At Lowe’s, innovation isn’t an abstract ambition—it’s something being built. That mindset came to life during the company’s third annual AI Day and latest 24-Hour Hackathon, where more than 600 associates from across the business signed up to engage with artificial intelligence and tackle real-world challenges.
AI Day has matured from a niche, tech-centric event into an enterprise-wide catalyst for transformation. “In previous years, we kept it mostly to tech teams,” said Sravan Vadigepalli, Senior Director of AI Strategy. “But this year, we invited business leaders to pitch their challenges—because true transformation only happens when the business is leading it”.
The day began with thought-provoking perspectives from both internal and external leaders on the future of AI and the critical components required to scale it successfully within an enterprise—from robust governance frameworks to scalable infrastructure. “This isn’t a tech initiative—it’s a Lowe’s initiative,” Vadigepalli emphasized. “There’s real value in making AI accessible across the business.” This enterprise-wide accessibility and innovation in AI will ultimately help Lowe’s deliver on its Total Home Strategy by optimizing how we work, solve problems and serve customers.
The 24-hour Hackathon, while not the first, marked a major shift in approach. In previous years, tech teams defined the problems. This year, they came from business stakeholders—27 use cases sourced directly from functions like supply chain, merchandising, and store operations. “We flipped the equation,” said Nithin Surendran, Director of Data Science. “This time, the problems came from the business, and the teams built solutions that have a much higher chance of being implemented”.
Teams had access to Lowe's world-class suite of tools - including Windsurf, a coding copilot, other custom tools, datasets, and foundational models, making it possible for associates—even those without coding backgrounds—to participate meaningfully. “Business stakeholders can brainstorm, prototype, and even demo ideas themselves,” Surendran noted. “It’s reducing the gap between thinkers and builders”.
With a growing AI community and sustained leadership support, Lowe’s is building a culture of hands-on learning and scalable innovation. The company is already considering quarterly hackathons to keep up the momentum. “People only learn by doing,” Vadigepalli said. “Hackathons are a great way of putting AI fluency into practice”.
And the results are getting noticed. “OpenAI was mind-blown by how we’ve used their technology,” Surendran shared. “We’re just coming out of our shell—but what we’re building here is already setting us apart”.
But the work doesn’t stop when the clock runs out. Many of the most promising ideas are handed off to product and engineering teams to refine, scale, and bring into production—ensuring these grassroots efforts drive lasting impact across the business.
“This isn’t just about creativity in a 24-hour window,” Surendran added. “It’s about building a pipeline of real solutions that strengthen how we serve customers and run the business.”
