What we’re about
Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Augmented Reality (AR) — Elon Musk chose Memphis to be the home of xAI's Colossus Supercomputer, currently the world's largest AI Supercluster. This has thrust the city to the forefront of the global Artificial Intelligence race, with NVIDIA and Supermicro both announcing a Memphis footprint.
Augmented Reality (via AR smart glasses) is the heads-up & hands-free user interface (UI) through which AI is already being applied in the enterprise, the military, healthcare, and industrial applications — and eventually coming to the consumer market.
AR is the UI for AI.
Meetup Organizer, Christopher Grayson believes Memphis must grab this opportunity, both in the medical vertical, and as applied AI-through-AR in the trades, in manufacturing, in other industrial workforce applications, to rapidly up-skill the Memphis workforce.
Let us leverage this moment!
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About the host: Christopher Grayson
Grayson has decades of experience in technology event planning, organizing, staging, and booking speaking talent.
As an event organizer, Grayson hosted Ray Kurzweil prior to his current role as Principal Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist at Google (together with Juan Enriquez, biotech venture capitalist and former Chair of Harvard's Life Sciences Department) as the TED license-holder of NYC based TEDx franchise, TEDxSiliconAlley. Among other notable speakers, also included Apple Creative Director Ken Segall.
As an early co-organizer of Augmented World Expo (AWE), Silicon Valley's largest AR trade show, Grayson has hosted luminaries such as Microsoft Fellow Jaron Lanier (who first coined the term "Virtual Reality" for his company VPL, back in the 80s); Cyborg Anthropologist Amber Case; and cyberpunk "hard-science" fiction writer & mathematician Vernor Vinge, credited with coining the futurist definition of "the Singularity" (for which the aforementioned Ray Kurzweil is today most affiliated).
On this platform, Grayson was co-organizer of the New York City Meetup group: ARNY (Augmented Reality New York, from 2009 to 2012).
Grayson's own speaking engagements have included: MIT Media Lab, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, SxSW, and a talk on wearable technology at New York Fashion Week, hosted by the Swiss Consulate.
Upcoming events (3)
See all- A Manifesto for AI in MemphisSlice (on Union), Memphis, TN
Memphis AI & AR Meetup | Third Edition | April 30, 2025
Agenda:
6:30 Show up on time, free pizza will go fast (Slice has the most authentic New York style pizza in Memphis).
6:45 Christopher Grayson, Memphis AAIA Chapter President will discuss the AAIA Strategy and Roadmap for Memphis.TO BE STREAMED AT: https://meet.google.com/jwf-zqur-qdz
Sponsored by:
AAIA Memphis (Applied Artificial Intelligence Association)More details to come…
- EyeJetsSlice (on Union), Memphis, TN
Memphis AI & AR Meetup | Fourth Edition | May 28, 2025
Agenda:
6:30 Show up on time, free pizza will go fast (Slice has the most authentic New York style pizza in Memphis).
6:45 Chris Grayson will open with an intro to AI & AR in Memphis: a manifesto for action to leverage this moment in time.
7:15 Dan Cui will give a talk on EyeJets smart glasses, with a focus on eye-tracking for illness diagnosis.
( THERE IS STILL SPACE FOR ANOTHER SPEAKER )
8:00 The remaining time will be networking, and open discussion of the opportunity that Artificial Intelligence & Augmented Reality present, within the Memphis market.TO BE STREAMED AT: https://meet.google.com/xuk-nktf-sxe
Sponsored by:
AAIA Memphis (Applied Artificial Intelligence Association)SPEAKER BIOS:
Dan Cui is a seasoned leader in smart glasses, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and head-mounted display (HMD) technologies, with deep expertise in near-eye display systems. Currently, he consults for EyeJets, developer of advanced smart glasses that project images directly onto the retina. Previously, Dan served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of eMagin's HMD group, a leader in OLED microdisplays for VR HMDs, guiding the company through its acquisition by Samsung. Previously he was VP of Sales at Vuzix, a Rochester, NY-based pioneer in waveguide-based smart glasses, and at MyVu, one of the earliest smart glasses pioneers.
Chris Grayson is a marketing creative, and events organizer, hosting tech luminaries, and startup founders at such events as AWE (Augmented World Expo) and his former New York TEDx franchise, TEDxSiliconAlley. In his prior life in advertising, he created omnichannel marketing strategies and 360º campaigns, focused on technology accounts and premium brands including award winning work for Nikon and Intel, and creative direction for the social/digital launch of Bud Light Platinum, before pivoting to tech startups, and market analyst on near-eye-optic display systems. He writes at Giganti.Co - AI - Pitch RehearsalSlice (on Union), Memphis, TN
On Wednesday, June 25th we will hold a pitch rehearsal.
Companies already participating include:
CJ Drone Systems
BVOConnor Messina who presented CJ Drone Systems at our March Meetup, is also the founder's liaison for the pitch rehearsal, and is being assisted by JC Smiley (everyone should be subscribed to his Memphis Tech Scene newsletter). If you're interested in participating, contact them.
As a starting place, founders can download the industry standard, Sequoia Capital Pitch Deck Template.
Any AI based startups will be open for consideration, but those that have a connection to the economy in the city of Memphis—Transportation & Logistics, Healthcare & Medical Devices, Entertainment, and AgroTech—are most encouraged.
The AAIA Memphis Chapter is also seeking a venue donation for late July or August, to host a live streamed pitch presentation.
