Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

State of AI in Texas Report Survey Live!

Howdy! The State of AI in Texas Report (STAR) has been finalized.

AITX Community and UT School of Law is excited to hear what the community has to say! By mapping the AI landscape and understanding stakeholder interactions, we hope to identify key businesses involved with AI development in Texas.

And by learning about AI product usage and how to support needs of new AI developers, we aim to provide a report that will both inform smart AI policy and serve as a guide for businesses on AI development.

THE WHO – We Want to Hear From You: If you’re based in Texas and work at Startups, Scaleups, or Enterprises, this survey is for you.

This is your chance to have your voice heard.

Community Events

Securing AI Agents in Production: Guardrails & Governance on Elastic

When: Tuesday, May 19 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Elastic Office 823 Congress Ave · Austin, TX

What: This meetup will focus on AI agent security, runtime governance, and observability for AI-driven systems using Elastic.

Hermes Agent: Build Your Own AI Operator

When: Wednesday, May 20 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos street, 1st floor · Austin, TX

What: At AIxEDU Austin, we’ll use Hermes as the model for a more practical kind of AI operator — one built around memory, task follow-through, tool use, human approvals, and useful outputs instead of just looking impressive in a demo.

Hack AI x WebAI

When: Monday, May 18 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: ​A monthly session for builders all over the Austin area to learn about and build the latest AI technology.

AI Meetup - Scale AI Workflows

When: Wednesday, May 27 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Coder Austin 520 E Oltorf St · Austin, TX

What: This meetup is for developers and platform teams who want to understand what it actually takes to move from AI experimentation to production-ready workflows. We’ll focus on how teams are redesigning their development workflows to work with AI, not just adding tools on top. That includes how to structure workflows, manage agents, and introduce the right level of control without killing developer velocity.

Securing AI Agents in Production: Guardrails & Governance on Elastic

When: Tuesday, May 19 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Elastic Office 823 Congress Ave · Austin, TX

What: We'll feature two talks, followed by pizza, refreshments, and connecting with the Austin Elastic community.

COMMUNITY STORIES

AI Data centers become key issue in West Texas congressional runoff

The rapid expansion of AI data centers has become a central campaign issue in the Republican runoff for Texas Congressional District 19, with both candidates emphasizing the state's strategic advantages for AI infrastructure. During a debate on KTAB, Tom Sell and Abraham Enriquez agreed that Texas is positioned to become a major AI hub due to its ample land, electricity, and energy resources. The candidates presented different approaches, with Sell focusing on local impact to rural West Texas communities while both supported AI investment.

Need to know:

• Congressional District 19 Republican runoff candidates Tom Sell and Abraham Enriquez both highlighted Texas's advantages for AI data centers, including abundant land, electricity, and energy resources

• The debate reflects growing recognition that West Texas could become a major hub for AI infrastructure, potentially bringing significant economic development to rural communities

• AI data center expansion has become important enough to be a featured topic in political debates, indicating the technology's increasing influence on regional policy and economic planning

Read more here.

Dallas Exurb Hits Pause on Data Centers in a Rare Texas Rebuke

Hill County, a small Texas county outside Dallas, has approved a one-year moratorium on new data center and energy storage developments after being approached by multiple builders in recent weeks. The County Commissioners Court made the decision following hours of negative testimony from residents concerned about potential impacts to local water supplies and quality of life-marking an unusual pushback in traditionally tech-friendly Texas.

Need to know:

• Hill County approved a one-year moratorium on new data center and energy storage projects after being approached by several builders in recent weeks

• The decision came after hours of negative public testimony focused on concerns about local water supply impacts and quality of life degradation

• This represents a rare rebuke of tech infrastructure in Texas, a state typically known for its business-friendly environment and rapid AI development growth

Read more here.

AZIO AI Secures Multi-Megawatt Infrastructure Order to Advance Modular AI Data Center Expansion in South Texas

AZIO AI Corp. has landed a major infrastructure order from Envirotech Vehicles to deploy approximately 6 MW of AI data center capacity in South Texas. The project showcases the growing demand for modular, power-integrated data center solutions that can rapidly scale AI infrastructure using sovereign power sources.

Need to know:

• The order supports approximately 5-6 MW of modular, high-density compute infrastructure deployment at AZIO AI's South Texas site

• The project utilizes sovereign power sources and power-integrated solutions to enable faster, scalable AI infrastructure rollout

• This deployment represents a staged development approach that aligns with AZIO AI's broader strategy to scale compute infrastructure through modular expansion

Read more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AITX Community Hack Fair

As the grand finale of the AITX Community <> Codex Hackathon, this science fair-style showcase is your chance to see what happens when Austin’s brightest engineers and AI enthusiasts come together to build amazing things in just 36 hours.

​Hack Fair offers you a front-row seat to view cutting-edge AI prototypes to creative solutions to everyday problems. You'll wander through rows of demo tables, chat with the builders, and cast your vote for the Community Choice Award. This is the place to meet your next hire, co-founder, or collaborator.

​Building technology is about more than just exciting tech—it’s about the people and community behind the scenes supporting. Grab some snacks, make new connections, get inspired, and celebrate the spirit of building.

State of AI in Texas Report Survey Live!

Howdy! The State of AI in Texas Report (STAR) has been finalized.

AITX Community and UT School of Law is excited to hear what the community has to say! By mapping the AI landscape and understanding stakeholder interactions, we hope to identify key businesses involved with AI development in Texas.

And by learning about AI product usage and how to support needs of new AI developers, we aim to provide a report that will both inform smart AI policy and serve as a guide for businesses on AI development.

THE WHO – We Want to Hear From You: If you’re based in Texas and work at Startups, Scaleups, or Enterprises, this survey is for you.

This is your chance to have your voice heard.

Community Events

AI That Works: Codex + Apify

When: Tuesday, May 12 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

What: ​​We'll show how to go from idea to shipped Apify Actor in a single evening: using Codex and the Apify MCP to prototype a workflow, then turning that workflow into a real, publishable Actor.

Hack Fair - AITXC Community <> Codex Community Hackathon

When: Sunday, May 10 | 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM CST

Where: Antler VC Austin, TX

What: Hack Fair offers you a front-row seat to view cutting-edge AI prototypes to creative solutions to everyday problems. You'll wander through rows of demo tables, chat with the builders, and cast your vote for the Community Choice Award. This is the place to meet your next hire, co-founder, or collaborator.

Hack AI x WebAI

When: Monday, May 18 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: ​A monthly session for builders all over the Austin area to learn about and build the latest AI technology.

Austin | Claude Code for Everyone

When: Monday, May 11 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Where: Register to see address

What: May edition of claude code Austin.

Securing AI Agents in Production: Guardrails & Governance on Elastic

When: Tuesday, May 19 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Elastic Office 823 Congress Ave · Austin, TX

What: We'll feature two talks, followed by pizza, refreshments, and connecting with the Austin Elastic community.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Crusoe Highlights Local Economic Impact of Stargate AI Infrastructure in Texas

Crusoe is demonstrating that AI infrastructure investments deliver measurable benefits to local communities, not just computing power. The company's Stargate campus in Abilene, Texas has contributed to a remarkable 37% increase in city sales tax revenue, along with rising hotel occupancy and increased weeknight business traffic. This positions AI infrastructure projects as economic development catalysts that could reshape how local governments approach technology partnerships.

Need to know:

• Abilene, Texas experienced a 37% increase in city sales tax revenue linked to Crusoe's Stargate campus involvement

• Local economic indicators show rising hotel occupancy tax and increased weeknight traffic at businesses located approximately 20 minutes from the facility

• Crusoe is strategically positioning its AI infrastructure projects as regional economic development catalysts to appeal to local governments and investors

Read more here.

What would AI have done in the most pivotal moments in Texas football history?

Former LSU head coach Brian Kelly is using AI tools like Claude to prepare for his next coaching opportunity, sparking fascinating questions about how artificial intelligence might have advised legendary Texas Longhorns coaches during critical game decisions. Kelly revealed he's leveraging Claude's predictive capabilities for recruiting, transfer portal strategy, and profiling, calling AI "the next iteration in coaching." This technological shift prompts speculation about how coaches like Darrell Royal, Mack Brown, and Steve Sarkisian might have benefited from AI guidance during Texas football's most pivotal moments.

Need to know:

• Brian Kelly specifically uses Claude for its superior ability to predict "things outside the lines" compared to ChatGPT, which he describes as "much more driven right down the center"

• Kelly is actively using AI daily for due diligence on recruiting strategy, player profiling, and transfer portal decisions as he prepares for interviews with athletic directors

• Kelly believes AI utilization "is going to have to be part of the next iteration in coaching" and that coaches will need to adopt these tools to remain competitive

Read more here.

Hut 8 lands $9.8B AI lease in Nueces County

Hut 8 signed a 15-year, 352MW lease at its Beacon Point campus near Corpus Christi, with renewal options that could push the deal to $25.1B. The tenant is an unnamed high-investment-grade company deploying hyperscale AI training and inference infrastructure.

Need-to-know:

• Beacon Point is approved for up to 1GW of utility capacity from AEP Texas, with initial energization slated for Q1 2027 and first data hall delivery in Q3 2027.

• The 352MW build will follow NVIDIA's DSX reference architecture for gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure, developed alongside Vertiv and Jacobs Solutions.

• Hut 8's total contracted AI capacity now sits at 597MW across Beacon Point and its River Bend campus in Louisiana, representing roughly $16.8B in base-term contract value.

Read more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AITX Community x Codex Hackathon

We're teaming up with Codex Ambassadors for a 48 hour hackathon in Austin May 8-10. Three days to build something real with Codex alongside other engineers, founders, and builders from the Texas AI community.

We’re excited to also be partnering with Miro, AutoHDR, Atlassian for Startups and Antler for this hackathon.

When: May 8-10

Where: Austin (venue details to come)

What: 48 hour hackathon building with Codex, Hack Fair demos on Sunday

Prizes: 1st place $10,000 in API credits + ChatGPT Pro per team member, 2nd place $5,000 + ChatGPT Pro, 3rd place $2,500 + ChatGPT Pro. More soon.

Tracks: To be announced soon.

Come with a team or show up solo and find one here. Either way, you'll leave with a working project, new connections, and a real sense of what you can ship with Codex.

State of AI in Texas Report Survey Live!

Howdy! The State of AI in Texas Report (STAR) has been finalized.

AITX Community and UT School of Law is excited to hear what the community has to say! By mapping the AI landscape and understanding stakeholder interactions, we hope to identify key businesses involved with AI development in Texas.

And by learning about AI product usage and how to support needs of new AI developers, we aim to provide a report that will both inform smart AI policy and serve as a guide for businesses on AI development.

THE WHO – We Want to Hear From You: If you’re based in Texas and work at Startups, Scaleups, or Enterprises, this survey is for you.

This is your chance to have your voice heard.

Community Events

AI That Works: Codex + Apify

When: Tuesday, May 12 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

What: ​​We'll show how to go from idea to shipped Apify Actor in a single evening: using Codex and the Apify MCP to prototype a workflow, then turning that workflow into a real, publishable Actor.

AI Lab (Austin) - Building AI Agents with Memory

When: Wednesday, May 6 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: Join Oracle and AICamp for an immersive, hands on workshop learning how to build reliable agents with LangChain and Oracle AI Database. This hands-on workshop introduces AI agents and shows how to build agents that go beyond chat to act reliably on real data.

AIMUG Monthly Mixer & Showcase

When: Wednesday, May 6 | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM CST

Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX

What: ​​Join us for the monthly AIMUG Mixer & Showcase — an evening of practical demos, short deep-dives, and relaxed community networking.
We focus on agentic software development: multi-agent architectures, middleware patterns, LangChain + LangGraph workflows, DeepAgents, and real-world application building.

