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Building at the Crossroads: AI, Infrastructure & Entrepreneur Opportunity
Building at the Crossroads: AI, Infrastructure & Entrepreneur Opportunity

Building at the Crossroads: AI, Infrastructure & Entrepreneur Opportunity

Join us in person and VIRTUALLY to explore how AI and infrastructure is sparking new opportunities for Engineering-Focused Entrepreneurs! Made Possible by the Lemelson Foundation


Registration is closed

Time & Location

Aug 12, 2026, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Kiln, 1120 SE Madison St, Portland, OR 97214, USA

About the event

Join us in person and VIRTUALLY to explore how AI and infrastructure is sparking new opportunities for Engineering-Focused Entrepreneurs!

Building at the Crossroads: AI, Infrastructure & Entrepreneurial Opportunity

Whether you’re an engineer, entrepreneur or just curious, this event is your chance to explore new opportunities and connect with like-minded innovators!



AI is peaking and is here to stay...with this, it's putting pressure on our power grid as we build the infrastructure to sustain our AI use and prop up our US GDP. According to Harvard Economist Jason Furman, AI infrastructure investment represented 4% of US GDP in early 2025 — yet drove 92% of total GDP growth. Without AI Infrastructure, annualized growth would have been nearly zero. The stakes are high!

This means higher energy bills, possible environmental damage, and health consequences for everyday households. Fourteen states are pushing back with proposed limits on new facilities.

But where there's pressure, there's also opportunity! Startups are already finding innovative solutions- like Span, which is partnering with Nvidia and PulteGroup to test small, home-mounted AI computing units that tap into existing home electrical capacity instead of building new large-scale infrastructure. It's a glimpse of what's possible when innovators think differently about where computing power lives.

These kinds of solutions don't happen in isolation. They happen when entrepreneurs, communities, and policymakers share a common understanding of what's at stake. The founders best positioned to lead in this moment see the whole picture — the technology, the policy, the community impact, the environmental consequences, the opportunity.

This panel brings those perspectives together to explore how you can build, compete, and lead in this space.

What you'll gain:

  • Systems literacy: how software, hardware, policy, and utilities interact in the AI era

  • A clear map of entrepreneurial entry points in climate tech, grid flexibility, and community-aligned infrastructure

  • One concrete framework to evaluate the resource footprint of your own technical projects

  • A shared understanding of how businesses, consumers, and regulators each shape AI infrastructure — and where you fit


Attending VIRTUALLY?


Once confirmed, you will receive a Zoom Link to the email provided.

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