OpenAI 2026 hackathon

Field & Signal

An AI-native market research agency that plans studies, searches the web, conducts surveys and adaptive interviews, and delivers a traceable, decision-ready brief.

Solo project by Malcolm Toh · 0 likes · 0 comments

Archive position — measured, not model output

0 likes on Devpost

2,264 of the 7,856 archived projects have more likes, and 5,592 share exactly 0 — so this project's #4,086 place in the like-ranked listing is a tie-break inside that group, not a ranking.

Projects (log scale)

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Likes on Devpost. ▲ marks this project's group.

Show the figures
LikesProjectsShare of archive
05,59271.2%
11,75822.4%
22853.6%
3–41321.7%
5–9751.0%
10+140.2%
Devpost like counts for all 7,856 archived projects, captured when this archive was built.

Executive Summary

What the company appears to be

Field & Signal is a self-reported AI-native market research platform built as a hackathon submission. The author describes it as an end-to-end system that uses six distinct AI agents to execute market research tasks, from planning and evidence gathering to survey design, interviews, and report generation.

What changed

This project was submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon. It is not evidenced to have launched commercially or gained traction beyond its development phase.

Single most important open question

Is there any evidence of actual customer engagement, revenue, or real-world usage beyond the author’s own development and testing?

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What The Product Actually Is

The description states that Field & Signal is a platform that turns a business question into a complete research engagement led by six clearly disclosed AI specialists. These specialists perform distinct roles including planning, public evidence investigation, methodology design, survey/interview conduct, integration of findings, and final brief preparation.

Each specialist has a defined role:

  1. John plans the research.
  2. Maya investigates public evidence.
  3. Aisha designs the methodology.
  4. Daniel conducts interviews.
  5. Sofia integrates the findings.
  6. Marcus prepares the recommendation.

The system uses GPT-5.6 as its core AI engine, with support from tools like ChatGPT, Codex, Next.js, Supabase, and Vercel. It is described as an application that keeps client approval, participant consent, evidence links, and research limitations visible throughout the process.

Evidence

  • The author states: “Field & Signal turns a business question into a complete research engagement led by six clearly disclosed AI specialists.”
  • The author describes each of the six agents and their roles.
  • The system is built with Next.js, TypeScript, Supabase, OpenAI APIs, and GPT-5.6.

Inference This is a self-contained workflow designed to automate parts of market research using AI agents, but it is not evidenced to be in production or used by clients beyond the author’s own testing.

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Positioning & Claim Evolution

The project claims to offer an AI-native market research agency that can be engaged as easily as describing a business decision. It positions itself as a way for small businesses to access full research workflows without needing to assemble or hire traditional specialists.

It also emphasizes that the system avoids “multi-agent theatre” by ensuring each agent performs distinct, real work and passes persistent artefacts between stages.

Evidence

  • The author states: “What if a small business could engage an entire AI-native market research agency as easily as describing its decision?”
  • The author says: “We built a functioning end-to-end research workflow rather than a collection of static agent demonstrations.”

Inference The positioning is that of a self-service, AI-powered research-as-a-service platform targeting small businesses. However, no evidence exists of market testing or adoption.

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Target Customer & ICP

The author states that the target customer is “small businesses” making decisions about customers, pricing, products, and expansion. These businesses are said to find traditional market research expensive and slow.

Evidence

  • The author says: “Small businesses make important decisions about customers, pricing, products and expansion, but proper market research can be expensive and slow.”

Inference The ICP is small businesses seeking affordable, fast, and accessible market research. However, no evidence of actual customers or usage exists.

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Business Model & Pricing Evidence

There is no evidence in the description of a business model or pricing structure. The author does not describe how Field & Signal would generate revenue, whether through subscriptions, per-project fees, or other mechanisms.

Evidence

  • No mention of pricing.
  • No mention of monetization strategy.
  • No indication of whether the product will be sold or offered as a service.

Inference The business model is not described. It remains unknown if this is intended to be a commercial product or a prototype.

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Technical & Delivery Signals

The system is built using Next.js, TypeScript, Supabase, the OpenAI Responses API, GPT-5.6, and Vercel. The author used ChatGPT for ideation and Codex for implementation, including interface design, database integration, and workflow validation.

Key technical features include:

  • Structured schemas to validate model outputs.
  • Progress indicators showing which specialist is working.
  • Approval controls for key actions.
  • Evidence links and research limitations visibility.

Evidence

  • The author states: “Field & Signal is built with Next.js, TypeScript, Supabase, the OpenAI Responses API, GPT-5.6 and Vercel.”
  • The author says: “I used ChatGPT during ideation to develop the product concept, agent responsibilities and user journey.”

Inference The system is a prototype built on modern web and AI stacks. It includes UI/UX design elements for transparency and control. However, no evidence of deployment or scalability beyond the hackathon.

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Traction & Maturity Signals

There is no evidence of traction, revenue, customer adoption, or product maturity beyond the author’s own development and testing. The project was submitted to a hackathon and has not been independently verified or launched.

Evidence

  • The project was submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon.
  • No mention of customers, usage, or revenue.
  • No evidence of commercial deployment or product release.

Inference This is an early-stage prototype. There is no indication that it has moved beyond the development phase.

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Competitive Context

The author does not describe any competitive landscape or existing players in the market research space. The project makes no mention of competitors, pricing, or differentiation from traditional market research firms or AI tools.

Evidence

  • No mention of competitors.
  • No discussion of market positioning relative to other tools or services.

Inference The competitive context is unknown. It is unclear how this product would compare to existing solutions in the market.

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Key Risks & Red Flags

  1. Unproven commercial viability: The project has not been validated with real customers or revenue.
  2. No evidence of scalability: The system was built for a hackathon and lacks evidence of production deployment.
  3. Unclear monetization strategy: No business model is described.
  4. Lack of external validation: The product is self-reported, unverified, and lacks third-party feedback or testing.
  5. Potential over-reliance on AI: There is no indication of how the system handles edge cases or errors beyond those addressed in development.

Evidence

  • No revenue, customers, or traction data.
  • No mention of external validation or user testing.
  • No business model described.

Inference The project is at a very early stage and carries significant risk due to lack of real-world validation.

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Diligence Questions To Ask The Founders

  1. What specific market research tasks are you planning to automate, and how do you validate the quality of AI-generated outputs?
  2. Have you tested this with any actual small business clients or stakeholders?
  3. How does the system handle errors in AI responses or incomplete data?
  4. What is your plan for scaling beyond the current prototype?
  5. Are there any legal or ethical considerations around conducting surveys and interviews using AI agents?
  6. How do you intend to monetize this product, and what pricing model are you considering?

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Investment/Partnership Verdict

This is a self-reported, unverified hackathon submission with no evidence of traction, revenue, or customer engagement. It is described as an early-stage prototype built by one person using AI tools.

Confidence Level Very low

Verdict Not ready for investment or partnership consideration at this time. The project lacks commercial validation and real-world usage. It may be a promising concept but requires further development, testing, and evidence of market demand before it can be evaluated as a viable business.

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Source

Submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon on Devpost. Project home on DevPost.

The analysis above was generated by a language model from the project's own one-line description. It is not independent research and contains no verified traction, revenue or customer data.