Austin | Claude Code for Everyone

When: Monday, May 11 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Where: Register to see address

What: May edition of claude code Austin.

AI Lab (Austin) - Building AI Agents with Memory

When: Wednesday, May 6 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: This hands-on workshop introduces AI agents and shows how to build agents that go beyond chat to act reliably on real data. Participants will learn how agents plan and execute work, why stateless AI fails in production, and how persistent memory solves the forgetting problem. Using Oracle AI Database, the workshop demonstrates how to implement a durable agent memory core with semantic vector search, governance, and auditability.

COMMUNITY STORIES

AI 75 Honors ETAMU Professor for Leadership in Artificial Intelligence

Dr. Christian F. Hempelmann, professor of computational linguistics and director of the Semantic Artificial Intelligence and Creativity Laboratory at East Texas A&M University, has been named to the prestigious 2026 AI 75 Innovators in DFW list. This annual recognition celebrates 75 of the most impactful AI leaders in the Dallas-Fort Worth region for their contributions to research, education, and industry collaboration.

Need to know:

• Dr. Hempelmann is one of 75 AI leaders selected by Dallas Innovates and the Dallas Regional Chamber for the third annual 2026 AI 75 Innovators in DFW list

• As director of the Semantic Artificial Intelligence and Creativity Laboratory, he leads groundbreaking work in computational humor research while expanding ETAMU's AI presence

• The AI 75 list recognizes diverse AI professionals including researchers, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and professors whose work is advancing artificial intelligence across the region

Read more here.

Texas AI Pay Lands at $129K, Middle of the Pack

A Wing Assistant study of 3,413 Glassdoor listings put Texas AI salaries at an average of $129,066, well behind New York's $182,926 and California's $181,051.

Need to know:

• Texas posted 72 AI job listings averaging $129,066, with a median of $130,000 that signals consistent pay rather than a few outliers skewing the number

• The top three states are New York ($182,926), California ($181,051), and Massachusetts ($168,353); North Dakota sits last at $94,089

• Washington had the highest job volume in the country at 114 listings but ranked ninth on pay, suggesting hiring activity does not always track with top-of-market compensation

Read more here.

Texas A&M Uses AI to Predict Crop Pest Outbreaks

Researchers at Texas A&M AgriLife used machine learning models to forecast western flower thrips populations with up to 88% accuracy, giving farmers an early warning before pests damage crops.

Need to know:

• Models hit nearly 88% accuracy in open fields and 85% in high tunnels by combining data from 1,700 sticky traps with up to 16 environmental variables like temperature, humidity, and wind

• Parent population size from two weeks earlier was the strongest predictor of outbreaks, followed by temperature, wind, and humidity

• Accuracy dropped sharply when one model was applied across both open field and high tunnel systems, suggesting localized models per microclimate are the path forward

Read more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AITX Community x Codex Hackathon

We're teaming up with Codex Ambassadors for a 48 hour hackathon in Austin May 8-10. Three days to build something real with Codex alongside other engineers, founders, and builders from the Texas AI community.

When: May 8-10

Where: Austin (venue details to come)

What: 48 hour hackathon building with Codex, Hack Fair demos on Sunday

Prizes: 1st place $10,000 in API credits + ChatGPT Pro per team member, 2nd place $5,000 + ChatGPT Pro, 3rd place $2,500 + ChatGPT Pro. More soon.

Tracks: To be announced soon.

Come with a team or show up solo and find one here. Either way, you'll leave with a working project, new connections, and a real sense of what you can ship with Codex.

State of AI in Texas Report Survey Live!

Howdy! The State of AI in Texas Report (STAR) has been finalized.

AITX Community and UT School of Law is excited to hear what the community has to say! By mapping the AI landscape and understanding stakeholder interactions, we hope to identify key businesses involved with AI development in Texas.

And by learning about AI product usage and how to support needs of new AI developers, we aim to provide a report that will both inform smart AI policy and serve as a guide for businesses on AI development.

THE WHO – We Want to Hear From You: If you’re based in Texas and work at Startups, Scaleups, or Enterprises, this survey is for you.

This is your chance to have your voice heard.

Community Events

AI That Works: Codex + Apify

When: Tuesday, May 12 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

What: ​​We'll show how to go from idea to shipped Apify Actor in a single evening: using Codex and the Apify MCP to prototype a workflow, then turning that workflow into a real, publishable Actor.

AI Lab (Austin) - Building AI Agents with Memory

When: Wednesday, May 6 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: Join Oracle and AICamp for an immersive, hands on workshop learning how to build reliable agents with LangChain and Oracle AI Database. This hands-on workshop introduces AI agents and shows how to build agents that go beyond chat to act reliably on real data.

AIMUG Monthly Mixer & Showcase

When: Wednesday, May 6 | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM CST

Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX

What: ​​Join us for the monthly AIMUG Mixer & Showcase — an evening of practical demos, short deep-dives, and relaxed community networking.
We focus on agentic software development: multi-agent architectures, middleware patterns, LangChain + LangGraph workflows, DeepAgents, and real-world application building.

Robotics and Edge Inference

When: Saturday, Apr 25 | 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM CST

Where: Antler VC 800 Brazos St #340, Austin, TX 78701 · Austin, TX

What: We’re hosting the Robotics and Edge Inference Conference on April 25th, 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device.

Austin Robotics & AI

When: Wednesday, Apr 29 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: HICAM 6201 Quinn Luke Trail · Austin, TX

What: The dream of general-purpose robots that can navigate and manipulate our unstructured world is often stymied by a simple reality: we don't have enough robotics data. While Reinforcement Learning (RL) offers a path forward by enabling robots to collect and learn from their own interaction data, existing approaches face significant hurdles in scalability and real-world applicability.

COMMUNITY STORIES

AI-Powered Medicare Approval System Raises Healthcare Access Concerns in Texas

Starting January 15, 2025, Texas Medicare patients requiring procedures like skin grafts or nerve stimulators must first receive approval from WISeR, an AI-powered system designed to reduce wasteful medical services. The controversial program, created by Dr. Mehmet Oz and CMS, is operated by a private AI company that financially benefits from denying care, sparking concerns about conflicts of interest and patient access to necessary treatments.

Need to know:

• WISeR (Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction) became mandatory for specific Medicare procedures in Texas on January 15, 2025

• The AI approval system is operated by a private company that profits from denied care, creating a clear financial conflict of interest

• Procedures requiring AI approval include medically necessary treatments like skin grafts and nerve stimulators, potentially delaying or preventing critical patient care

Read more here.

Michael and Susan Dell fund 'AI-native' medical center with $750 million gift to University of Texas

Billionaires Michael and Susan Dell have donated $750 million to the University of Texas at Austin to create an 'AI-native' medical center that will integrate artificial intelligence throughout its operations. The landmark gift represents one of the largest philanthropic investments in AI-driven healthcare infrastructure in Texas and aims to transform patient care in the rapidly growing state capital.

Need to know:

• $750 million donation marks one of the largest philanthropic investments in AI-driven healthcare infrastructure in Texas history

• The medical center will be 'AI-native,' meaning artificial intelligence will be integrated into its core operations from the ground up rather than added later

• The facility aims to serve the University of Texas at Austin and expand healthcare options for the rapidly growing Austin metropolitan area

Read more here.

Texas Instruments posts best day since 2000 on AI chip demand

Texas Instruments shares jumped 19% Thursday to a record close after the Dallas-based chipmaker beat Q1 estimates and guided Q2 above consensus. Data center revenue grew roughly 90% year over year.

Need-to-know:

• Q1 revenue came in at $4.83 billion, up 19% year over year, beating the $4.53 billion consensus. Q2 guide midpoint sits at $5.2 billion.

• Data center segment revenue rose about 90% year over year, with Meta, Amazon, and Nvidia among the hyperscaler customers fueling demand. Industrial was up 30%.

• TI is spending $60 billion on three new US plants. Apple has committed to making iPhone foundation chips at the Utah and Texas fabs.

Read more here.

It’s Our Birthday 🥳 

Howdy!

We are very excited to celebrate AITX Community’s 3rd Birthday this April. We want to ask all members of the community if they would be able to share a quick video about how we have helped them over the years and / or what they enjoy about AITX Community.

We would greatly appreciate your time to share some thoughts. Please fill out the form below.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

AITX Community x Codex Hackathon

We're teaming up with Codex Ambassadors for a 48 hour hackathon in Austin May 8-10. Three days to build something real with Codex alongside other engineers, founders, and builders from the Texas AI community.

When: May 8-10

Where: Austin (venue details to come)

What: 48 hour hackathon building with Codex, Hack Fair demos on Sunday

Prizes: 1st place $10,000 in API credits + ChatGPT Pro per team member, 2nd place $5,000 + ChatGPT Pro, 3rd place $2,500 + ChatGPT Pro. More soon.

Tracks: To be announced soon.

Come with a team or show up solo and find one here. Either way, you'll leave with a working project, new connections, and a real sense of what you can ship with Codex.

Community Events

AI Lab (Austin) - Building AI Agents with Memory

When: Wednesday, May 6 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: Join Oracle and AICamp for an immersive, hands on workshop learning how to build reliable agents with LangChain and Oracle AI Database. This hands-on workshop introduces AI agents and shows how to build agents that go beyond chat to act reliably on real data.

AIMUG Monthly Mixer & Showcase

When: Wednesday, May 6 | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM CST

Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX

What: ​​Join us for the monthly AIMUG Mixer & Showcase — an evening of practical demos, short deep-dives, and relaxed community networking.
We focus on agentic software development: multi-agent architectures, middleware patterns, LangChain + LangGraph workflows, DeepAgents, and real-world application building.

Robotics and Edge Inference

When: Saturday, Apr 25 | 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM CST

Where: Antler VC 800 Brazos St #340, Austin, TX 78701 · Austin, TX

What: We’re hosting the Robotics and Edge Inference Conference on April 25th, 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device.

Austin Robotics & AI

When: Wednesday, Apr 29 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: HICAM 6201 Quinn Luke Trail · Austin, TX

What: The dream of general-purpose robots that can navigate and manipulate our unstructured world is often stymied by a simple reality: we don't have enough robotics data. While Reinforcement Learning (RL) offers a path forward by enabling robots to collect and learn from their own interaction data, existing approaches face significant hurdles in scalability and real-world applicability.

Hack AI x PostHog

When: Monday, April 20 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory Austin, Texas

What: ​Welcome to Hack AI, a monthly session for builders all over the Austin area to learn about and build the latest AI technology.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Texas, USA Issues Alert as Electricity Demand Quadruples! AI Infrastructure Spurs 'Power Grab + Self-Supply' Wave, Power Stocks Poised for Bull Market

Texas is facing an unprecedented electricity crisis as peak demand is projected to skyrocket to 367,790 megawatts within six years-more than quadruple the 2023 record of 85,508 megawatts. The explosive growth is being fueled by rapid AI infrastructure expansion, triggering a wave of self-supply power initiatives and creating major investment opportunities in the energy sector.

Need to know:

• Peak electricity demand in Texas expected to reach 367,790 megawatts within six years-a 330% increase from the 2023 record of 85,508 megawatts

• AI data centers and infrastructure are the primary drivers behind this unprecedented surge in power consumption across the state

• The power shortage is sparking a 'self-supply' movement with companies investing in their own power generation capabilities, creating new opportunities in the power sector

Read more here.

North Texas students petition against use of AI announcer at graduation

Students in North Texas are circulating a petition demanding that human educators-not artificial intelligence-announce graduate names at their upcoming commencement ceremony. The grassroots effort underscores an emerging tension between AI efficiency and preserving meaningful human moments at milestone life events.

