The AI-Curious
Students, career-switchers, anyone wanting to understand where this is heading. You don't need to be technical. You need to be interested.
By builders,
for builders.
In mid-Missouri.
A community meetup for people actually working with AI in mid-Missouri. Builders shipping real things, operators deploying it in their work, and the curious figuring out where to start. Come hang out, swap notes, and meet the people building the next thing next door.
Join our community of builders from:
// who we are
COMO AI is a community meetup for the people actually doing the work with AI in mid-Missouri, and the ones trying to figure it out alongside them.
We're not running it like a conference because mid-Missouri doesn't need another conference. No vendor pitches. No hype decks. No keynote parade. Just builders, pros, and the curious, at the same table, talking to each other.
Operators
The people deploying AI inside their org. Marketing, ops, legal, clinical, whatever. Figuring out what's hype and what's durable.
Builders
Engineers, founders, and tinkerers actively building with LLMs, agents, RAG, or whatever's on your workbench. Show up with what you've learned and the problems you haven't cracked yet.
// next meetup
// what to expect
Show up, grab a plate, find a fire, stay for the conversations.
Fireside.
Not a lecture hall. Real talk.
Small group discussions around a bonfire — the kind of conversations that don't happen in conference rooms. No slides, no stage, no keynote parade. Pick a fire, pick a topic, and talk with the people building AI across mid-Missouri.
Connections
Small enough to actually remember names. Meet the people working on AI across Columbia, mid-Missouri, and the university. Conversations worth having, contacts worth keeping.
Food & Drinks
We cover the food and drinks so you can focus on the people. Grab a plate, find a spot by the fire, leave with new contacts and a few ideas worth chasing.
Drop a Track
Got something worth sharing? Suggest a topic or volunteer to present at a future meetup. Five to seven minutes, no slides required.
// past meetups
What we've shipped.
A snapshot of COMO AI's first meetups. What got demo'd, who showed up, and what people walked out talking about.
● Meetup #06
October 15, 2026 · Shakespeare's Pizza
Back at Shakespeare's
The original format, back at the original home base. Short presentations from local builders on what they're shipping with AI, followed by open conversation over pizza. The room that started it all, six meetups in.
Presentations + pizza
Back to the OG venue
● Meetup #05
September 10, 2026 · VillageCo & Soundcheck Studios
Community Showcase
First showcase format. Four builders set up demo stations at VillageCo and Soundcheck Studios: an investing game, AI pavement engineering research, a live agentic authenticity-detection tool, and an AI skills platform for students. Walk-around format, pizza, and conversations across the room.
4 demo stations
New venue, new format
● Meetup #04
August 20, 2026 · International Tap House
AI Happy Hour at iTAP
First pure networking night. No presentations, no schedule. The mid-Missouri AI crowd in one room with cold drinks and good conversation. Builders, operators, and the curious swapping notes across the bar.
Happy hour crowd
New venue, new format
● Meetup #02
April 8, 2026 · Shakespeare's Pizza
The AI Mixtape drops
Second wave back at Shakespeare's. Debut of the AI Mixtape format: short tracks from mid-Missouri builders, followed by B-side table chats. Standing room only by the time the tracks rolled.
Full house
Mixtape Vol. 1 shipped
● Meetup #01 · Sold out
March 11, 2026 · Shakespeare's Pizza
Intros, networking, and a Gamma AI demo
First wave of mid-Missouri builders, pros, and curious folks in the same room. Lightning intros, open conversation, and a walk-through of Gamma AI from someone using it for real client work.
Sold out in 48h
Gamma AI demo
// questions
Frequently asked.
Do I need to be technical to come?
No. About a third of the room on any given night isn't technical at all. Marketing leads, ops people, students, founders, attorneys, clinicians. The only requirement is curiosity. If you're using AI in your work or trying to figure out where to start, you belong here.
Is it really free? What's the catch?
It's really free. The Center for Transformative Tech at Trulaske covers the food and the venue, with help from a rotating list of community partners. There's no ticket, no upsell, no list-grab. RSVPing just helps us order the right amount of pizza.
Can I demo something I'm building?
Yes, please. Demos are 5 minutes max, no slides required, just show the thing. Use the drop a track form or email c4tt@missouri.edu at least a week before the meetup with a one-line description and we'll slot you in.
Who organizes COMO AI?
COMO AI is hosted by the Center for Transformative Tech at Trulaske College of Business, University of Missouri, and run as a community project. Meaning the people in the room shape what it becomes. We're not a chapter of anything bigger. We're not a recruiting funnel. We're mid-Missouri's AI room.
How often does this happen?
Monthly, on a weekday evening. Venues and formats rotate. We've been at Shakespeare's, International Tap House, VillageCo, and Cooper's Ridge in Boonville so far. Some nights are community showcases with live demos, some are open networking, some are short talks, and some are fireside discussions outdoors. The COMO AI briefing (our newsletter) is the best way to hear about the next one as soon as it's locked.
// stay involved
Between meetups
Join the Discord
Where the community actually lives between meetups. Builders, operators, and the curious swapping notes, links, and working sessions from across mid-Missouri.
Open invite
Signal boost
Share a resource
A long read, a tool, a paper, a workflow, a prompt that actually works. Send it in. We surface the best of it in the briefing below and credit you.
Send it over
Partner with us
Back the room
We keep it free and open because partners make it possible. If your org wants to support mid-Missouri's AI community, let's talk.
Get in touch
Get on the mixtape
Drop a track
Five to seven minutes on what you're building or just figured out. No slides required. Works-in-progress welcome. That's the whole point.