- A Virginia student team won the Presidential AI Challenge for an anti-bullying chatbot
- The Friendzone Chatbot helps children facing bullying with support and guidance
- Middle and high school winners included projects on skill-building and criminal investigations
A team of young students from Virginia has won the first-ever Presidential Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge National Champion Award for creating a chatbot designed to help prevent bullying. The award was presented by US First Lady Melania Trump at a ceremony held at the White House on Tuesday.
The winning project, called "Friendzone Chatbot Bullying Prevention App," was developed by a five-member team from Aldie, Virginia. The group included Aarna Jaiswal, Eshani Khatri, Riva Madda, Samhitha Pinnamareddy and Sanuli Rathnayake. The students secured the top honour in the Elementary School Track 2 category.
The chatbot was created to provide support and guidance to children facing bullying, highlighting how technology can be used to address real-life challenges faced by students.
Students from different parts of the United States were recognised across several categories. In the Middle School Track 1 category, a team from NorthStar Middle School in Washington won for their project, "Skillup." The team included Viha Iyer, Arya Pratap and Shrimayi Shetty.
In the high school division, Khandakar Mahin from Pennsylvania won the national title in Track 1 for a project that uses computer vision technology to help identify hotel rooms during criminal investigations. Mahin is set to graduate from high school this week and will join Harvard University later this year.
Addressing the winners, Melania Trump praised the students for their creativity and dedication. "It is wonderful to see this very impressive group of innovators at the White House. I'm proud that you represent the best of America. You are our future," she said.
First Lady Melania Trump Participates in the Presidential AI Challenge National Champions Awards https://t.co/5mYEJg8rKq
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 9, 2026
According to the First Lady, more than 20,000 students participated in the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge. Entries were received from all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Department of Defence schools located in several countries.
The competition was launched to encourage students to explore artificial intelligence and use technology to develop solutions for real-world problems.