[Illustration: Aleksei Cheremisinovm/Greens87/istockphoto; AI Tinkerers; DI Studio]

A global community for AI builders has landed in Dallas.

Dallas has no shortage of AI buzz, and now it has a new community for the people actually building with the technology. This summer, AI Tinkerers, a global network with meetups in more than 80 cities, launched a Dallas-Fort Worth chapter.

The push came from Anmolika Singh, a data scientist at Stanley Black & Decker and vice president of professional development for the local chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.

Singh moved to Dallas in 2022 after graduating from Penn State, drawn by the region’s growing reputation as a tech hub. She was looking for a way to stay plugged in and up to date on tech, both for professional and personal reasons. There are several groups in the area for people interested in artificial intelligence, but she wanted one with the same meet-up feel for people who work with AI.

“I knew about AI Tinkerers, but there wasn’t a local chapter,” Singh said.

Anmolika Singh [Photo: AI Tinkerers]

Filling a need

Singh applied to organize a chapter and was approved quickly. Just three months later, on July 31, AI Tinkerers DFW held its first meeting at Hexa coworking in Richardson.

“This is for people who are actually using AI, building startups or projects or students who are engaged in hands-on work,” she said. “This is not just an introduction to the technology.”

An impressive start

The first meetup attracted more than 30 professionals, founders, CEOs, and CTOs, including leaders from 7-Eleven, Ford Motor Company, USAA, Visa Inc., and J.P. Morgan. They presented projects they’re working on, shared best practices with like-minded people, and brainstormed solutions to issues they haven’t been able to solve on their own.

Among them was Lestan D’Souza, co-founder and CTO of ReKnew, a consultancy that facilitates AI adoption, who said he felt he was among peers.

“What I heard tonight and what we hear a lot of times from our clients is they can’t really put their finger on the failure,” D’Souza said. 

He said there’s pressure from boards of directors and CEOs to demonstrate the value and reap the benefits they hear so much about. Leaders don’t always understand why replicating that success isn’t easier. 

“They throw lots of money at it and then see that just money is not going to get the results they want,” D’Souza said. 

He added that organizations are struggling with leveraging data and AI to transform business processes. It’s the right time for a group of AI professionals dedicated to solving that problem and sharing best practices.

“I was begging for a community like this in Dallas,” said Dwayne Joseph. “I love AI. I have a retail background, but I joined a boot camp to learn how to code. I got my first job as an email developer, but I didn’t want to stop there.”

Joseph took more AI boot camps, and one of his teachers—who runs AI Tinkerers in Canada—told him about the group. Joseph’s career pivot coincided with Singh’s efforts.

“And that’s how I ended up here tonight,” Joseph said.

A network of builders

Singh said she saw consistent registration after posting the event on social media. She also did proactive outreach, including direct engagement with local tech leaders and partnerships with organizations such as ReKnew. Those efforts found the right audience, and the event’s success reflects the importance of tech in local culture.

Singh plans to expand the chapter’s activities to include technical booths, community dinners, and collaborative hackathons, further strengthening Dallas’s position as a hub for AI innovation.

“The pace of change is making it really hard to do two things,” said D’Souza. “It’s hard to keep up, and it’s hard to catch up.”

Attendees hope this new community will address both challenges—connecting builders and accelerating innovation in Dallas.

Stay tuned for upcoming dates, and watch the Dallas Innovates calendar for details.

Voices contributor Nicole Ward is a data journalist for the Dallas Regional Chamber.

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