San Antonio Meetup Recap, AI Robots, Return Revolution, and more | AITX Newsletter #32

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.

Support an Austin AI Startup

Julian Saks from Memary has just announced Finetune.

Finetune envisions a future where AI agents outnumber humans within the next decade.

Key features:

• Fine-tuning sessions with synthetic users to test agents

• Weighted execution graphs to optimize agent performance

• Feedback sessions to iteratively improve agents

• Easy deployment to virtual private clouds

Finetune aims to be the go-to solution for making AI agents reliable for enterprise-level tasks.

Check ‘em out here.

AITX San Antonio Meetup Recap

This meetup had 1 presentation and 2 demos!

Presentation by Joel Grus

Joel is the Director of AI and Emerging Technologies at Capital Group and the author of "Data Science from Scratch".

He gave a talk on building RAG applications from common household items.

He first explained how RAG worked to everyone, and then proceeded to code up a simple RAG system that could be run locally on his laptop!

You can try out his code here for yourself!

Demo #1: Tabi Comics by Aiden Le

Aiden is a local founder and showed us how he enables collectors to keep up with their collections, get recommendations, and turn comics into audio stories using AI!

Check it out here.

Demo #2: LegalMente AI by José Padilla

José is an experienced, responsive attorney with expertise in healthcare, private equity and other areas of corporate law.

And he is the founder of LegalMente AI—an AI-augmented one-stop legal shop.

They use AI to reduce the cost of legal work for small businesses, startups, healthcare, and individuals.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Austin LangChain Hacky Hour @ Skinny's Off Track Bar - East Austin 🦜 

• When: Wednesday, August 21 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Skinny's Off Track Bar 1806 E 12th Street , · Austin , TX

• What: A special Hacky Hour hosted by the Austin LangChain Enthusiasts Meetup Group! This casual gathering is the perfect opportunity for AI and LangChain enthusiasts to come together, hack on labs, and share knowledge in a relaxed environment.

Austin AI Social Hour 🥂 

• When: Wednesday, August 28 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM CST

• Where: The Brewtorium Brewery & Kitchen 6015 Dillard Cir A · Austin, TX

• What: The perfect spot to mingle with a friendly mix of people who share an interest in AI and its potential. Whether you're looking to share your latest project, seek feedback and advice, or simply connect with like-minded individuals, this is the perfect opportunity to unwind and make new connections in a relaxed, casual environment.

How to Amplify Lead Generation Funnel with AI! 🧲 

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

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

• What: Fernando Gonzalez Aguirre is a seasoned B2B Growth Executive with a remarkable track record in scaling companies, crafting compelling brand narratives, and building robust marketing and sales organizations. He will be showing you how to amplify lead generation with AI.

AI & ML Meetup Group August Meetup 🖥️ 

• When: Wednesday, August 21 | 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Microsoft Corp Office, Quarry Oaks II, Bldg B

  10900B Stonelake Blvd, #225 · Austin, TX

• What: Topic coming soon!

Austin Deep Learning September Meetup

• When: Tuesday, September 3 | 7:00 PM- 9:00 PM CST

• Where: Capital Factory | Antone's Room 16th Floor 701 Brazos St · Austin, tx

• What: Spots are limited to keep the discussions organized. Austin Deep Learning Journal Club is group for committed machine learning practitioners and researchers alike. The group typically meets every first Tuesday of each month to discuss research publications. The publications are usually the ones that laid foundation to ML/DL or explore novel promising ideas and are selected by a vote.

COMMUNITY STORIES

UT Students Score Big with AI Soccer Robots at International Competition

A joint team of students from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently clinched victory at the RoboCup Home competition in the Netherlands.

Their knee-high robots, programmed to play soccer autonomously, showcase the rapid advancements in AI and robotics. This achievement not only puts UT Austin on the global AI map but also hints at a future where AI-powered robots could compete alongside humans in sports.

Need-to-know:

• UT Austin students, partnered with University of Wisconsin-Madison, won the RoboCup Home competition in the Netherlands

• The competition featured autonomous robots playing soccer against each other

• Robots use cameras and sensors to track the ball and make decisions independently

• UT graduate Josh Kelle highlighted the value of real-world testing in competitive settings

• Another UT student advanced in the General Purpose Service Robots category, focusing on verbal command execution

• Prof. Peter Stone leads the Texas portion of the team, emphasizing the complexity of AI in real-world tasks

• Kelle predicts AI robots could compete against human players in soccer in the near future

Learn more here.

Austin-Based Vendidit Revolutionizes Product Returns with AI Technology

Vendidit, an Austin startup co-founded by John Paul DeJoria and Gary Stephens, is using AI to transform product returns.

Their Pflugerville-based operation tackles the surge in consumer returns, which have tripled since COVID. Vendidit's AI software streamlines the returns process, reducing waste and opening new possibilities across industries.

Need-to-know:

• Consumer returns increased from 12% to 33% post-COVID

• AI software optimizes returns processing and inventory management

• Technology applies beyond retail to B2B transactions

• Pflugerville facility showcases software capabilities

• Aims to reduce transportation costs and environmental impact

• Demonstrates responsible, targeted AI implementation

Learn more here.

Texas AG Secures $1.4B Settlement from Meta Over Biometric Data Use

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won a $1.4 billion settlement from Meta for violating state biometric data laws.

This landmark case highlights the complex intersection of AI, privacy, and regulation.

As a leader in AI development, Meta's experience demonstrates the challenges and responsibilities tech companies face as they push the boundaries of innovation.

Need-to-know:

• Meta to pay $1.4B for violating Texas biometric data laws

• Settlement relates to DeepFace system used 2011-2021

• $275M to be paid within 30 days, remainder over 4 years

• Funds mostly allocated to state's general fund and treasury

• Case underscores challenges of balancing AI innovation and privacy

• Meta's experience highlights need for proactive compliance in AI development

• Facial recognition technology continues to evolve and find new applications

• Texas positioned as a key player in tech regulation

Learn more here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT

This week, we are shining the spotlight on camelAI team!

Illiana Reed is an ex-Google product manager with 3 machine learning patents. 

Miguel Salinas is an ex-Apple SWE who has been coding apps since iOS 3. 

Isabella Reed is an engineer-turned-sales with over $60M ARR closed SaaS deals under her belt.

Background

After finishing Y Combinator in April 2024 with a product called camelQA, they closed their seed round of funding, closed 5 enterprise customers, learned a lot, and then pivoted their product.

Want more details about Y Combinator or pivoting? Isabella is based in South Austin and is happy to grab a coffee with fellow founders to talk.

Their most important revelation: Humans do not want human experiences AI-ified—they want technical experiences humanized.

And with that’s how their new product was born.

camelAI Launch

camelAI is launching their new product September 2024.

Connect any of your tools to AI to talk to your software and take action.

They’re building API connections in-house to optimize their functionality for LLMs.

Say things like “how did I spend my money last month?” and get a breakdown of your spending by category.

Or “mark all emails that contain the word unsubscribe as read.” And immediately tackle your inbox.

Current connected apps include:

• Gmail

• Supabase

• Apollo

• Postgres

• Typeform

• Brex

• Mysql

They also have a page where you can upvote the tools you want them to connect next (LinkedIn and Intercom are winning so far).

Join their beta list to get early access to their tool and give them feedback » camelAI - Join Beta

Connect with Isabella at [email protected]