Need to know:

• North Texas students have launched a petition specifically opposing AI-powered name announcement technology at their graduation ceremony

• Students are advocating for educators to personally read names, emphasizing the importance of human connection at this milestone achievement

• The dispute highlights broader questions about appropriate AI deployment-where automation adds value versus where it diminishes meaningful human experiences

Read more here.

Fermi Aims to Power AI's Future with Texas Tech Partnership

Fermi (NASDAQ:FRMI) is launching an ambitious partnership with Texas Tech University to build a massive multi-gigawatt energy campus specifically designed to power AI data centers. The project will deliver up to 11 GW of low-carbon, HyperRedundant power through a diverse mix of natural gas, nuclear, and solar energy on a 5,236-acre site at the university's 'Project Matador' in Amarillo, Texas.

Need to know:

• Fermi has secured a long-term lease on 5,236 acres at Texas Tech University's 'Project Matador' site in Amarillo, Texas

• The energy campus aims to deliver up to 11 gigawatts of low-carbon, HyperRedundant power specifically designed for AI data centers

• Power will be generated through a diversified energy mix combining natural gas, nuclear, and solar energy sources

Read more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Community Events

AI That Works: Building with Skills

When: Tuesday, April 14 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

What: A ​monthly meetup for anyone building with AI in Austin: developers, founders, operators, GTM teams, and the AI-curious.

​Every session: live demos from people shipping real things, a hands-on build, and honest conversation about what's actually producing results.

AI Productivity for Founders: Tools, workflows, and what works w/Alex

When: Monday, April 13 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory Austin, Texas

What: ​​This is a small, hands-on masterclass (12 people max) where we cut through the noise and focus on what actually AI works.

Robotics and Edge Inference

When: Saturday, Apr 25 | 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM CST

Where: Antler VC 800 Brazos St #340, Austin, TX 78701 · Austin, TX

What: We’re hosting the Robotics and Edge Inference Conference on April 25th, 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device.

AI Security Engineers Austin — Kickoff Meetup

When: Wednesday, Apr 15 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Celis Brewery 10001 Metric Blvd. · Austin, TX

What: Join us for real talk on AI security in the Taproom, then take the conversation to Celis's Beer Garden for happy hour and Movie Night under the Austin sky. Where keeping it weird means keeping it secure.

Hack AI x PostHog

When: Monday, April 20 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory Austin, Texas

What: ​Welcome to Hack AI, a monthly session for builders all over the Austin area to learn about and build the latest AI technology.

COMMUNITY STORIES

AG Ken Paxton attacks US Sen. John Cornyn in Texas US Senate runoff

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an AI-generated attack ad against incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn as their Republican primary runoff election approaches. The advertisement uses artificial intelligence to depict Cornyn vacationing on water slides and drinking beer while President Trump's SAVE America Act awaits congressional action. The AI-powered campaign tactic represents an escalation in political advertising methods with just over a month until the runoff election.

Need to know:

• The attack ad debuted on X (formerly Twitter) and uses AI technology to create fictional imagery of Senator Cornyn on vacation

• The Republican primary runoff election is scheduled for approximately one month from the ad's April 8, 2026 release date

• Paxton's ad specifically criticizes Cornyn for allegedly not advancing President Trump's SAVE America Act and Department of Homeland Security funding while away from Washington

Read more here.

Vibrant Capital: Strategic Partnership With University Of North Texas To Advance Applied AI And Student Innovation

Vibrant Capital has formed a strategic partnership with the University of North Texas to bridge the gap between academic AI research and commercial applications. The collaboration will provide students with hands-on internships, applied innovation initiatives, and structured pathways to transform early-stage concepts into real-world deployments through faculty engagement and pilot programs.

Need to know:

• UNT was selected as a partner due to its scale, interdisciplinary approach, and capabilities across artificial intelligence, information science, and logistics

• The initial phase will launch sponsored projects, internships and micro-internships, along with faculty collaboration opportunities

• The partnership includes showcase events designed to highlight outcomes to students, researchers, employers, and potential investors

Read more here.

AI-powered school model sparks debate over 2-hour classroom day at the Bennett School

The Bennett School in Houston is revolutionizing education by condensing traditional academics into just two hours daily using AI-powered personalized learning, freeing up the rest of the day for athletic training. Operating as part of Texas Sports Academy's network, the school uses concentrated learning blocks and AI to tailor lessons to each student's individual level. This innovative approach is sparking national debate about the future of education and whether specialized skill development can coexist with traditional learning.

Need to know:

• Students complete all academic requirements in a concentrated 2-hour AI-powered block using the pomodoro method (short focused sessions with 5-minute breaks), with the remainder of the day dedicated to athletic training

• The school operates as an affiliate of Texas Sports Academy, part of a network connected to an Austin-based education company, with families able to enroll using a $10,000 state education funding allocation

• AI technology is used to tailor lessons to each student's individual learning level, allowing for personalized education that adapts to different paces and abilities

Read more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Community Events

The AI Implementation Club

When: Sunday, April 5 | 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM CST

Where: Register to see address

What: Stop learning. Start building. ​You've bookmarked the tools. You've saved the articles. You've watched the tutorials. Now it's time to actually IMPLEMENT. ​The Applied AI Collective is a focused, in-person build session for founders and operators who are ready to stop consuming AI content and start shipping with it. ​

HOW IT WORKS: ​

• Show up with ONE AI thing you want to implement ​

• Two 45-minute silent build sprints (yes, there's a buzzer) ​

• Tell the room at the end... did it ship or not?

Claude and Coffee #1: Building Infrastructure for AI Instance Continuity

When: Wednesday, Apr 8 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Russell’s Bakery & Genuine Joe Coffeehouse @Anderson 2525 W Anderson Ln, Building 3, Suite 270 · Austin, TX

What: Join us for the inaugural Claude and Coffee meetup! We're kicking off Austin's bi-weekly gathering for developers building with Claude AI.

Robotics and Edge Inference

When: Saturday, Apr 25 | 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM CST

Where: Antler VC 800 Brazos St #340, Austin, TX 78701 · Austin, TX

What: We’re hosting the Robotics and Edge Inference Conference on April 25th, 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device.

AI Security Engineers Austin — Kickoff Meetup

When: Wednesday, Apr 15 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

Where: Celis Brewery 10001 Metric Blvd. · Austin, TX

What: Join us for real talk on AI security in the Taproom, then take the conversation to Celis's Beer Garden for happy hour and Movie Night under the Austin sky. Where keeping it weird means keeping it secure.

Vibe Doctoring + Loss Landscape Degeneracy | 2-30min Talks

When: Tuesday, Apr 7 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory, Voltron Room (1st floor) 701 Brazos Street · Austin, TX

What: Two Talks:

1. Vibe Doctoring: How Microsoft’s MAI-DxO Orchestrator Crushes Physicians at Sequential Diagnosis, Link to Paper 1

2. Loss Landscape Degeneracy and Stagewise Development in Transformers, Link to Paper 2

COMMUNITY STORIES

How does AI, data centers use so much water in Texas?

Texas is rapidly becoming a major hub for AI and data center operations, but this growth comes with significant environmental costs. The expansion of these facilities is raising critical questions about water consumption and resource management in a state already facing water scarcity challenges. As the industry continues to boom, stakeholders are examining the sustainability implications of this digital infrastructure.

Need to know:

• Texas is experiencing rapid growth in AI and data center development, positioning the state as a major technology hub

• Data centers require substantial water resources for cooling systems, raising concerns about sustainability in drought-prone regions

• The industry's environmental impact is attracting increased scrutiny from regulators and communities concerned about water resource management

Read more here.

Fermi America secures $156M commitment as power grid progresses

Fermi America has locked in up to $156.25 million in committed financing from Yorkville Advisors to accelerate construction of its ambitious AI data center campus and private power grid in the Texas Panhandle near Amarillo. The senior unsecured promissory note, announced April 1, 2026, represents a major financial milestone for the project being developed in partnership with the Texas Tech University System. CEO Toby Neugebauer emphasized that the partnership was earned through execution, as the company continues building infrastructure at what they call 'FermiSpeed.'

Need to know:

• Fermi America secured up to $156.25 million through a senior unsecured promissory note with an investment fund managed by Yorkville Advisors Global, LP

• The project is being developed in partnership with the Texas Tech University System and includes both an AI data center campus and a private power grid near Amarillo

• Texas Capital Securities served as financial advisor to Fermi America for this transaction, with funds designated for general corporate purposes

Read more here.

Texas' Grid Has a 410-Gigawatt Problem, and AI Built It

ERCOT's interconnection queue just hit a record 410 GW, roughly five times the state's historical peak demand, and data centers are the primary reason why. The surge is concentrated in the Dallas-Fort Worth corridor, where hyperscalers are racing to build faster than the grid can keep up.

Need to know:

• Over 70% of ERCOT's large load interconnection requests come from data center projects, with DFW (Midlothian, Red Oak, Irving) as the dominant cluster

• Transmission upgrades take 4 to 6 years on average, while data centers are targeting 12 to 24 month build cycles, meaning the gap between demand and grid capacity is structural, not temporary

• ERCOT is piloting a "batch study" approach to evaluate multiple high-demand projects simultaneously, with first results expected later in 2026

Read more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Community Events

AI Meetup (April) for GenAI LLMs and Agents

When: Wednesday, Apr 1 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: Join us for deep dive tech talks on AI, GenAI, LLMs and Agents, hands-on experiences on code labs, workshops, and networking with speakers and fellow developers.

Claude and Coffee #1: Building Infrastructure for AI Instance Continuity

When: Wednesday, Apr 8 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Russell’s Bakery & Genuine Joe Coffeehouse @Anderson 2525 W Anderson Ln, Building 3, Suite 270 · Austin, TX

What: Join us for the inaugural Claude and Coffee meetup! We're kicking off Austin's bi-weekly gathering for developers building with Claude AI.

Robotics and Edge Inference - TBD

When: Saturday, Mar 28 | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM CST

Where: 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX

What: Expect deeply technical talks, live demos, and open Q&A.

AIMUG Monthly Mixer & Showcase

When: Wednesday, Apr 1 | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST

Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX

What: Join us for the monthly AIMUG Mixer & Showcase — an evening of practical demos, short deep-dives, and relaxed community networking.
We focus on agentic software development: multi-agent architectures, middleware patterns, LangChain + LangGraph workflows, DeepAgents, and real-world application building.
Many presenters are power users of Claude Code, and we frequently explore how developers use it in their agent workflows

Lindy.ai - Learn to Build a Safe, Autonomous AI Agent Live From Scratch

When: Wednesday, Apr 1 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: Jaya Phillips has spent over a decade building digital infrastructure and growth systems for entrepreneurs and lean teams — so she knows exactly where the bottlenecks hide and what it costs to leave them there. Now, she's channeling that expertise into something that's quietly changing how smart businesses operate: AI agents.

COMMUNITY STORIES

High-stakes Senate race in Texas sees proliferation of AI-generated attack ads

The Texas U.S. Senate race has become ground zero for AI-generated attack ads, with both Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and challenger Attorney General Ken Paxton deploying deepfake videos against each other. The campaigns have created fabricated scenes-including Paxton in a car with women who aren't his wife and Cornyn dancing with a Democratic congresswoman-to attack opponents in television advertising. Campaign finance experts warn these AI-manipulated visuals are making it increasingly difficult for voters to distinguish authentic content from manufactured fiction.

Need to know:

• Sen. John Cornyn's campaign aired an AI-generated video showing opponent Ken Paxton in a car with women other than his wife

• Ken Paxton's campaign responded with its own deepfake showing Cornyn dancing with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas

• Campaign finance attorneys warn the proliferation of AI-generated content in political advertising creates unprecedented challenges for voter deception and election integrity

Learn more here.

