Trump's Texas AI Challenges, New Data Centers, and NVIDIA's Expansion

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.

RiverHacks 2025 Coming Soon

What: RiverHacks 2025 is Austin Community College's premier hackathon, focusing on civic innovation. This year's theme challenges participants to develop solutions that enhance public safety and accessibility for Austin residents, in partnership with the City of Austin.

When: Saturday, April 26, 2025 (starting at 9:00 AM) to Sunday, April 27, 2025 (ending at 5:00 PM) - a 32-hour event.

Where: Center for Government and Civic Service (CGCS), located at 1218 West Ave, Austin, TX 78701. All activities will take place in person.

Challenge Areas:

• Emergency Preparedness & Response

• Smart Infrastructure

• Community Safety Engagement

• Inclusive Accessibility

Key Details:

• Title sponsor is webAI, providing exclusive early access to their developer tools

• Registration is now open

• Includes meals (lunch and dinner on Saturday; breakfast and lunch on Sunday)

• Teams will form on site

• Projects must be built during the event

• Winning solutions may have the opportunity to be implemented with the City of Austin

UPCOMING EVENTS

🔥 PyTorch ATX: Accelerating GPU Performance with Triton | Sponsored by Red Hat

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

• Where: AT&T Hotel and Conference Center 1900 University Ave · Austin, TX

• What: The Triton framework provides a hardware agnostic way of programming and targeting GPUs. As Triton becomes more widely adopted, it will be essential in understanding how to write, optimize and troubleshoot the Triton kernel in order to optimize GPU efficiency for algorithms

🪓 Hack AI

• When: Thursday, May 1 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM CST

• Where: Capital Factory 701 Brazos St, 16th Floor · Austin, TX

• What: A monthly mini-hack session for developers all over the Austin area to build cool stuff related to AI. The first Thursday of each month, we will host a meetup revolving around a certain theme or AI technology, like Voice AI, Large Language Models, Computer Vision, etc

🌎️ Where is AI in 2025 and Where is it Going?

• When: Sunday, April 27 | 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM CST

• Where: TBD

• What: Workshop open to the public for all levels of experience with AI. We’ll give a quick overview of the current state of AI capabilities, with a focus on how much has changed in the last 5 months

🍻 Austin Low-Key Data Meetup - April 2025

• When:Thursday, April 24 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

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

• What: No agenda, no sponsor, no cost. Just show up, buy your own drinks and hang out with other people in the industry. Be prepared to share stories and laughs. Looking to meet other data people in the Austin area? Whether you're a data engineer, a data analyst, a data scientist, or something in-between... you've found the right event.

🕵️‍♂️ AI Meetup (May) for GenAI LLMs and Agents

• When: Wednesday, May 7 | 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM CST

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

• What: Due to room capacity and building security, it is REQUIRED to register on the event website for admission. (RSVP is CLOSED on meetup). Welcome to the AI meetup in Austin. 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.

COMMUNITY STORIES

Trump's AI Plans Face Hurdles from Texas GOP Legislation

President Trump's ambitious AI data center plans could be delayed by a Texas bill requiring lengthy regulatory reviews.

Need-to-know:

• Trump's "Stargate" AI plan calls for building heavy-duty data centers in Texas to compete with China

• Senate Bill 6 would add six months of regulatory review to the approval process

• Texas Republicans cite concerns about the state's power grid stability and rising energy costs

• Texas is reportedly the only state with sufficient infrastructure to handle the project's energy demands

• AI technology is projected to quadruple energy needs by 2030, creating environmental challenges

Learn more here.

Texas Leads in Green AI Infrastructure with 250MW Data Center

New Era Helium and Sharon AI are developing a massive net-zero AI computing facility in Ector County, with operations beginning in 2026.

Need-to-know:

• The joint venture has expanded its initial land acquisition to 235 acres in Ector County

• The facility will use natural gas engines with CO2 capture to achieve net-zero emissions

• First 100MW expected to be operational by December 2026, with full capacity following within six months

• Project demonstrates Texas' growing importance in the national AI infrastructure landscape

• Strategic location in the Permian Basin enables synergy between energy production and computing needs

Learn more here.

Nvidia to Build Two AI Supercomputer Factories in Texas

Technology giant Nvidia announces plans for major AI supercomputer manufacturing facilities in Houston and Dallas, with production starting within 15 months.

Need-to-know:

• Nvidia is partnering with Foxconn in Houston and Wistron in Dallas to manufacture AI supercomputers

• The company aims to produce up to half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the U.S. within four years

• The expansion is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs across Nvidia's new U.S. facilities

• This move comes days after President Trump imposed 125% tariffs on China, highlighting the shift toward domestic production

• Production at both Texas factories is expected to begin within the next 12-15 months

Learn more here.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT

This week we’re highlighting Isabella Reed from camelAI.

Here’s a bit about her:

You can connect with her here.