Hey {{first_name|there}},
The Play
Oracle AI World fills the Venetian Convention & Expo Center through Wednesday, and Ai Dev Craft runs at Red Rock on Tuesday and Wednesday, so plenty of AI vendors will be pitching in town this week. Use one rule: a tool only earns a follow-up if it can handle one task your team already does by hand, using a sample of your own data. A polished demo on someone else's dataset doesn't count. Today, pick that task, strip a small sample of anything sensitive, and save it on your laptop so you can ask every vendor you meet to run it.
The Score
Top Tech Awards go to imaging QA, box-office software, and golf simulator tech. At the 16th annual Vegas Inc and Spectrum Business Top Tech Awards Oct. 20 at Allegiant Stadium, Healthcare & Biotech went to Rafael Kartaszynski of Diagnomatic, which makes automated QA tools for CT and MRI scanners from its US base at Black Fire Innovation and is supplying 320 CT test units with GE HealthCare for an Indonesian hospital program. CineMetrics CTO Oumar Willane won Spectrum Innovation for box-office reporting and royalty settlement software used by more than 100 theaters and venues. Evenplay's Bryan O'Reilly won Startup; the Las Vegas company builds skill-based golf simulator challenges. via Vegas Inc
The Townsite data center approval is set aside, and BLM starts over. Last week the Boulder City project was on hold over its environmental review. On Oct. 15, the Interior Board of Land Appeals granted the Bureau of Land Management's request to set aside its June approval of the data center on federal land, so the agency now has to conduct a new environmental review before it can decide on the project again. via Review-Journal · via Nevada Current
A hospice app built by a Las Vegas bellman makes the Gemini XPRIZE Top 100. Lorenz Valdez, who describes himself as a Las Vegas resort bellman, built LifeGuide on his own, a web app that helps hospice families with paperwork, doctor visits and 2 a.m. questions through a Gemini-powered companion. It made the Top 100 of the $2M Build with Gemini XPRIZE, run by XPRIZE with Google, which drew more than 26,000 registered builders. It didn't place when prizes were awarded in September, and Valdez says he's now looking for a hospice pilot partner and aiming for an App Store launch next year. via Devpost · via XPRIZE
The Strip (Tech Edition)
Spotlight
AI week, from the Venetian to Wednesday night
Oracle AI World Oct 25–28 · Tech Alley Henderson Oct 28 · Las Vegas AI Builders Oct 28
Oracle AI World opens today at the Venetian Convention & Expo Center and runs through Wednesday. Wednesday evening brings Tech Alley Henderson at Wildhorse Golf Club and Las Vegas AI Builders at TensorWave HQ, which is full right now, so join the waitlist if you want in. Both overlap Founder Social at Chicken N Pickle, so pick one. Oracle AI World · Tech Alley Henderson · Las Vegas AI Builders
Ongoing: AngelNV Due Diligence Bootcamp runs through Tue Nov 10 at the International Innovation Center @ Vegas.
This Week, Day by Day
Sunday, Oct 25
Oracle AI World, Sun–Wed, Oct 25–28 @ The Venetian Convention & Expo Center. Details
Tuesday, Oct 27
Ai Dev Craft, Tue–Wed, Oct 27–28 @ Red Rock Resort (workshops Oct 26). Details
Wednesday, Oct 28
StartUp Vegas LinkUp, 11:00 AM–2:00 PM @ WeWork Town Square, 6543 S Las Vegas Blvd. Details
Tech Alley Henderson, 5:00–8:30 PM @ Wildhorse Golf Club, 2100 W Warm Springs Rd, Henderson. Overlaps AI Builders and Founder Social later the same evening, so pick one. Details
Las Vegas AI Builders (host approval required, currently full with a waitlist), 6:00–8:00 PM @ TensorWave HQ, just off the Strip (exact location shared after registering). Details
Founder Social: Chicken N Pickle, 6:00–8:00 PM @ Chicken N Pickle, 3381 St Rose Pkwy, Henderson. Details
On the Horizon
DigiMarCon, Wed–Fri, Nov 4–6 @ Luxor. Details
AMA Las Vegas: Cybersecurity & Trust in an AI-Driven World, Thu, Nov 5, 11:30 AM–1:30 PM @ Fogo de Chao, 360 E Flamingo Rd. Details
Free Co-Working, Fri, Nov 6, 9:00 AM–3:00 PM @ International Innovation Center @ Vegas, 300 S 4th St #180. Details
SCORE Las Vegas Small Business Resource Fair (free, registration required), Fri, Nov 6, 10:00 AM–2:00 PM @ Black Fire Innovation, 8400 W Sunset Rd, Suite 400. Workshops on business planning, AI and marketing, and financial management, plus local resource partners, with breakfast and lunch included. Details
LevelUp, Fri, Nov 6, 6:00–8:30 PM @ WeWork Town Square. Details
Coworking Session: Vibecoding, Sat, Nov 7, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM @ Tous Les Jours Cafe, 4731 Spring Mountain Rd Ste B. Details
Further out: Founders Night Nov 11 / Dec 9 · LVIMA Year-End Nov 12, 6:00–8:00 PM (members only, venue not yet announced), same evening as FounderNV Brand Loyalty, 6:00–7:15 PM at the International Innovation Center @ Vegas · HLTH Nov 15–18, Venetian Expo · RE+ Nov 16–19, primarily at the Las Vegas Convention Center · Speed Mentoring LV Nov 19, 6:00–8:00 PM, overlapping the AMA Friendsgiving Mixer, 5:00–8:00 PM (venue not yet announced) · Tech Alley Nov 21 / Dec 19 · re:Invent Nov 30–Dec 4 · Free Co-Working Dec 4 · AI Agents Summit Dec 8–10 (venue TBA) · CES Jan 6–9, 2027 · Startup World Cup LV Jan 7, 2027, 5:00–8:30 PM, Planet Hollywood · Startup Week Las Vegas Feb 17–20, 2027
The Stack
Local programs, workspaces, and calendars to keep handy.
Zero Labs Casino & Gaming Innovation Launchpad. A free accelerator for gaming and casino startups that takes no equity. Check the program page for future cohorts. Details
tech.vegas. A free calendar of Las Vegas technology and startup events. Details
International Innovation Center @ Vegas. StartUpNV’s downtown workspace near Fremont, with 24/7 member access and hot desks starting at about $150 a month. Details
Black Fire Innovation (UNLV). A facility for developing and testing hospitality, gaming, and entertainment technology at the Harry Reid Research & Technology Park. Details
Roseman Bioventures. A 120,000-square-foot life-science incubator in Summerlin with lab space, regulatory and commercialization support, mentorship, and investor connections. Details
InnovateNV. StartUpNV’s deep-tech program for SBIR and STTR applicants, with a proposal accelerator, expert sessions, one-on-one support, and Phase 0 microgrants. Details
UNLV NSF I-Corps. A commercialization path for UNLV-affiliated teams, with mentoring, $1,000–$3,000 in seed funding, and a referral path to larger NSF awards. Details
FounderNV. A free, year-round Nevada founder community with workshops, a speaker series, Founder Hour, and peer networking. Details
SYN Shop. A Las Vegas hackerspace for makers and hardware builders, with shared tools and prototyping space. Details
The Ask
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Last call
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See you next week.
— Charles