Ericsson (ERIC) Showcases 6G Capabilities in Texas with AI Robotics Demo

Ericsson conducted a groundbreaking live demonstration of 6G wireless technology at its Plano, Texas headquarters, featuring integration with a Realbotix robot to showcase high-speed, low-latency connectivity. The trial successfully demonstrated the potential of next-generation wireless networks to power AI-driven robotics and enable real-time video streaming applications. Despite strong profitability metrics, the telecommunications giant faces declining revenue growth trends.

Need to know:

• The live trial took place at Ericsson's U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, featuring a robot from Realbotix to demonstrate 6G's capabilities for AI-powered robotics

• The demonstration highlighted high-speed and low-latency connectivity that enables real-time video streaming and AI applications across various platforms

• While Ericsson shows strong profitability, financial metrics reveal mixed performance with declining revenue growth in recent years and stock trading near historical highs

Read more here.

NextEra Energy Inc. stock advances on Texas gas plant land acquisition amid AI power boom

NextEra Energy has secured prime Texas land for one of its largest natural gas-fired power plants, strategically positioning itself to capitalize on the explosive energy demand driven by AI data centers. The move comes as tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon aggressively expand their AI infrastructure, creating unprecedented electricity requirements. The NYSE-listed utility is executing robust capital expenditure plans to capture growth in the energy transition while serving the booming AI sector.

Need to know:

• NextEra Energy acquired Texas land for a massive natural gas-fired power plant specifically to meet surging AI data center electricity demand from hyperscalers

• The utility giant is blending regulated stability with renewable leadership and flexible gas capacity to capture the AI infrastructure megatrend

• Major tech companies including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are driving unprecedented electricity demand through aggressive AI infrastructure expansion

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Applied AI Live #3: How To Build Production Grade OpenClaws

When: Thursday, March 26 | 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

What: This session will cover:

• ​OpenClaw x Apify: combining computer-use agents with web scraping and automation at scale

• ​How to make money building and selling secure OpenClaw agents to business clients

• ​Architecting production infrastructure that enterprises can trust

• ​The business model: pricing, packaging, and delivering OpenClaw solutions

• ​The latest on the applied AI infrastructure OpenTeams is incubating

• ​Lessons learned from real production deployments

Women Who Play Big Will Shape AI

When: Tuesday, March 24 | 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM CST

Where: Register to see address

What: ​AI is transforming the way we live, work, and lead. But who is shaping its future? This discussion will explore bold thinking , innovation, leadership in emerging technologies,  and how women can play a defining role in building what’s next.

Robotics and Edge Inference - TBD

When: Saturday, Mar 28 | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM CST

Where: 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX

What: Expect deeply technical talks, live demos, and open Q&A.

AIMUG Monthly Mixer & Showcase

When: Wednesday, Apr 1 | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST

Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX

What: Join us for the monthly AIMUG Mixer & Showcase — an evening of practical demos, short deep-dives, and relaxed community networking.
We focus on agentic software development: multi-agent architectures, middleware patterns, LangChain + LangGraph workflows, DeepAgents, and real-world application building.
Many presenters are power users of Claude Code, and we frequently explore how developers use it in their agent workflows

Lindy.ai - Learn to Build a Safe, Autonomous AI Agent Live From Scratch

When: Wednesday, Apr 1 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

What: Jaya Phillips has spent over a decade building digital infrastructure and growth systems for entrepreneurs and lean teams — so she knows exactly where the bottlenecks hide and what it costs to leave them there. Now, she's channeling that expertise into something that's quietly changing how smart businesses operate: AI agents.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Applied Optoelectronics Expands Texas Manufacturing to Meet Surging AI Data Center Transceiver Demand

Applied Optoelectronics is massively scaling its Texas manufacturing footprint with a $150 million buildout to meet explosive AI data center demand for high-speed optical transceivers. The company plans to ramp production from 150,000 units mid-2026 to nearly 1 million units annually by end-2027, targeting a market forecasted to reach $55 billion by 2029. The expansion adds 150,000 square feet to its Sugar Land facility and brings a new 210,000-square-foot production facility online in Q3.

Need to know:

• Production will scale from ~150,000 units mid-2026 to ~650,000 by year-end and nearly 1 million units annually by end-2027, with 400 Gb output also ramping to ~310,000 pieces/month

• $150 million buildout expands Sugar Land facilities to roughly 500,000 sq ft and adds a 210,000-sq-ft facility coming online in Q3 2026

• The company leverages heavy automation and vertical integration, designing 14 of 17 major process machines in-house to reduce labor costs and increase manufacturing control

Learn more here.

ANALYSIS: New Texas AI Law Seeks to Balance Safety, Innovation

The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA), effective January 1st, establishes a new regulatory model for AI safety by prohibiting the intentional development of AI systems designed to harm individuals. The law represents Texas legislators' attempt to address mounting safety concerns while maintaining an environment that encourages technological advancement. As litigation against AI developers increases, TRAIGA offers a potential blueprint for other states seeking to regulate AI without stifling innovation.

Need to know:

• The Texas Responsible AI Governance Act took effect January 1st, making Texas one of the first states to establish comprehensive AI safety regulations

• The law specifically prohibits the intentional development of AI systems designed to harm individuals while avoiding overly restrictive measures that could discourage innovation

• TRAIGA is being positioned as a potential regulatory model for other states as lawmakers nationwide struggle to balance AI safety concerns with technological advancement

Learn more here.

OpenAI Says Stargate Won't Spike Your Electric Bill

OpenAI's global affairs chief laid out the company's playbook for building massive AI data centers across Texas without passing energy costs to local residents. The pledge comes as Stargate campuses in Abilene, Milam County, and Shackelford County ramp up construction.

Need to know:

• OpenAI signed the White House's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, committing to cover all power and grid upgrade costs so consumers don't foot the bill.

• The Abilene campus alone is projected to create 8,000+ construction jobs and 1,700 long-term positions once fully operational.

• Stargate's Shackelford County site will run on its own power system entirely off the local grid, and all campuses use closed-loop cooling that requires roughly one household's worth of annual water use.

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

SxSW Events for the AI Community

Best AI Events at SXSW 2026 | Founder Guide

Discover AITX's curated guide to the best AI-focused events at SXSW 2026. Find founder meetups, ecosystem houses, and gatherings worth your time.

aitx.beehiiv.com/p/aitx-guide-to-sxsw-2026

UPCOMING EVENTS

Robotics and Edge Inference - TBD

When: Saturday March 28 | 10:00 AM to-5:00 PM CST
Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX
What: We’re hosting the Robotics & Edge Inference Conference in March or April 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device. We’ll go end-to-end—from compilers & runtimes (TensorRT, TVM, ONNX Runtime) and ROS 2/Isaac dataflow, to multi-sensor 3D perception & state estimation, to navigation and diffusion policies for manipulation. We’ll also showcase demos from top robotics companies in Austin.

Rise of AX & Human Center AI - Roger Rohatgi - Chai - AI Factory + IxDA - Speaker Series - Agentic AI UI/UX Consumer Tech Community

When: Wednesday, March 18 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Spaces Downtown Greenstreet, Houston, TX
What: Rise of AX & Human Center AI - Roger Rohatgi - Chai - AI Factory + IxDA - Speaker Series - Agentic AI UI/UX Consumer Tech Community

Law Firms in the Age of AI - Live Music with Mixer

When: Saturday, March 14 | 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM CST

Where: Slingshot Law - Injury Attorneys Austin, Texas

What: ​The focus is on practical adoption, real operational insight, and thoughtful discussion about what scales responsibly in legal technology.

Apify AI + GTM roadshow: Austin

When: Monday, March 16 | 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

What: Join Apify and Overdrive + Leadspicker for a morning of hands-on AI talks and live demos during SXSW week.

​We're bringing together builders, founders, and engineers to explore how AI agents and automation are changing the way businesses operate.

Applied AI Live #3: How To Build Production Grade OpenClaws

When: Thursday, March 26 | 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST

Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

What: Session will cover:

• OpenClaw x Apify: combining computer-use agents with web scraping and automation at scale ​

• How to make money building and selling secure

• OpenClaw agents to business clients ​

• Architecting production infrastructure that enterprises can trust ​The business model: pricing, packaging, and delivering OpenClaw solutions ​

• The latest on the applied AI infrastructure OpenTeams is incubating ​

• Lessons learned from real production deployments

COMMUNITY STORIES

Sherman manufacturer to leverage optical technology for AI

Coherent, a Sherman-based manufacturer of optical technology, has signed a $2 billion multi-year partnership with AI leader Nvidia to advance light-based data exchange. The collaboration will create new high-paying AI jobs in Sherman, Texas, further cementing the region's emergence as the "Silicon Prairie." Mayor Shawn Teamann hailed the announcement as proof that Sherman is at the heart of Texas's advanced technology revolution.

Need to know:

• Coherent and Nvidia announced a $2 billion multi-year partnership focused on optical technology for AI applications

• Coherent manufactures vixel technology that uses light arrays and spectrums to visualize objects, similar to iPhone facial recognition systems

• The partnership will bring new high-paying AI jobs to Sherman, Texas, positioning the city as a hub in the emerging "Silicon Prairie"

Learn more here.

Microsoft in Advanced Talks to Lease Large AI Data Center Site in Texas

Microsoft is in advanced negotiations to lease hundreds of megawatts of data center capacity at an AI campus in Abilene, Texas, according to The Information. This massive expansion would significantly strengthen Texas's position as a major hub for AI computing infrastructure and reflects the tech giant's aggressive push to scale its AI capabilities.

Need to know:

• Microsoft is negotiating to lease hundreds of megawatts of capacity at an AI-focused campus in Abilene, Texas

• The deal would represent a significant expansion of Texas's data center infrastructure and AI computing capabilities

• This move underscores the massive capital investments tech giants are making to support growing AI computational demands

Learn more here.

Arm Is Betting Big on Texas, and Austin Is the Anchor

Arm just announced a $71 million campus expansion in Austin, backed by a $4.1 million grant from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund. The expansion adds a new semiconductor lab with advanced failure-analysis capabilities and is expected to create over 320 high-skilled jobs in the region.

Need to know:

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act in 2023, allocating nearly $700 million statewide for semiconductor R&D, manufacturing, and workforce development. Arm's Austin expansion is a direct product of that strategy.

• Arm is partnering with Texas State Technical College to build hands-on training programs aligned with real semiconductor and AI industry needs, creating a pipeline from classroom to engineering lab.

• The "one Texas" approach means this isn't just an Austin story. Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Abilene all play roles in Arm's broader statewide vision spanning data centers, workforce programs, and research.

Learn more here.

SXSW 2026 runs March 12–18 across Austin, bringing together founders, engineers, investors, and creatives across technology, film, and music.

As most locals know, the week can be… overwhelming. With dozens of events happening every day, it’s easy to spend the week bouncing between rooms without ever finding the conversations that actually matter.

But don’t worry! We pulled together a short list of events we’re particularly excited about.

The guide below highlights AI-focused gatherings, founder meetups, and ecosystem houses where you’re most likely to run into other builders and not just conference traffic.

