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.
Before we jump into the regular news, a few housekeeping items:
Upcoming AITX Events:
Hack AI: Thursday, Oct 16, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST | sign up here!
Houston AITX Monthly Meetup: Thursday, Oct 23 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM CST | sign up here!
Austin AITX Monthly Meetup: Tuesday, Oct 28, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM CST | sign up here!
To stay in the loop on all our monthly meetups and other community organized events, subscribe to our AITX 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.
White Collar Fight Night Discount 🥊
Details: October 24, Austin (1100 E 5th St.) Doors at 7:00pm, 21+ | Cocktail Attire 15% off with code: AITX at checkout.
A live boxing event and party that combines a sanctioned white-collar fight card with gala sophistication: cocktail attire, complimentary drinks, and a curated ambience.
Founders, software engineers, and sales execs have been training for months to fight: they're hungry to win, and will put on an incredible performance.
Episode 7 is Live
This episode features Jared Greene, Head of Software at Base Power Company, one of the fastest-growing energy technology startups in Texas. Base Power builds modular, distributed energy systems that can augment utility grid electricity and installs them directly into their members homes. They're fresh off their Series C funding announcement and one of Texas' fastest growing companies.
Austin Tech Week AI Hackathon by NVIDIA & AITX Community
When: Friday, October 24 5:00 PM - Oct 25, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Location provided upon approval
Join AITX Community for a weekend of heads down building and collaboration with some of the top developers in Austin's growing engineering community.
NVIDIA is a global leader in accelerated computing, known for pioneering the development of high-performance GPUs that drive advances in AI, graphics, and data science. We'll be spotlighting NVIDIA’s Nemotron family of open models throughout the weekend. Hackers get quickstarts, office hours, and a dedicated Nemotron Track, with prizes for the best use of Nemotron.
It all culminates in Hack Fair - a science fair-style showcase where participants will demo their submission to the community, including local investors, operators, and potential collaborators, for a chance to win the Community Choice Prize.
👇 Register Here 👇
A message from NVIDIA:
NVIDIA is thrilled to partner with the AITX Developer Community during Austin Tech Week! We're bringing updates about our latest Nemotron models and some awesome prizes for the most creative and novel submissions in the competition. Dive into the challenge by building with our portfolio of models, and you are included in a prize track for best use of Nemotron Nano 2 9B, a powerful small language model with reasoning capabilities built on the hybrid Mamba-Transformer architecture.
To give your project a head start, we'll have NVIDIA Launchables and Blueprints ready for you to use so you can focus on building something truly innovative. NVIDIA team members will be there to support the builders. Show off your skills and you could even get your project featured on NVIDIA social media and Developer Showcase. We can’t wait to see what you build!
In this week’s edition you’re getting:
5 Upcoming Events
3 AI Community Stories
1 Community Highlight
So let’s jump in!
UPCOMING EVENTS
When: Wednesday, November 5 | 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST
Where: ACC - RGC 3000 1218 West Avenue · Austin, TX
What: The AI Middleware Users Group believes in “Learning in the Open.” Together we explore LangChain, LangGraph, LangSmith, and the wider AI stack—sharing demos, pitfalls, and wins so everyone levels up.
When: Tuesday, October 14 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST
Where: Lazarus Brewing Co. on Airport Blvd 4803 Airport Blvd, · Austin, TX
What: PyTorch ATX is a meetup group for deep learning researchers and practitioners to get together to discuss ML research, personal experiments, and deep learning frameworks.
When: Tuesday, October 14 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Elastic Office 823 Congress Ave · Austin, TX
What: Join us for an evening of learning, networking, and connecting with fellow Elastic.
When: Thursday, October 16 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Austin 111 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701, United States · Austin , TX
What: Hear directly from Google Cloud professionals about the latest AI advancements, including cutting-edge tools and real-world applications.
When: Thursday, October 16 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St · Austin, TX
What: This week we are collaborating with the great team at Capital Factory! They have been providing us the space to host our events, and host their own monthly "Member Salon." This month, we are collaborating, and the Capital Factory team will be providing food, bartending, and good vibes to make this evening incredible!
COMMUNITY STORIES
Sen. Ted Cruz is pushing a federal “regulatory sandbox” that would let AI companies apply for waivers from certain federal rules for up to 10 years. The idea has drawn praise from tech leaders and sharp criticism from privacy advocates.
Why it matters: As Texas positions itself as a leader in AI policy, Cruz’s plan could shape how startups and major tech firms innovate under lighter regulation.
Need-to-know:
The bill lets companies test AI systems with temporary regulatory waivers overseen by the White House.
Supporters say it frees innovation from outdated rules, while critics call it a shortcut around accountability.
Texas already has its own AI sandbox law, making the state a test case for the national version.
Learn more here.
UT Austin landed Charles A. Taylor, a world-renowned expert in AI-driven health care, to lead its new Center for Computational Medicine. The move was backed by a 2025 Governor’s University Research Initiative grant.
Why it matters: This solidifies Austin’s position as a national hub for AI in health care, blending cutting-edge research with real-world medical impact.
Need-to-know:
Taylor founded Heartflow, creator of the first AI tool adopted in U.S. cardiology guidelines.
The new center connects UT’s Oden Institute and Dell Medical School to advance digital twin and predictive care technologies.
The GURI grant program helps Texas universities recruit world-class researchers to drive innovation statewide.
Learn more here.
Australia-based Sharon AI is moving into Phase Two of building its 1-gigawatt AI data center campus in Ector County through a joint venture with New Era Energy & Digital.
Why it matters: The project adds major digital infrastructure capacity to West Texas, fueling the state’s growing role in AI and high-performance computing.
Need-to-know:
The site will span 438 acres and is planned to scale beyond 1GW of computing power.
Behind-the-meter gas generation could supply up to 400MW by 2027.
Sharon AI says the project will attract GPU-driven workloads and create a hub for AI-focused data operations.
Learn more here.
Community Highlight
This week we’re highlighting Zanir Habib. Zanir is the Founder of Ferociter, an AI consulting company specializing in AI-enabled apps, implementation, and strategy.
Ferociter has partnered with clients across hospitality, health, and national security, helping them turn ideas into AI-enabled products.
His ask from the community:
Are you looking to build an AI-enabled application, MVP, or automation? Or just want to chat about AI? I’m always happy to connect.
You can reach out to Zanir at [email protected] or book a call with here HERE.
That’s all for now, folks!
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