NEW YORK, May 15, 2026, 14:03 EDT
- UiPath rolled out Global AgentHack 2026, its developer contest linked to the company’s just-unveiled coding-agent platform.
- PATH surged roughly 7.4% as trading volume approached 29.9 million shares in recent action.
- This shift zeroes in on a broader question as UiPath approaches its May 28 earnings: will AI agents open up new markets for the company, or might they threaten UiPath’s core automation business?
UiPath Inc. rallied Friday, jumping about 7.4% to $10.39 after peaking at $10.42 earlier. The automation specialist rolled out a global hackathon, spotlighting its latest AI-agent capabilities for developers. PATH shares drew a rush of bullish call buyers as the event got underway.
UiPath is set to release its Q1 results on May 28, and the focus for investors is agentic AI—tools built to act with more autonomy. The question is whether this technology can drive fresh growth at UiPath, or if it ends up clashing with the company’s bread-and-butter robotic process automation, which remains centered on streamlining office routines.
UiPath is rolling out Global AgentHack 2026, calling on developers, automation engineers, data scientists, and students to compete. The company outlined on its forum that there’s $50,000 up for grabs, three separate challenge tracks, and just seven weeks for teams to turn out agentic solutions built on the UiPath platform. Teams have until June 29 to submit their entries.
UiPath rolled out its Coding Agents platform, aiming to position itself as the control layer for major AI code generators, including Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, and Google Gemini CLI. These tools translate plain English into functional code and tweak existing lines. UiPath’s pitch: move those rapid-fire experiments into buttoned-up, compliant environments ready for big-company use.
UiPath options trading spiked, as 43,224 call contracts changed hands—about 1.4 times the usual amount, according to TheFly. Most of the action clustered in the May 2026 $10.50 calls and January 2027 $10 calls. Those strikes stood out as session leaders. A call option gives the buyer the right to purchase shares at a set price.
UiPath CEO Daniel Dines is calling the latest coding-agent rollout a “fundamental shift” in how we think about being a builder. The new system, revealed this week, layers policy enforcement, audit trails, credential vaults, and role-based access controls onto automations—whether those are generated by people or AI. UiPath
UiPath chief product and technology officer Raghu Malpani frames AgentHack as a way to bring agentic orchestration out of the prototype stage—“not just a prototype on a laptop”—and into real-world production. The approach matches UiPath’s current strategy. Enterprises interested in code-generating AI agents aren’t easing up on demands for strict controls, including audit trails, oversight, and emergency kill switches. PR Newswire
AI Magazine’s latest list of top AI automation platforms puts Microsoft Power Automate, ServiceNow, and UiPath in the mix this week. Microsoft received recognition for its deep integration with Microsoft 365 and Azure. ServiceNow is highlighted for pushing generative AI deeper into its workflow lineup, according to the report. The competition keeps heating up as more players join the sector.
UiPath shares slid Wednesday, pressured by fresh worries over Anthropic’s agentic AI stepping up the competition, according to Benzinga. The same report put short interest at 115.09 million shares, translating to roughly 31.49% of UiPath’s float.
Competition is piling up for UiPath in automation. The company flagged in its latest annual report that it faces pressure from all sides—big enterprise software players muscling into automation and AI, smaller AI specialists, a swarm of coding agent startups, established RPA brands, and integration-focused firms. UiPath cautioned that cheaper alternatives and bundled offerings from rivals pose a threat to its sales.
UiPath heads into earnings season showing improved profitability from last year. In March, the company logged $481 million in fourth-quarter revenue—a 14% jump from a year earlier. Its annual recurring revenue is now $1.853 billion. With a $1 billion buyback wrapped up, UiPath has signed off on an additional $500 million repurchase.
UiPath is projecting quarterly revenue between $395 million and $400 million. As of April 30, annual recurring revenue stands at $1.894 billion to $1.899 billion. The next big date is May 28: that’s when investors expect to see real proof that UiPath’s AI agent strategy is pulling in actual business, rather than just generating buzz in developer circles.