Our Teams Top Picks

ClawCon Austin presented by Kilo Code — Thursday, March 12th 6:00–9:00 PM

An evening social for the OpenClaw and personal AI community, with demos, Q&A, and unstructured time with builders working on agent tooling and sovereign AI workflows.

www.luma.com/clawconaustin

Texas AI House - Presented by webAI — Friday, March 13th 9:00 AM–5:30 PM

A full-day summit by AITX, Hack AI, and webAI focused on Texas’ role in the AI ecosystem. Sessions cover AI policy, infrastructure, frontier AI startups, and the emerging Texas AI landscape, followed by a networking happy hour with founders, engineers, and investors.

luma.com/texas-ai-house

The Sovereign AI House — Monday, March 16th & Tuesday, March 17th

Join webAI across Austin for keynotes, demos, and curated gatherings at the Sovereign AI House.

www.webai.com/events/sxsw/2026

Apify AI + GTM roadshow: Austin — Monday, March 16th 9:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Join Apify and Overdrive + Leadspicker for a morning of hands-on AI talks and live demos during SXSW week. We're bringing together builders, founders, and engineers to explore how AI agents and automation are changing the way businesses operate.

luma.com/wtrz4mle

Supabase x Dreambase at SXSW — Monday, March 16th 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Supabase and Dreambase are taking over East End Ballroom for a night of drinks, food, and good conversation. No talks. No demos. No one is getting on stage. Just builders hanging out at one of Austin’s secret spots.

luma.com/supasxsw?tk=ejz7sb

Thursday, March 12th

ClawCon Austin presented by Kilo Code — 6:00–9:00 PM

An evening social for the OpenClaw and personal AI community, with demos, Q&A, and unstructured time with builders working on agent tooling and sovereign AI workflows.

luma.com/clawconaustin

Friday, March 13th

Texas AI House - Presented by webAI — 9:00 AM–5:30 PM

A full-day summit by AITX, Hack AI, and webAI focused on Texas’ role in the AI ecosystem. Sessions cover AI policy, infrastructure, frontier AI startups, and the emerging Texas AI landscape, followed by a networking happy hour with founders, engineers, and investors.

luma.com/texas-ai-house

Meta at SXSW - Celebrating Wearable Technology: AI Glasses for Social and Economic Impact — 5:30–8:00 PM

Join us at Meta’s office in Austin, Texas as we share our vision to build the next computing platform with our wearable products — one that puts people at the center, enabling them to be more present, connected, and empowered in the world through our AI glasses and wearable technology.

metaatsxsw2026.splashthat.com

Saturday, March 14th

Cloudflare + Deepgram Party

Let’s be honest: the best parts of SXSW happen in the backyards, not the ballrooms. Cloudflare and Deepgram are taking over the patio at Kitty Cohen's for an…

luma.com/unr114mi?tk=Y7j20Y

Law Firms in the Age of AI - Live Music with Mixer

A legal-tech focused mixer and panel event discussing real AI adoption inside law firms and the next wave of legal AI startups. Includes founder panels, investor discussion, and networking.

luma.com/frko9s3p

RedThreadX House @ SXSW

​Join us at Red ThreadX House @ SXSW for three days of highly curated original content. Our program includes some of the worlds foremost futurists, tech entrepreneurs, thought and society leaders, whose conversations accelerate new technologies and provocative ideas that help us all better inform our personal and businesses decisions.

luma.com/u4q9akh7

Sunday, March 15th

AI Market Foresight: Live Simulation @SXSW

Fireside chat with Prakash Reddy, Director | Head of Data Engineering & AI Enablement at Atlassian. 17 years in data, from petabyte-scale analytics at LinkedIn to building AI-powered products at Atlassian. We'll dig into how enterprise AI actually works from the inside, where the industry is headed and what most people get wrong about data, AI and the feedback loop between them.

luma.com/aisimulation

NachoTuesday: Austin SaaS & AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour

NachoNacho - The B2B SaaS & AI + Services Marketplace, will host this exclusive Austin Founder + Investor happy hour event. This event will include sponsored drinks and appetizers. ​​​​​This networking event will be exclusively for SaaS/AI

luma.com/wddaow8l?tk=2UDSkI

Tech Carnival

Bulletpitch and Antler team up to host a one-of-a-kind Tech Carnival in Austin. Attendees will walk through a carnival with games and immersive experiences with a startup twist. Each booth will be run by an early stage founder who will be incorporating an element of their company into the live experience. There will be food, drinks, and great networking.

luma.com/ohk51ec9

Monday, March 16th

Apify AI + GTM roadshow: Austin

Join Apify and Overdrive + Leadspicker for a morning of hands-on AI talks and live demos during SXSW week. We're bringing together builders, founders, and engineers to explore how AI agents and automation are changing the way businesses operate.

luma.com/wtrz4mle

Who Owns Your AI? Probably Not You. | David Stout Keynote

A valid SXSW badge is required for entry. Most AI today is rented intelligence. Your ideas, workflows, and data are fed into centralized systems that learn from that input—and keep the value. In this keynote, webAI Founder and CEO David Stout explains how this approach is fundamentally flawed. As AI becomes the operating system of modern life, the real question isn’t how powerful the models are. It’s who owns the intelligence they produce.

luma.com/xmlicmts

Miro x Replit Hackathon: Plan it. Build it. Ship it.

Join Miro and Replit for a hands-on, in-person hackathon at the Miro Austin office where you’ll build the right thing, faster. Pitch, build, and compete for standout prizes for our top 3 winners.

luma.com/7cv8plqi

Supabase x Dreambase at SXSW · Luma

Supabase and Dreambase are taking over East End Ballroom for a night of drinks, food, and good conversation. No talks. No demos. No one is getting on stage. Just builders hanging out at one of Austin’s secret spots.

luma.com/supasxsw?tk=ejz7sb

Tuesday, March 17th

AI Ethics Social Club by Maiven Collective and Google · Luma

Meet other women who care about how AI is reshaping our world. This isn't a lecture or awkward networking. The evening is highly curated and facilitated, so you can skip the forced small talk and dive straight into the good stuff. We'll guide the flow and make it easy to jump in, whether you want to share hot takes or just listen.

luma.com/qmzwhj5v

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

SxSW Events for the AI Community

🏠️ Texas AI House presented by webAI

The Texas AI House is here.

AITX Community and Hack AI are teaming up for a full-day summit during SXSW exploring Texas's role in the AI revolution.

Why it matters: The Texas AI House is bringing together the entrepreneurs, engineers, and operators actually building AI in Texas for real conversations about where this industry is headed. Expect technical insights from major tech companies, honest dialogue from founders who chose to build here, and a ground-level view of AI development from the people doing the work.

The lineup wraps with dedicated networking time to connect with speakers, founders, and community members shaping the Texas AI ecosystem firsthand.

Sponsored by Antler and webAI, two companies putting serious investment behind Texas-based AI talent.

🤖 Agents & Automation with Apify and Overdrive

Agents and automation, live and in person.

Apify and Overdrive are hosting a morning of hands-on talks and live demos during SXSW week, diving into how AI agents and automation are changing the way businesses actually operate.

What you'll see: Overdrive walks through real automation case studies from the VC and startup world, covering dealflow pipelines, portfolio ops, and workflow automation running in production today. Apify demos how AI agents can scrape, extract, and automate across the web using composable tools, including a live look at giving agents web scraping superpowers through OpenClaw skills and Apify's actor ecosystem.

Who should be there: Founders, engineering leaders, VCs, solo builders, and anyone shipping AI-powered products or automations. Writing code or vibe coding your way through it, either way, this is your room.

👓️ Meta SxSW Reception: Celebrating Wearable Technology

Meta is hosting a SXSW side event, Celebrating Wearable Technology: AI Glasses for Social and Economic Impact on Thursday, March 12 (5:30–8:00 p.m.).

The evening will feature opening remarks from Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a cross-sector panel on how AI glasses can drive accessibility, workforce development, and education, plus live demos and developer showcases highlighting Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses, Oakley Meta AI Performance Glasses, Meta Ray-Ban Display, Meta Neural Band, and the Wearables Device Access Toolkit.

☀️ How To Apply AI To Solve Valuable Business Problems

Real AI. Real business problems. No slides.

Applied AI Society and OpenTeams are hosting a practitioner panel at SXSW on how to actually apply AI to solve valuable business problems.

Why it matters: Most organizations know AI matters but have no idea how to implement it. This panel brings together practitioners who each took a different path to the same conclusion: if you understand the business problem deeply enough, you can apply AI to solve it today. A platform evangelist, a consultant, and a founder who built his own replacement for the legacy software his industry depends on.

The format: No slides, no keynotes. One hour of concrete stories, moderated conversation, and audience Q&A in a room of 40 people at The LINE Hotel. Small enough for real dialogue.

When: Sunday, March 15 at 11am, part of the RedThreadX House activation at SXSW.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Robotics and Edge Inference - TBD

When: Saturday March 28 | 10:00 AM to-5:00 PM CST
Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX
What: We’re hosting the Robotics & Edge Inference Conference in March or April 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device. We’ll go end-to-end—from compilers & runtimes (TensorRT, TVM, ONNX Runtime) and ROS 2/Isaac dataflow, to multi-sensor 3D perception & state estimation, to navigation and diffusion policies for manipulation. We’ll also showcase demos from top robotics companies in Austin.

Open Lakehouse and AI

When: Tuesday, March 10 | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST
Where: Q-Branch
What: As real-time databases integrate more closely with data lakes to reduce storage costs and unlock data for AI and advanced analytics, data infrastructure is evolving fast. Join us to hear from leading experts as they share practical solutions and lessons learned in building open, scalable, and high-performance data platforms.

Texas Futures Summit

When: Thursday, March 12 | 1:30 PM - 9:00 PM CST
Where: Register to see address
What: Set against the backdrop of Austin’s rapidly evolving innovation landscape, the Summit brings together investors, founders, policymakers, technologists, and cultural leaders exploring how technology, capital, and creativity are reshaping and transforming the world in our home state of Texas and beyond.

Austin x SheBuilds on Lovable for International Women's Day

When: Sunday, Marc 8 | 10:00 AM CST - 1:00 PM CST
Where: Register to see address
What: ​Most Sundays, ideas stay ideas. Let's change that. International Women's Day this year is a building. We're hosting a local Austin event as part of Lovable's SheBuilds with support from Anthropic and Stripe. Show up with an idea, any idea, and by noon you'll have a real, working app to show for it. Never coded in your life? Perfect. That's kind of the whole point

Physical AI Builders Showcase: Robots, Agents, Superhuman, and Manufacturing

When: Thursday, March 12 | 2:00 PM - 6:30 PM CST
Where: Register to see address
What: ​​As the high-visibility capstone to our spring 2026 Physical AI series — following the Inaugural Physical AI Meetup in Austin (Feb 19) and the Dallas Physical AI Forum (March 5) — the SXSW Physical AI Showcase delivers an elevated, must-attend platform amid the global spotlight

COMMUNITY STORIES

What this Texas Republican primary revealed about the politics of AI data centers

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller made AI data centers a central campaign issue, warning that server farms are consuming valuable farmland and depleting rural water supplies. Despite his concerns resonating with traditional Texas values, Republican primary voters ultimately rejected his message, handing the nomination to businessman Nate Sheets, who was backed by Gov. Greg Abbott. The result signals that even in agriculture-focused Texas, the economic momentum behind AI infrastructure may outweigh concerns about farmland preservation.

Need to know:

• Incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller lost the Republican primary to first-time candidate Nate Sheets, who was backed by Gov. Greg Abbott

• Miller's campaign centered on warnings that AI data centers are consuming farmland and draining rural water supplies in Texas

• The primary outcome suggests economic and political momentum behind AI infrastructure may be stronger than traditional agricultural preservation appeals, even in Texas

Learn more here.

XTGlobal Wins USD 796,900 AI Engineering Order from Texas Transportation Agency

XTGlobal Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of XTGlobal Infotech Ltd., has landed a significant $796,900 contract with the Texas Department of Transportation to deliver AI-enabled engineering services. The six-month program, launching March 16 and running through September 30, 2026, includes milestone-based deliverables and the potential for a six-month extension, showcasing the growing adoption of artificial intelligence in critical state infrastructure projects.

Need to know:

• Contract value: $796,900 (approximately INR 7.2 crore) with payment tied to milestone-based deliverables

• Timeline: Six-month program from March 16 to September 30, 2026, with potential for an additional six-month extension pending separate approval

• Scope: Development and implementation of AI-enabled engineering services for one of the largest state transportation agencies in the United States

Learn more here.

