HackWithInfy is Infosys's flagship coding competition for engineering students — the company calls it "the Olympics of coding" — and the most direct route to a Specialist Programmer (SP) or Digital Specialist Engineer (DSE) offer. You solve algorithmic problems in timed rounds; rank well and Infosys calls you for a pre-placement interview (PPI) in your pre-final year, a full year before regular campus hiring reaches your college.
Key facts
| Conducted by | Infosys Limited (official page: infosys.com/careers/hackwithinfy) |
| Current edition | HackWithInfy 2026 — for students graduating in 2027 |
| Who can take it | Pre-final-year B.E./B.Tech, M.E./M.Tech, Dual Degree, MS (Research), MCA and 5-year integrated M.Sc students in India, aged 18+ |
| Format | Round 1 (virtual, 3 hours) → Round 2 (in-person, 3 hours) → 4-day Grand Finale for the top 100 |
| Platform | Infosys Assessment Platform (IAP) for Rounds 1 and 2 |
| Fee | Free at every stage |
| Prizes (2026, as announced Jan 2026) | USD 3,300 / 1,650 / 1,100 for the top three finale teams; Champion of Champions award |
| Hiring link | PPIs for Specialist Programmer and other roles; internships at Infosys campuses |
How HackWithInfy is different from the regular Infosys test
The standard Infosys Systems Engineer exam is an aptitude-heavy MCQ test — quants, reasoning, verbal, pseudocode — and it leads to a ~₹3.6 LPA role. HackWithInfy has no MCQs at all: it is pure problem-solving on hidden test cases, and its ceiling is the SP track at ₹9.5 LPA and above. Both are Infosys, but they are different exams for different jobs.
Why it matters
Infosys reports that HackWithInfy has engaged more than 11 lakh students from 3,500+ institutes since it began in 2019. Only 100 reach the finale each year, but thousands below the finale line receive PPI calls — which is why serious Infosys aspirants treat HackWithInfy as attempt one and the SP/DSE off-campus assessment as attempt two at the same job. The preparation is identical.
Comparable contests at other IT majors: TCS CodeVita (open to all batches, six-hour rounds) and Wipro's Turbo hiring. HackWithInfy is the only one of the three tied to a single graduating batch — miss your pre-final year and the door closes.