Google announces winners of Gemini AI Fund Me Crazy student contest: Meet the winners

Google has announced the top three winners of its Fund My Crazy campus innovation campaign, where students developed solutions to everyday campus problems using Gemini AI as a thinking partner.

The contest attracted over 29,000 entries in just nine days from students across India.Hardik Sachan from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College in Delhi claimed the top spot with Feko Pay, a chat-first app that eliminates the hassle of splitting cafe bills among friends. The app uses AI to itemize bills through photo scanning, addressing the common frustration of chasing friends for payments. Sachan used Gemini during ideation and to create presentation materials.

"Gemini helped me a lot while making my presentation and ideation stage, especially Canvas and Nano Banana.

The mock-ups and everything else were perfect," he said.Garvit Dudeja from Malaviya National Institute of Technology in Jaipur won with Swappr, a gamified barter platform that unlocks value from unused dorm items. The platform allows students to trade expensive gear like guitars and textbooks through a swipe-based interface within their campus.

"Google Gemini helped me organize my thoughts, structure my thought process, and get me on a structured path," Dudeja noted.Bhavana L from Sona College of Technology in Salem, Tamil Nadu, secured third place with Rest In Pieces, a marketplace that identifies reusable hardware components from abandoned senior projects. The platform converts discarded robots and sensors into affordable resources for junior students, reducing electronic waste.

Bhavana said Gemini played a key role in her presentation and research.Seven additional finalists demonstrated diverse applications of AI-assisted problem-solving across various campus challenges. P S Sai Vikas from Bengaluru used Gemini as a companion while designing 24/7 printout machines. Devika Mukundan from Thrissur analyzed six months of data with Gemini's help to predict canteen food waste and reduce leftovers.

Shivam Saini from Panipat used the tool to visualize and scale his student travel network.Harshal Ashok Suryavanshi from Kolhapur developed a digital out-pass system with Gemini's help in simplifying concepts. Aditya Rao from Chennai used Gemini to visualize his idea for robotic "monkey honeypots." Dani Mathew from Vaikom and Eshwar Anand Badugu from Rajkot both leveraged Gemini to synthesize research and generate mockups for their respective projects.The campaign highlights growing AI adoption among Indian students. A Google-Kantar report released earlier this year found that 95% of Gemini student users in India reported feeling more confident, using the AI tool for academic support and early career preparation. The contest saw participants leverage Gemini for tasks ranging from building tech stacks to visualizing complex solutions and testing assumptions.The Fund My Crazy campaign demonstrates how AI tools are becoming integrated into student innovation processes, serving as catalysts for translating ideas into structured, presentable solutions across diverse use cases.