCam suite of apps has been downloaded over 1.1 billion times globally, empowering users to create, edit, and express themselves through photo, video, and generative AI tools. The YouCam platform also includes a powerful web-based editor and a suite of developer APIs, providing creators, brands, and technology partners with seamless access to content creation capabilities across platforms.
For brands and professionals, Perfect Corp. offers an award-winning portfolio of enterprise technologies, including virtual try-on experiences for makeup, hair, jewelry, watches, and fashion accessories, as well as AI-powered skin and hair analysis.
With a brand portfolio that includes YouCam and Skincare Pro, and a network of over 800 global brand partners, Perfect Corp. is transforming the beauty experience through personalized, immersive, and intelligent innovation.
For more information, visit perfectcorp.com and follow @Perfect-Corp.
Perfect Corp. Provides APIs to DeveloperWeek Hackathon, Inviting Developers to Build Next Generation AI-Driven Consumer Experiences
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former CNN host turned independent journalist Don Lemon pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights charges Friday, following a protest at a Minnesota church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor. Four others also pleaded not guilty in the case.
Lemon insists he was at the Cities Church in St. Paul to chronicle the Jan. 18 protest but was not a participant. The veteran journalist vowed to fight what he called “baseless charges” and protect his free speech rights.
“For more than 30 years, I’ve been a journalist, and the power and protection of the First Amendment has been the underpinning of my work. The First Amendment, the freedom of the press, are the bedrock of our democracy,” Lemon said outside the courthouse after his arraignment. “And like all of you here in Minnesota, the great people of Minnesota, I will not be intimidated, I will not back down.”
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the courthouse, chanting “Pam Bondi has got to go” and “Protect the press.”
Civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong was among the other defendants who pleaded not guilty Friday. The prominent local activist was the subject of a doctored photo posted on official White House social media that falsely showed her crying during her arrest. The picture is part of a deluge of AI-altered imagery that has circulated since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Levy Armstrong echoed Lemon's defiant words after the hearing.
“We the people have to stand for our rights. We have to stand for the Constitution. We have to stand for our First Amendment rights to freedom of the speech, some freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press,” she said.
“Today we have the federal government trying to weaponize the Department of Justice in order to silence us, in order to prevent us from speaking the truth," Levy Armstrong said. "They are trying to prevent us from calling out a manifest injustice.”
Protesters interrupted a service at the Southern Baptist church last month, chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
In total, nine people have been charged under the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in relation to the church protest. The FACE Act prohibits interference or intimidation of “any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
Two more defendants accused in the protest are scheduled for arraignment next week, including another independent journalist, Georgia Fort.
Penalties can range up to a year in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Renee Carlson, an attorney with True North Legal, which is representing Cities Church, said in a statement that by pleading not guilty Lemon and others are “doubling down on their claim that the press can do whatever they want under the auspices of journalism.”
“The First Amendment does not protect premeditated schemes to violate the sanctity of a sanctuary, disrupt worship services, or intimidate children,” Carlson said. “There is no ‘press pass’ to trespass on church property or conspire to invade religious worship.”
The church protest drew sharp complaints from conservative religious and political leaders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned in a social media post at the time: “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.” Even clergy who oppose the administration's immigration enforcement tactics expressed discomfort.
Another of Lemon's attorneys who was in court Friday is Joe Thompson, one of several former prosecutors who have left the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office in recent weeks citing frustration with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown in the state and the Justice Department’s response to the killing of Good and Pretti.
Thompson had led the sprawling investigation of major public program fraud cases for the prosecutors office until he resigned last month. The Trump administration has cited the fraud cases, in which most defendants have come from the state’s large Somali community, as justification for its immigration crackdown.
Associated Press journalists Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.
Journalist Don Lemon, right, speaks to the media outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
Journalist Don Lemon speaks to the media outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
Nekima Levy Armstrong, left, speaks to the media alongside Chauntyll Allen, right, outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
People gather outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., in support of journalist Don Lemon and Nekima Levy Armstrong ahead of their hearing Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
People gather outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., in support of journalist Don Lemon and Nekima Levy Armstrong ahead of their hearing Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
Nekima Levy Armstrong, center, speaks outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
Nekima Levy Armstrong, center, speaks outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
Nekima Levy Armstrong, center, speaks outside the U.S. District Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom Baker)
Journalist Don Lemon enters the courthouse in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Don Lemon arrives at the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
FILE - Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson speaks to reporters at a news conference July 15, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP, File)
Journalist Don Lemon, talks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Journalist Don Lemon, waves to the media after a hearing outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
