21-Year-Old from China Wins TCS CodeVita 2026; TCS Sets New Guinness World Record
Zhou Jingkai, 21, from the People’s Republic of China, who secured the top honour at TCS CodeVita 2026, with Vincente Opazo of Chile (first runner-up) and Jorge Valdivia of Peru (second runner-up).
146,922 participants make it the world’s largest coding competition
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced the winners of the 2026 edition of its global coding competition, TCS CodeVita™, with Zhou Jingkai, 21, from the People’s Republic of China, securing the top honour.
Vincente Opazo from Chile and Jorge Valdivia from Peru emerged as the first and second runners-up, respectively.
The 13th season of CodeVita set a new milestone with 146,922 participants, earning TCS a fresh Guinness World Records title for organising the world’s largest computer programming competition. The achievement surpasses TCS’ own previous record set in 2021.
Swapnil Dangarikar, senior adjudicator, Guinness World Records, said CodeVita broke its own earlier benchmark from season nine, reinforcing TCS’ commitment to promoting programming as a competitive sport and a force for positive change.
Sudeep Kunnumal, Chief Human Resources Officer, TCS, said the new world record reflects the company’s continued efforts to identify and nurture global technology talent. He noted that as generative AI reshapes the technology landscape, platforms such as CodeVita help discover high-potential talent through an engaging, gamified recruitment model.
This year’s edition introduced a mini AI-assisted programming competition for the 30 finalists to assess human–AI collaboration in solving complex coding problems. Participants were given access to frontier AI models including ChatGPT, Claude Sonnet and Gemini to develop innovative solutions. TCS said the initiative enabled real-time insights into how programmers use AI as a validator, collaborator or outsourcing partner.
The competition also saw strong representation of women coders from India, with six Indian women finalists making it to the global top 30 — the highest ever in the contest’s history.
Among category winners, Tejaswini Singh from Lucknow was named Best Women Coder, Balashiva S. from Chennai won Best Emerging Coder, while Zhou Jingkai was also recognised as Best AI Coder.
Zhou said winning CodeVita felt surreal, especially after being named Emerging Coder of the Year last season. He described the competition as an inspiring platform that sharpens problem-solving abilities and encourages creative thinking under pressure.
CodeVita is an open-book competition open to students enrolled in colleges and universities worldwide. Participants solve real-world programming challenges within a six-hour window, with complexity increasing across rounds. This year, 30 coders — representing eight foreign countries and 22 Indian states — qualified for the final round, reflecting the scale and diversity of talent in the 2026 edition.
Over the years, hundreds of CodeVita participants have secured roles at TCS, with selected finalists receiving opportunities to intern with TCS Research and Innovation.