Texas Tech history professor on role of AI, importance of humanities

Texas Tech history professor Paul Bjerk shares his journey from waging a "lonely little war" against AI chatbots in his classroom three years ago to developing a more balanced perspective on artificial intelligence in education. While acknowledging concerns raised by AI pioneers like Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton about potential risks, Bjerk argues that AI tools can serve society positively when deployed among populations educated in critical thinking and humane values through the humanities.

Need to know:

• Professor Bjerk first noticed AI's impact on education three years ago when students began submitting coherent but irrelevant answers on college exams, prompting him to develop various countermeasures

• Google recently released its latest AI model free to college students, and AI writing assistants are now being integrated into every writing tool students use

• The professor emphasizes that AI's usefulness depends on society prioritizing humanities education to develop critical thinkers with humane values, rather than focusing solely on technological advancement

Learn more here.

Texas Tech history professor on role of AI, importance of humanities 

Texas Tech history professor Paul Bjerk has shifted from fighting AI chatbots in his classroom to embracing a more balanced perspective on their role in education. His journey began three years ago when he first detected AI-generated answers on college exams, sparking what he called his "lonely little war" with the technology. Bjerk now argues that AI can be a valuable tool-but only in a society that cultivates critical thinking and humane values through strong humanities education.

Need to know:

• Professor Paul Bjerk's initial detection of AI-generated exam answers three years ago marked the beginning of his evolving perspective on artificial intelligence in education

• Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton has warned about potential "doom scenarios" regarding AI's growing power and independence, concerns that resonate even with educators adapting to the technology

• Bjerk emphasizes that AI tools are only beneficial when deployed in societies that prioritize critical thinking and humane values-qualities cultivated through humanities education

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

SxSW Events for the AI Community

🏠️ Texas AI House presented by webAI

The Texas AI House is here.

AITX Community and Hack AI are teaming up for a full-day summit during SXSW exploring Texas's role in the AI revolution.

Why it matters: The Texas AI House is bringing together the entrepreneurs, engineers, and operators actually building AI in Texas for real conversations about where this industry is headed. Expect technical insights from major tech companies, honest dialogue from founders who chose to build here, and a ground-level view of AI development from the people doing the work.

The lineup wraps with dedicated networking time to connect with speakers, founders, and community members shaping the Texas AI ecosystem firsthand.

Sponsored by Antler and webAI, two companies putting serious investment behind Texas-based AI talent.

🤖 Agents & Automation with Apify and Overdrive

Agents and automation, live and in person.

Apify and Overdrive are hosting a morning of hands-on talks and live demos during SXSW week, diving into how AI agents and automation are changing the way businesses actually operate.

What you'll see: Overdrive AI walks through real automation case studies from the VC and startup world, covering dealflow pipelines, portfolio ops, and workflow automation running in production today. Apify demos how AI agents can scrape, extract, and automate across the web using composable tools, including a live look at giving agents web scraping superpowers through OpenClaw skills and Apify's actor ecosystem.

Who should be there: Founders, engineering leaders, VCs, solo builders, and anyone shipping AI-powered products or automations. Writing code or vibe coding your way through it, either way, this is your room.

👓️ Meta SxSW Reception: Celebrating Wearable Technology

Meta is hosting a SXSW side event, Celebrating Wearable Technology: AI Glasses for Social and Economic Impact on Thursday, March 12 (5:30–8:00 p.m.).

The evening will feature opening remarks from Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a cross-sector panel on how AI glasses can drive accessibility, workforce development, and education, plus live demos and developer showcases highlighting Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses, Oakley Meta AI Performance Glasses, Meta Ray-Ban Display, Meta Neural Band, and the Wearables Device Access Toolkit.

☀️ How To Apply AI To Solve Valuable Business Problems

Real AI. Real business problems. No slides.

Applied AI Society and OpenTeams are hosting a practitioner panel at SXSW on how to actually apply AI to solve valuable business problems.

Why it matters: Most organizations know AI matters but have no idea how to implement it. This panel brings together practitioners who each took a different path to the same conclusion: if you understand the business problem deeply enough, you can apply AI to solve it today. A platform evangelist, a consultant, and a founder who built his own replacement for the legacy software his industry depends on.

The format: No slides, no keynotes. One hour of concrete stories, moderated conversation, and audience Q&A in a room of 40 people at The LINE Hotel. Small enough for real dialogue.

When: Sunday, March 15 at 11am, part of the RedThreadX House activation at SXSW.

Cafe Cursor

Cursor is coming to Austin on Saturday, March 7th from 10am-4pm. Join us for Cafe Cursor: a chance to cowork, grab coffee, credits, and merch on us, and hear from Cursor engineers who will be flying in throughout the day. Attendance is limited, for more info & RSVP see here: https://luma.com/hs7mlfz5

UPCOMING EVENTS

Robotics and Edge Inference - TBD

When: Saturday March 28 | 10:00 AM to-5:00 PM CST
Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX
What: We’re hosting the Robotics & Edge Inference Conference in March or April 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device. We’ll go end-to-end—from compilers & runtimes (TensorRT, TVM, ONNX Runtime) and ROS 2/Isaac dataflow, to multi-sensor 3D perception & state estimation, to navigation and diffusion policies for manipulation. We’ll also showcase demos from top robotics companies in Austin.

Open Lakehouse and AI

When: Tuesday, March 10 | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST
Where: Q-Branch
What: As real-time databases integrate more closely with data lakes to reduce storage costs and unlock data for AI and advanced analytics, data infrastructure is evolving fast. Join us to hear from leading experts as they share practical solutions and lessons learned in building open, scalable, and high-performance data platforms.

Texas Futures Summit

When: Thursday, March 12 | 1:30 PM - 9:00 PM CST
Where: Register to see address
What: Set against the backdrop of Austin’s rapidly evolving innovation landscape, the Summit brings together investors, founders, policymakers, technologists, and cultural leaders exploring how technology, capital, and creativity are reshaping and transforming the world in our home state of Texas and beyond.

AI Meetup (March) for GenAI LLMs and Agents

When: Wednesday, March 4 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST
Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX
What: Check the event website for speakers and topics.

Dallas Physical AI Form: Robots, AI Agents, Superhuman, and Manufacturing

When: Thursday, March 5 | 3:30 PM - 6:30 PM CST
Where: UT Dallas 800 W Campbell Rd · Richardson, TX
What: Join us for the official kickoff of embodied AI in Texas — a high-voltage gathering inside the iconic Davidson Auditorium at UT Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management. We’re rolling out the red carpet for advisory committee members, powerhouse partners, visionary founders, elite investors, and the boldest builders shaping the future with physical AI, autonomous robots, intelligent agents, cobots, humanoids, and superhuman manufacturing systems.

COMMUNITY STORIES

A $3 Trillion AI boom is set to make Texas the largest data center market on Earth

Texas is projected to become the world's largest data center market, driven by a massive $3 trillion AI infrastructure boom. According to Jones Lang LaSalle's 2026 outlook, global data center capacity will nearly double over the next decade to accommodate surging AI workloads, with Texas capturing a significant share of new construction projects by 2030.

Need to know:

• Jones Lang LaSalle projects approximately $3 trillion will flow into the global data center sector, with Texas positioned to become the world's leading hub by 2030

• Global data center capacity is expected to nearly double over the next decade to meet surging AI workload demands

• Texas is capturing a significant portion of new data center construction projects, cementing its dominance in the rapidly expanding market

Learn more here.

XTGlobal Wins USD 796,900 AI Engineering Order from Texas Transportation Agency

XTGlobal Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of XTGlobal Infotech Ltd., has landed a significant $796,900 contract with the Texas Department of Transportation to deliver AI-enabled engineering services. The six-month program, launching March 16 and running through September 30, 2026, includes milestone-based deliverables and the potential for a six-month extension, showcasing the growing adoption of artificial intelligence in critical state infrastructure projects.

Need to know:

• Contract value: $796,900 (approximately INR 7.2 crore) with payment tied to milestone-based deliverables

• Timeline: Six-month program from March 16 to September 30, 2026, with potential for an additional six-month extension pending separate approval

• Scope: Development and implementation of AI-enabled engineering services for one of the largest state transportation agencies in the United States

Learn more here.

Texas 10-year-old develops AI glasses to assist visually impaired children

Lucas Tudor, a 10-year-old student at Harmony Science Academy in Leander, Texas, has created AI-powered glasses specifically designed to help visually impaired children navigate their world. The young innovator developed the assistive technology after recognizing the need for accessible solutions for children with visual impairments. This remarkable project demonstrates how the next generation is already leveraging artificial intelligence to address critical accessibility challenges.

Need to know:

• Lucas Tudor is only 10 years old and attends Harmony Science Academy in Leander, Texas

• The AI-powered glasses are specifically designed to assist visually impaired children with navigation and daily activities

• Tudor was motivated to create the glasses after recognizing the need for better perspective and accessibility tools for children with visual impairments

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Moltathon ATX — Winners Recap

The Moltathon was one for the books. Builders from across the community came out to hack on OpenClaw, and the energy in the room was unmatched. We love this community and every single person who showed up to build thank you!

🏆 Track Winners

Skillsmaxxing → Loredan

Builder: Colin Plamondon — LinkedIn

Loredan is a trust network where you friend the people you trust, making your AI friends. They can then exchange Letters — about their configuration, what they've learned, problems they hit, and the articles they enjoyed. Every letter requires both humans to approve it before it moves. Your agent learns from more than just you, without ever leaving your control.

Best Deployment Tool → Cora

Builder: Jake — LinkedIn

Cora is a Health Assistant built on OpenClaw.

Automate Your Life → Claweyes

Builder: Ion Petropoulos — LinkedIn

The iOS app that allows your OpenClaw to see the world. Claweyes streams live iPhone camera frames and bidirectional PCM audio to Gemini's Live API over WebSocket, while routing tool calls back to an OpenClaw gateway running on a Mac over the local network.

SalesMolty Track w/ Linkt AI → PipelineLobster

Builder: Alexander Gouyet

Automate Lead Signals → Proposals in less than 30 seconds.

⚡ Side Quest Winners

Platform / Product Molts → Stackpad Agents

Builders: Sam Padilla — LinkedIn & Jazmine Adamson — LinkedIn

The Homepage for AI Agents. Like a Linktree for AI agents but way cooler. Stackpad Agents gives every AI agent a verified homepage and machine-readable identity. Human-readable page for showcasing personality, skills, and work plus a machine-readable JSON endpoint so other AI agents can understand who you are.

Best Skill → Loredan

Builder: Colin Plamondon — LinkedIn

A trust network for AI agents to learn from each other and self-improve through the people we already trust.

Best Rig → Pokémon Ball

Builder: Josh Adler

Built a Pokémon ball that runs OpenClaw and changes colors depending on whether it's thinking or waiting. Fully 3D printed and hand-painted.

