A Night of Celebration, Curiosity, and Community at Our First AI Capacity Showcase
On Thursday, November 20, SEG hosted the first showcase and graduation event for the AI Capacity Catalyst Program, bringing together the thirty three participants and twenty eight organizations that completed the ten week learning experience. Our Hub was filled with founders, teammates, friends, and family who came to see the twenty two prototypes developed during the program’s six workshops.
The night had a simple purpose. Give graduates a chance to show what they built and how AI can help them solve everyday challenges inside their ventures.
Our inaugural class represented a wide range of social impact ventures. For instance, Casa Azul Taqueria worked on a prototype that automates back office tasks. Turtle Island Community Capital explored tools that support lending operations. Keva Health built an early version of an AI supported tool for asthma and COPD management. Conexión Latina focused on communications tools that help them reach more community members. HealthCare Analytics developed a health risk assessment tool that can tell you the chances of developing chronic illnesses like diabetes just by entering basic health information.
Other ventures included food businesses, advocacy groups, environmental innovators, retail operations, and community development organizations. The variety made the showcase feel practical and grounded. Everyone built something that addressed a real need inside their work.
Attendees moved from table to table, testing demos and hearing the story behind each idea. Many of the founders shared that they came into the program feeling unsure about how AI could fit into their operations. By the end of the ten weeks, they not only had a working prototype, but also a clearer sense of how technology can free up their time and strengthen their impact.
The evening began with a live taping of our fifth episode of the POV with SEG podcast series. For this episode, SEG CEO Julie Owens spoke with Sam Azar, Founder and Chief Executive of Ascend Impact Advisors, about responsible and human centered uses of AI. Sam and his team partnered with SEG to design and deliver the AI Capacity Catalyst Program, and their conversation reflected the same themes participants experienced throughout the fall. Start with real problems. Focus on tools that help people. Keep the work accessible and rooted in mission.
Chris Antao and Brooke Tubbs from Gnome Surf joined the conversation to share their experience as graduates. They spoke about what they learned and how their prototype is delivering surfing lessons right to your living room. Click here to listen to the full episode!
What stood out most about the showcase was its practicality. It wasn’t about big predictions or high tech rhetoric. It was about social impact entrepreneurs learning something new, applying it immediately, and leaving with tools they can continue to build on.
The AI Capacity Catalyst Program was created to help small teams strengthen their capacity in ways that are clear, useful, and sustainable. The showcase reflected exactly that. We look forward to continuing this work and supporting more ventures as they explore how AI can help them grow and adapt.To learn more about all of our graduates and their innovative prototypes, click here.