September 28, 2026 · 2 min read
Where to meet people building with AI in Phoenix
A practical guide to the Valley's AI meetups, clubs and communities, and how to pick the right one for you.
The fastest way into AI isn't another course. It's a room full of people who are a few steps ahead of you and happy to show their work. Phoenix has more of those rooms than most people realize. Here's where to find them, and how to choose.
If you build things
AI Tinkerers Phoenix. The Phoenix chapter of the global AI Tinkerers network, for engineers, founders and researchers. The format is live technical demos, not slide decks. The chapter is relaunching with a demo night on October 7. phoenix.aitinkerers.org
Arizona AI & Emerging Technology. A free monthly meetup at 1951@SkySong in Scottsdale for people building with AI or curious about it. Talks start at 6:00 pm. Meetup
Phoenix AI & Robotics Devs. A developer meetup of about 1,800 members that has held events in Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix. Meetup
Phoenix AI Developers Group. An AICamp-run group of about 1,900 members with tech talks, study jams and code labs, mostly online recently. Meetup
If you work with data
DATAPHX. About 2,700 data professionals, experienced and new, with a monthly online discussion called PHX~CURRENTS. Meetup
Data Science Dojo, Phoenix. Aimed at business professionals learning data science, machine learning and AI. Recent sessions covered AI coding agents. Meetup
If you run a business
Venture Café Phoenix: AI for Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders. A recurring session on the fourth Thursday of each month, 4:30 to 5:30 pm, for founders and executives. Venture Café
The AI Collective, Arizona. The Arizona chapter of the nonprofit AI Collective launched in Phoenix in September 2026 and brings together founders, investors and builders. AI Collective
If you're a student
The AI Society at ASU. A student-run club with over 1,000 members that runs workshops, paper reading groups, speaker events and hackathons. It's open to students of any major. ais-asu.com
How to pick one
Go to one event for whichever group matches what you do today, and one that's a stretch. Builders should sit in on a business session now and then, and business folks should watch a demo night. The most useful conversations happen where those two groups overlap.
Every group here is also listed, with its latest events, on phxai.guide.
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