Kong Innovator Awards 2025 Now Open For Submissions

This year, at our in-person API Summit, we’re excited to shine a light on the projects and people who aren’t just implementing Kong, but reinventing it. 

The Kong Innovator Awards recognize outstanding and future-facing projects from Kong customers. And what better way to be recognized than with a gorilla trophy and an award ceremony on a boat cruise around New York City?

This year's awards will be presented on October 15 during API Summit 2025 in New York. Past award winners include The LEGO Group, TBC Bank, and The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP Digital), among others.

What you need to know about submitting for the Kong Innovator Awards

All Kong customers are eligible to submit. We want to hear from you!

Customers can submit Kong projects or use cases from the past two years that deserve the spotlight.

Judges will evaluate submissions and select winners based on specific criteria: innovativeness of the use case, the benefits and impact highlighted, and the ability of the use case to inspire or help other Kong customers. Winners will be notified in early October and listed on the awards page after the ceremony at API Summit 2025.

Submissions are open now through September 19. Visit the Kong Innovator Awards page for more details and to submit a nomination.

Register for API Summit 2025

Don’t miss the API Summit for the agentic era! Join us October 14–15, 2025, in New York City to discuss how API strategies must evolve to prepare for major shifts around agentic AI, cloud, security, event streaming, and more.

Registration is now open. Visit the API Summit page to get tickets and more information.