Make Me Laugh → DEY - Double Egg Yolks

Builder: Will Dahl — LinkedIn

Used OpenClaw's multi-agent architecture (Director/Producer, Writer, Visual Storyboard Creator) to create an AI music video parody called "Double Egg Yolks." Inspired by the Double Rainbow meme, Will built agent roles with custom souls, personalities, and objectives that collaborated to produce a storyboard and video prompts for a way more coherent output than single-threaded AI video generation.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Applied AI Live #2: Agentic GTM Masterclass and OpenClaw Guardrails Mastermind

When: Thursday, February 26 | 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Grain and Berry - Downtown Austin, Austin, TX
What: Applied AI Live #2: Agentic GTM Masterclass and OpenClaw Guardrails Mastermind

Founders and Funders Fusion

When: Wednesday, February 25 | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM CST
Where: 4200 San Jacinto St, Houston, TX
What: Founders and Funders Fusion

Gardens, Not Platforms - Factory HTX + IxDA - Speaker Series - Agentic AI UI/UX Consumer Tech Community

When: Thursday, February 26 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Spaces Downtown Greenstreet, Houston, TX
What: Gardens, Not Platforms - Factory HTX + IxDA - Speaker Series - Agentic AI UI/UX Consumer Tech Community

Houston Innovation Commons: February Session

When: Thursday, February 26 | 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM CST
Where: Improving, Houston, TX
What: Houston Innovation Commons: February Session

The Data Portability Hackathon: Building Human-Centered AI

When: Wednesday, February 25 | 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM CST
Where: Austin, TX
What: The Data Portability Hackathon: Building Human-Centered AI

COMMUNITY STORIES

Meta Adds to AI PAC Spending With Campaigns in Texas and Illinois

Meta Platforms is significantly increasing its political action committee spending to oppose proposed AI regulations in Texas and Illinois. The tech giant's expanded lobbying campaign reflects the broader tech industry's efforts to shape AI policy at the state level as midterm elections approach and regulatory scrutiny intensifies.

Need to know:

• Meta is targeting state-level AI regulations in Texas and Illinois through increased PAC spending ahead of midterm elections

• The move is part of a broader tech industry trend of ramping up political contributions to influence AI policy development

• State-level regulatory scrutiny of AI technologies is intensifying, prompting defensive lobbying efforts from major tech platforms

Learn more here.

Riot stock jumps roughly 7% as Starboard pushes $1.6 billion AI data center shift

Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms saw its stock surge nearly 7% following activist investor Starboard Value's push for a strategic pivot toward AI data center operations. Starboard believes Riot's massive 1.7 GW power capacity at its Texas facilities could unlock over $1.6 billion in annual EBITDA by capitalizing on the explosive demand for AI infrastructure.

Need to know:

• Riot Platforms controls 1.7 gigawatts of power capacity at its Texas facilities, which Starboard sees as ideal for premium AI data center hosting

• The activist investor estimates the AI pivot could generate more than $1.6 billion in annual EBITDA, representing significantly higher margins than bitcoin mining

• Riot's stock jumped nearly 7% on the news, reflecting investor enthusiasm for the company's potential transition from crypto mining to AI infrastructure

Learn more here.

Texas Pacific Land faces earnings test amid energy pivot to AI

Texas Pacific Land Corp. is set to release Q4 2025 earnings Wednesday, with investors closely watching whether its strategic shift into data center infrastructure can offset declining oil and gas royalty revenues. While analysts project a 15% revenue increase to $214 million, earnings per share are expected to plummet 65% sequentially to $1.83, down from $5.27 in the previous quarter. The stark earnings decline reflects challenges in the Permian Basin as WTI crude prices dropped to around $60 per barrel, down $15 from year-ago levels.

Need to know:

• Expected Q4 earnings of $1.83 per share represent a dramatic 65% sequential decline from $5.27, despite revenue projected to increase 15% year-over-year to $214 million

• WTI crude prices averaged around $60 per barrel in early February 2026, down approximately $15 from $73.67 a year earlier, pressuring the company's core oil and gas royalty business

• Wall Street remains divided with a neutral consensus rating and mean price target of $280.83, suggesting 34% downside despite the stock surging 44% year-to-date

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

UPCOMING EVENTS

🦀 Moltathon ATX

• When: Friday, Feb 13 - Feb 14

• Where: Antler VC 800 Brazos St #340, Austin

• What: AITX Community, Hack AI, Organized AI and Applied AI Society are co-hosting We're bringing together builders from across Austin's AI ecosystem to learn and build with Openclaw AI.

  The event kicks off with a training session to get everyone up to speed on OpenClaw, followed by the main build session where teams will create projects using the platform.

🖥️ Hack AI

• When: Thursday, February 5, 2026 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Capital Factory, Austin, Texas

• What: Hack AI is a monthly meetup for technical and non-technical builders to learn about and build the latest AI technology. The evening includes demos from Agentuity and Linkt, followed by collaborative hacking and networking with free food and drinks.

🤖 Robotics and Edge Inference

• When: Saturday February 21, 2026 | 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: 111 Congress Ave., Austin, Texas

• What: A technical conference covering robotics and on-device AI inference, from compilers and runtimes to 3D perception, navigation, and manipulation policies. Features deeply technical talks, live demos from Austin robotics companies, and open Q&A sessions.

🧑‍⚖️ AI Meetup - AI Governance for Developers

• When: Monday, February 24, 2026 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

• Where: Coder Austin, Texas

• What: A special edition AI Meetup focused on practical AI governance and compliance for developers, featuring insights on implementing guardrails that protect code and credentials while maintaining development speed. The session includes a tech talk by Dave Ahr from Coder on building secure, developer-friendly AI workflows without slowing innovation.

☀️ Gary Sheng - Applied AI - Helping businesses integrate AI

• When: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

• Where: Capital Factory, Austin, Texas

• What: Gary Sheng presents on Applied AI and helping businesses integrate AI solutions. The event includes a speaker presentation, Q&A session, and networking opportunities for AI entrepreneurs, developers, and tech professionals.​​

COMMUNITY STORIES

AI, cameras and drones: Texas DPS' 5-year enforcement plan rooted in surveillance

Texas DPS released a five-year homeland security plan for 2026 to 2030 that heavily emphasizes AI, surveillance technology, and predictive policing. The strategy includes expanding drones, flock cameras, threat assessment teams, and preemptive law enforcement tactics across the state. Texans can expect increased monitoring, faster interventions, and more requests to report suspicious activity.

Need-to-know:

• The plan covers homeland security operations from 2026 to 2030 and was released Tuesday by Texas DPS

• The strategy involves using AI to react to crimes as fast as possible, in some cases before they even happen

• The plan revolves around six goals including preventing terrorist attacks, reducing vulnerability to threats, minimizing impact through proactive mitigation, and ensuring rapid community recovery

Learn more here.

East Texas Job Seekers: Officials Are Warning About AI Scams

Scammers are targeting job seekers in Texas with increasingly sophisticated schemes enhanced by AI technology. As of October 2025, Texas ranks number 8 on the list of states most at risk of job scams. Officials warn that AI is making these employment scams harder to detect and more dangerous for job seekers.

Need-to-know:

• Texas ranks number 8 among states most at risk of job scams as of October 2025

• A Houston man named Hal Allen nearly fell victim to an elaborate LinkedIn scam earlier this year but spotted red flags in time

• Red flags include job offers without interviews, pressure to send money or deposit checks, and opportunities that seem too good to be true

Learn more here.

Accelerating nuclear engineering research with AI

Texas A&M University doctoral student Zavier Ndum Ndum is developing AI tools that combine knowledge gathering and simulations for nuclear engineering research. His framework, RADIANT-LLM, rapidly pulls information from technical databases and PDFs while filtering outdated documents. Unlike public chatbots, these lightweight tools run locally on computers to protect proprietary nuclear facility data.

Need-to-know:

• RADIANT-LLM uses LLM augmentation strategy, which goes beyond simply asking a chatbot questions

• The frameworks are lightweight enough to run on a local computer rather than requiring cloud services

• The tool can automatically sort through outdated documents to use the most updated versions

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

UPCOMING EVENTS

🖥️ Hack AI

• When: Thursday, February 5, 2026 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Capital Factory, Austin, Texas

• What: Hack AI is a monthly session for builders in the Austin area to learn about and build the latest AI technology. The evening features talks and demos from AI companies, followed by hands-on collaboration time with free food and drinks.

🦀 Claude Code - Building Frameworks with Jordaaan Hill of Organized AI

• When: Wednesday, Feb 4 · 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM CST

• Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

• What: Jordaaan Hill will cover how he approaches building projects in Claude Code. Jordaaan has had a storied career as an Energy Trader, Oilfield consultant, Data Engineer, and AI Native PM, and hopes to solve the disheartening job search and ghost job epidemic by matching hackathon builders with employers who want to hire AI talent with proven projects.

🦜 AIMUG Monthly Mixer & Showcase

• When: Wednesday, February 4, 2026 | 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM CST

• Where: ACC Rio Grande Campus, Austin, Texas

• What: Monthly mixer and showcase for the Austin LangChain and AI Middleware Users Group featuring thunderstorm talks on agentic software development, multi-agent architectures, and LangChain/LangGraph workflows. The evening includes practical demos, networking, and an after-party at The Tavern.

​​Intro to AI-Assisted Development

• When: Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | 6:30 PM CST

• Where: Flo Recruit, Austin, Texas

• What: A practical session for developers new to AI-assisted development, covering essential tools, vocabulary, and prompt-writing techniques. Sponsored by Netlify and Flo Recruit, no prior AI experience required.

🤖 Robotics and Edge Inference

• When: Saturday, February 21 | 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX

• What: We’re hosting the Robotics & Edge Inference Conference in February 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device. We’ll go end-to-end—from compilers & runtimes (TensorRT, TVM, ONNX Runtime) and ROS 2/Isaac dataflow, to multi-sensor 3D perception & state estimation, to navigation and diffusion policies for manipulation. We’ll also showcase demos from top robotics companies in Austin.

COMMUNITY STORIES

US Education Secretary Visits AI-Powered Alpha Schools in Texas | Ukraine news

Education Secretary Linda McMahon visited Alpha's Austin campus to observe students learning through AI tutors for two hours daily, with no traditional teachers, textbooks, or homework—just adaptive software and human guides.

Need-to-know:

• Alpha students spend two hours on AI-based learning in math, science, social studies, and language, with the rest of the day on skills like financial literacy and problem-solving

• The Austin-founded school network has faced pushback from parents and state education departments over lack of proven methodology, with Alpha's charter applications rejected in multiple states due to concerns about teacher-less classrooms

• While Alpha claims students "learn twice as fast" compared to national averages, critics including Stanford researchers warn the model lacks independent verification and raises questions about whether AI can adequately support socialization and critical thinking development

Learn more here.

TeraWulf Texas HPC Pivot Recasts Bitcoin Miner As AI Infrastructure Play

TeraWulf is shifting its Texas operations from Bitcoin mining to high-performance computing (HPC) for AI applications, repositioning itself as an AI infrastructure company. The strategic pivot reflects the growing demand for data center capacity to support artificial intelligence workloads and potentially higher profit margins compared to cryptocurrency mining.

Need-to-know:

• The company secured financing for a 168 MW liquid-cooled facility in Texas specifically designed for AI and high-performance computing

• TeraWulf has shifted from volatile bitcoin revenues to contracted, long-term HPC hosting deals tied to global AI platforms

• The stock jumped 219.5% over the past year as investors bet on AI infrastructure over crypto mining, though analysts flag capital intensity and less than one year of cash runway as key risks

Learn more here.

CleanSpark Plans 600 MW AI Data Center in Texas, Pivoting Beyond Bitcoin Mining

CleanSpark secured a deal to acquire 447 acres in Brazoria County, Texas, with plans to build a data center starting at 300 MW and potentially scaling to 600 MW for AI and high-performance computing workloads.

• The deal marks CleanSpark's shift from pure bitcoin mining to a broader power and data infrastructure play, targeting AI and HPC customers in ERCOT's greater Houston region

• Fair value estimates from analysts range wildly from $5 to $30 per share, reflecting deep uncertainty about whether CleanSpark can successfully fill 600 MW of capacity with paying AI customers

• The company faces significant execution risks around multi-year capital expenditures, ERCOT power build-out timelines, and customer acquisition, all while managing share price volatility and recent insider selling activity

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

UPCOMING EVENTS

⚒️ Applied AI Live

• When: Thursday, January 29 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

• Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

• What: This is the first installment of a workshop series for people who want to make money by practically applying AI to real-world business problems in valuable industries.

