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.
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Before we jump into the regular news, a few housekeeping items:
Upcoming AITX Community Events:
Austin AITX Community Monthly Meetup | sign up here!
Houston AITX Community Monthly Meetup | sign up here!
To stay in the loop on all our monthly meetups and other community organized events, subscribe to our AITX Community calendar here.
Check out our Community Directory:
Where you can fill out your profile and find other members of the AITX community. If you haven’t filled out your profile yet, please follow the link HERE and submit your information.
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.
In this week’s edition you’re getting:
5 Upcoming Events
3 AI Community Stories
So let’s jump in!
Community Events
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.
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.
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.
When: Monday, May 11 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Register to see address
What: May edition of claude code Austin.
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
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.
Why it matters: This recognition highlights the growing influence of academic AI research in the DFW region and demonstrates how universities are preparing the next generation of AI professionals for emerging career opportunities.
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
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.
Why it matters: Local talent is being priced roughly $50K below the top coastal markets, which sharpens the retention question as remote-first employers keep recruiting into Austin, Houston, and Dallas.
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
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.
Why it matters: This is applied AI built and validated in Texas, showing how machine learning is moving from theory into the state's $30 billion specialty crop and commodity sector.
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
That’s all for now, folks!
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