Austin GILD AI Forum: AI and Engineering Leaders Dinner
The Austin GILD AI Forum brings together senior AI and engineering leaders for candid conversations about what's actually working in their companies, what's not, and the real challenges of shipping AI in production.
Each Forum opens with a Conversation Starter, a practitioner sharing what their team is building with AI, followed by open Q&A.
The room then breaks into intimate discussions where each attendee introduces themselves, their company, and provides context regarding a current project, challenge, win, or loss with AI. Each attendee shares something they are building, have recently built, or a recent success. This provides context for the group to engage in peer-to-peer discussion, asking questions about specific implementations, adoption challenges, and technical approaches based on what each person brings to the table.
No panels. No pitches. No demos. Just senior leaders being honest about the architectures they're choosing, the tradeoffs they're making, and what they wish they'd figured out sooner.
Presented in partnership with Tecla and Aspire
Tecla gives companies flexible access to vetted talent across the US and Latin America, developed for AI-native work and available from fractional engagements to dedicated nearshore pods.
Learn more at www.tecla.io
Aspire Systems is a global technology services partner helping companies innovate, modernize, and scale through AI-powered technology solutions and services.
Learn more at www.aspiresys.com
TRENDING THEMES FOR THIS SESSION
Conversations at the Forum are shaped by what technical leaders bring to the table. Themes likely to surface this evening include:
From AI pilots to AI in production: breaking out of the proof-of-concept trap and scaling agents into real workflows
Connecting AI to legacy systems: architectural patterns for integrating modern AI with 20-year-old stacks without breaking everything
The AI tooling budget problem: balancing experimentation with unsustainable spend as engineers blow through AI tool budgets
Engineers as curators, not creators: the shift from writing code to orchestrating AI agents, reusable components, and external services
MCP, multi-agent systems, and the orchestration layer: what's working, what's overhyped, and what technical leaders are actually building
Guardrails and governance for AI-generated code: who's accountable when the AI writes it, and what review processes actually hold up in production
THE FORMAT
Intentionally small and highly curated, 20 to 25 max. A seated round-table dinner, private and off the record under Chatham House Rules.
AGENDA
6:00 – 6:30 PM · Cocktails and passed appetizers
6:30 – 7:00 PM · Dinner is served Find a seat and get comfortable.
6:45 – 6:50 PM · GILD and Partner Welcome A few words from the GILD team and our partners on what the night holds and how we'll spend it together.
6:50 – 7:00 PM · Conversation Starter A fellow engineering leader opens the discussion with a candid perspective on AI, with a brief Q&A.
7:00 – 8:00 PM · Table discussions
8:00 – 8:30 PM · Open mingling
WHO THIS IS FOR
Founders · CEOs · CTOs · VPs of Engineering · Heads of AI · Technical Leaders · Product Leaders
This session is for leaders responsible for building, deploying, and maintaining AI systems in production.
Chatham House Rules apply. Discussion stays private.