🦀 Claude Code - Building Frameworks with Jordaaan Hill of Organized AI

• When: Wednesday, Feb 4 · 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM CST

• Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX

• What: Jordaaan Hill will cover how he approaches building projects in Claude Code. Jordaaan has had a storied career as an Energy Trader, Oilfield consultant, Data Engineer, and AI Native PM, and hopes to solve the disheartening job search and ghost job epidemic by matching hackathon builders with employers who want to hire AI talent with proven projects.

⛱️ Data Day Texas + AI

• When: Saturday, January 24 | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST

• Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center

  1900 University Avenue · Austin, TX

• What: Launched in 2011, and quite possibly the longest running big data conference in the world, Data Day Texas returns in January with an international list of marquee presenters

📦️ Data Day Texas + AI

• When: Saturday, January 24 | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST

• Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center 1900 University Avenue · Austin, TX

• What: Launched in 2011, and quite possibly the longest running big data conference in the world, Data Day Texas returns in January with an international list of marquee presenters.​​

🤖 Robotics and Edge Inference

• When: Saturday, February 21 | 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX

• What: We’re hosting the Robotics & Edge Inference Conference in February 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device. We’ll go end-to-end—from compilers & runtimes (TensorRT, TVM, ONNX Runtime) and ROS 2/Isaac dataflow, to multi-sensor 3D perception & state estimation, to navigation and diffusion policies for manipulation. We’ll also showcase demos from top robotics companies in Austin.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Samsung's Texas Fab Reportedly Attracting Major Customer Interest as AI Boom Continues

Samsung's Taylor, Texas semiconductor facility is drawing significant interest from major customers seeking advanced chip manufacturing capacity. The increased attention comes as demand for AI chips continues to surge across the industry. Samsung is positioning its Texas operations to capitalize on the growing need for cutting-edge semiconductor production.

Need-to-know:

• Samsung's Texas fab is attracting major customer interest amid the AI chip boom

• The facility is located in Taylor, Texas

• Customers are seeking advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity for AI applications

Learn more here.

East Texas Congressman Co-Sponsors Bill Requiring AI Transparency for Copyright Holders

U.S. Representative Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) has introduced bipartisan legislation that would give copyright holders the right to know if their work was used to train AI models.

Need-to-know:

• The bill would allow copyright owners to request administrative subpoenas to obtain information about AI training practices when they suspect unauthorized use

• Currently, few AI companies voluntarily disclose their training data, and existing law does not require them to do so

• The legislation has support from major creative industry organizations, including the Recording Industry Association of America, SAG-AFTRA, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International

• The bill creates a transparency mechanism without changing existing copyright law or imposing new federal mandates

• Co-sponsored by Representative Madeleine Dean (PA-04), the legislation aims to level the playing field for creators and small businesses

Learn more here.

Soluna and Metrobloks partner on renewable-powered AI data center in Texas

Soluna Computing and Metrobloks have announced a partnership to develop a renewable energy-powered AI data center in Texas. The facility will leverage excess renewable energy to power high-performance computing operations. This collaboration aims to address both the growing demand for AI infrastructure and sustainable energy usage.

Need-to-know:

• Soluna Computing specializes in converting curtailed renewable energy into computing power

• Metrobloks will provide the AI infrastructure and data center expertise for the project

• The data center will help stabilize Texas energy grids by utilizing excess renewable power that would otherwise go to waste

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

UPCOMING EVENTS

⚒️ Applied AI Live

• When: Thursday, January 29 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

• Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

• What: This is the first installment of a workshop series for people who want to make money by practically applying AI to real-world business problems in valuable industries.

📕 Is Your Kid Really @ Grade Level? Free Math Assessment Day

• When: Monday, January 19 | 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM CST

• Where: Dave & Buster's Austin Austin, Texas

• What: 58% of Texas students are not at grade level in math.

  ​That's not a typo. According to the latest STAAR data, more than half of Texas kids are behind - and most parents have no idea.

  ​Why? Because "passing" a class doesn't mean "on grade level." Schools don't always tell you the difference.

  ​Assessment Day answers one question: Is your child actually on track?

⛱️ Data Day Texas + AI

• When: Saturday, January 24 | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST

• Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center

  1900 University Avenue · Austin, TX

• What: Launched in 2011, and quite possibly the longest running big data conference in the world, Data Day Texas returns in January with an international list of marquee presenters

📦️ Data Day Texas + AI

• When: Saturday, January 24 | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST

• Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center 1900 University Avenue · Austin, TX

• What: Launched in 2011, and quite possibly the longest running big data conference in the world, Data Day Texas returns in January with an international list of marquee presenters.​​

🤖 Robotics and Edge Inference

• When: Saturday, February 21 | 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX

• What: We’re hosting the Robotics & Edge Inference Conference in February 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device. We’ll go end-to-end—from compilers & runtimes (TensorRT, TVM, ONNX Runtime) and ROS 2/Isaac dataflow, to multi-sensor 3D perception & state estimation, to navigation and diffusion policies for manipulation. We’ll also showcase demos from top robotics companies in Austin.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Texas Taps AI Expert to Lead State Tech Operations

Tony Sauerhoff, Texas' first chief AI and innovation officer, just stepped into the interim CIO role at the Department of Information Resources after Amanda Crawford moved to head the Insurance Department. With 30+ years in IT and cybersecurity across government and private sectors, Sauerhoff's now steering the ship during a leadership transition.

Need-to-know:

• Sauerhoff brings deep cybersecurity roots (U.S. Courts, Marine Corps Reserve) and just spent a year as state CISO before his AI appointment in October

• He's been leading statewide AI adoption efforts and currently chairs GovRAMP, the nonprofit setting cloud security standards for government

• The board will search for a permanent executive director while both Crawford and deputy director Steve Pier start new state positions in early February

Learn more here.

Galaxy Digital Expands AI Data Center in West Texas, Stock Pops 4%

Galaxy Digital just locked in approval to add 830 megawatts of power capacity at its Helios data center campus in West Texas, more than doubling the site's total approved load to 1.6+ gigawatts. Texas grid operator ERCOT signed off after a required interconnection study, and construction on the first phase is already underway with CoreWeave.

Need-to-know:

• ERCOT approval unlocks 830 megawatts of new capacity at Galaxy's West Texas facility, with power delivery expected to begin in early 2026

• Galaxy signed a service agreement with AEP Texas and CoreWeave to build out AI and high-performance computing workloads, positioning itself as a key infrastructure play

• CEO Mike Novogratz flagged that power demand for AI compute in Texas is "unprecedented," and the company is now scouting additional land and power options across Texas and beyond

Learn more here.

Soluna and Metrobloks Team Up on 100+ MW AI Data Center in South Texas

Soluna Holdings and Metrobloks signed a partnership to co-develop Project Kati 2, a 100+ megawatt AI and high-performance computing data center in Willacy County near McAllen. The renewable-powered campus breaks ground in September 2025 and can expand to 300+ MW total capacity, offering customers what they desperately need: available power and fast deployment.

Need-to-know:

• Project Kati 2 will be powered by wind from Las Majadas wind farm, with Metrobloks leading design, leasing, and operations while Soluna contributes site control, power entitlements, and infrastructure expertise

• The initial 100+ MW phase is designed for high-density GPU workloads with a clear roadmap to expand beyond 300 MW, addressing the acute shortage of power-constrained AI deployment locations

• A potential neocloud tenant is already under letter of intent, signaling strong demand for the facility before it's even operational

Learn more here.

Hello everyone! AITX Team here with more updates this week.

If you’re new here, welcome! 👋 At AITX, we aim to:

• Connect you with like-minded peers passionate about AI.

• Provide a space for sharing ideas and receiving feedback on AI projects you’re building.

• Share helpful tools and invaluable resources.

Be sure to follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Instagram.

UPCOMING EVENTS

⚒️ Applied AI Live

• When: Thursday, January 29 | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST

• Where: Antler VC Austin, Texas

• What: This is the first installment of a workshop series for people who want to make money by practically applying AI to real-world business problems in valuable industries.

📕 Is Your Kid Really @ Grade Level? Free Math Assessment Day

• When: Monday, January 19 | 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM CST

• Where: Dave & Buster's Austin Austin, Texas

• What: 58% of Texas students are not at grade level in math.

  ​That's not a typo. According to the latest STAAR data, more than half of Texas kids are behind - and most parents have no idea.

  ​Why? Because "passing" a class doesn't mean "on grade level." Schools don't always tell you the difference.

  ​Assessment Day answers one question: Is your child actually on track?

⛱️ Data Day Texas + AI

• When: Saturday, January 24 | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST

• Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center

  1900 University Avenue · Austin, TX

• What: Launched in 2011, and quite possibly the longest running big data conference in the world, Data Day Texas returns in January with an international list of marquee presenters

📦️ Data Day Texas + AI

• When: Saturday, January 24 | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM CST

• Where: AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center 1900 University Avenue · Austin, TX

• What: Launched in 2011, and quite possibly the longest running big data conference in the world, Data Day Texas returns in January with an international list of marquee presenters.​​

🤖 Robotics and Edge Inference

• When: Saturday, February 21 | 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin, TX

• What: We’re hosting the Robotics & Edge Inference Conference in February 2026. From the smallest microcontrollers to the most advanced Jetson-class modules, modern robots now run perception and policy on-device. We’ll go end-to-end—from compilers & runtimes (TensorRT, TVM, ONNX Runtime) and ROS 2/Isaac dataflow, to multi-sensor 3D perception & state estimation, to navigation and diffusion policies for manipulation. We’ll also showcase demos from top robotics companies in Austin.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Texas A&M's AI Keeps Ships From Crashing Into Oil Platforms

Ocean engineering researchers at Texas A&M University created SMART-SEA, an AI-powered system that analyzes radar data to give seafarers real-time collision avoidance instructions.

Need-to-know:

• The system processes raw radar images to identify stationary obstacles like oil platforms and depleted wellheads, then recommends the safest maneuvers based on vessel capabilities and weather conditions.

• Unlike autonomous systems, SMART-SEA keeps humans in control by providing visual or audio guidance while the seafarer makes final steering decisions.

• After successful tests on the research vessel Trident, the team is seeking additional funding to expand trials and potentially adapt the low-cost technology for recreational boating.

Learn more here.

Natural Gas Emerges as Texas' Secret Weapon for AI Power

As hundreds of AI data centers plan to locate in Texas, natural gas is positioning itself as the practical power source over nuclear, solar, and wind alternatives, with prices stabilizing between $3-4 per million BTUs.

Need-to-know:

• King Operating CEO Jay Young says natural gas offers consistent power unlike intermittent wind and solar, and costs less upfront than nuclear during its expensive early stages.

• The state's existing natural gas infrastructure gives Texas an immediate advantage in attracting data center operators who need reliable, affordable electricity at scale.

• The AI boom creates a profitable use for natural gas that previously got flared off, turning an environmental problem into an economic opportunity for Texas producers.

Learn more here.

Edge AI Data Centers Bring Computing Power to Rural Texas Schools

Duos Edge AI deployed a new edge data center in Abilene through a partnership with Region 14 Education Service Center, providing low-latency AI capabilities to over 40 school districts across 11 counties in West Texas.

Need-to-know:

• The Abilene facility is part of Duos Edge AI's Texas expansion strategy, with recent installations in Amarillo, Waco, and Victoria, all designed to serve education, healthcare, and enterprise needs in underserved regions.

• Edge data centers process data locally rather than sending it hundreds of miles away, enabling real-time AI applications for the 13,000-square-mile service area while providing secure, carrier-neutral colocation services.

• The facility offers rapid 90-day deployment and 100+ kilowatts per cabinet, allowing schools and local businesses to access enterprise-grade AI without massive capital investments in their own infrastructure.

Learn more here.