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AITX Weekly: Houston Meetup Recap AI Accelerates, and Summer Heats Up
From justice reform to cancer recovery to faster permits—AI is reshaping Texas, and we’re right in the middle of it.
AITX Team & Michael Daigler
June 20, 2025
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.
Before we jump into the regular news, a few housekeeping items:
Upcoming AITX Events:
Austin Monthly Meetup: Tuesday, June 24 | sign up here!
Hack AI: Thursday, June 5 | sign up here!
Organized AI // Vibe Coders Hackathon, June 21 | 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.
Join the AITX Talent Network
Looking for new roles or open to opportunities in AI?
We’re building a network to connect local talent with great companies.
🛡️ 100% private: we’ll always reach out before connecting you with anyone.
In this week’s edition you’re getting:
🤠 Meetup Recap
5 Upcoming Events
3 AI Community Stories
1 Community Highlight
So let’s jump in!
Houston AITX Meetup Recap
AITX Houston Meetup, June 17 2025
We had our first AITX monthly meetup for the city of Houston this week!
What went down:
We had a strong turnout of investors, founders, engineers, and curious builders.
After some solid mingling, we broke into small groups to discuss:
What people want from AITX Houston
What should this community become?
The energy was high, the ideas were real, and the appetite to build a thriving Houston node was loud and clear.
Here’s a snapshot of who showed up:
(You can paste LinkedIn blurbs below this line with names, short roles/descriptions, and links)
– Ian Uriarte – Founder & CEO @ Spindletop AI
– Amanda Cotler – Innovation Economy Banking at JP Morgan
– Naeem Vehvaria – Founder of UpWita
Why it matters:
This isn’t just another meetup. It’s part of a growing AITX fabric across Texas, helping connect local communities into something bigger.
To the Austin crew: If you want to explore a different flavor of AITX, make the trip. Houston’s just getting started.
UPCOMING EVENTS
When: Thursday, June 26 | 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM CST
Where: The Ion Houston, Texas
What: Join Houston AI at the Houston Ion for an engaging discussion on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence in the space sector. This exclusive panel will feature industry leaders exploring cutting-edge advancements, key challenges, and the vast opportunities AI brings to the future of space exploration.
When: Saturday, June 21 | 6:30 PM - Jun 22, 6:30 PM CST
What: Transform your development skills with cutting-edge AI tools in this intensive 48-hour hackathon focused on building your first AI Agent using AI-assisted development workflows. Designed for mixed skill levels with a beginner-friendly approach, this event balances structured learning with hands-on development time.
When: Monday, June 23 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST
What: AI Product Dinners are a curated event series from AITX and webAI bringing together top technical founders and operators in Austin for intimate discussions on building and scaling real-world AI products.
When: Wednesday, July 2 | 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.” We experiment together with LangChain, LangGraph, LangSmith, and the broader AI stack—sharing demos, pitfalls, and wins so everyone levels up.
🦫 AI & Go
When: Tuesday, June 24 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST
Where: Radio Coffee 4208 Manchaca Rd · Austin, TX
What: Join Women Who Go Austin for an insightful event on exploring AI & Go. This event will provide valuable knowledge and informal discussion on how Go can become a player in the AI space. Connect with like-minded women in tech, network with industry professionals, and dive deep into the world of open source software development.
COMMUNITY STORIES
Former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht has been tapped to lead a national task force focused on the use of AI in the U.S. criminal justice system.
Why it matters: This is one of the most high-profile efforts yet to create ethical standards around AI’s role in law enforcement, corrections, courts, and community programs—and it’s being led by Texas talent.
Need-to-know:
Hecht will lead a 14-member task force under the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ).
Backed by RAND Corp and Stanford Law, the group will draft ethical AI guidelines over 18 months.
The effort builds on work by Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a key figure in state AI policy.
Learn more here.
Researchers at UT Arlington are developing an AI-powered system to help cancer survivors build healthier habits—starting with more physical activity.
Why it matters: Up to 84% of cancer survivors don’t exercise enough, despite strong evidence it improves recovery. UTA’s project aims to change that with real-time, personalized nudges.
Need-to-know:
Funded by CPRIT, using data from wearables and phones
Sends real-time, tailored messages to encourage movement
Built by a cross-disciplinary UTA team
Designed to scale with AI-generated interventions
Learn more here.
Austin, LA, and Honolulu are turning to AI to fix slow, outdated permitting systems—and it’s working.
Why it matters: Permitting bottlenecks are a huge drag on development. AI helps cut red tape, reduce errors, and speed up approvals.
Need-to-know:
Austin uses Archistar to pre-check residential permits (live since Oct ‘24)
LA adopted it after wildfire destruction; helps check code compliance instantly
Honolulu rolling out Clariti and CivCheck to modernize a 30-year-old system
AI systems use computer vision + rulesets to flag violations before submission
Learn more here.
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT
This week, we’re spotlighting Jonathan Marcel, Venture Associate at Capital Factory and a deep tech investor pushing the boundaries of innovation in quantum, aerospace, defense, and energy.
Here is his message to the community:
Whether you’re in Houston, Austin or the Texas Triangle in general, feel free to join us at some point!
You can connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn HERE.
That’s all for now, folks!
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