AACC partnered with Google, Dell Technologies and Maryland Tech Council to teach students and community members about artificial intelligence and give them a networking opportunity on Monday.

AACC’s School of Science, Technology and Education worked with Google developers, AI experts, computer research scientists and software leaders to bring the Google DevFest to the college for the first time..

“My personal vision, my personal hope is to see Annapolis and [Anne Arundel County] become the next Austin [or] the next Silicon Valley,” Angelo Thalassinidis, the School of Science, Technology and Education assistant dean, said. 

Google’s global DevFest started in 2012 and has since reached out to more than 14,000 developers across 12 years. 

According to Thalassinidis, Google funded the event to showcase the company’s AI technologies and spark innovation within the county.

“It is an amazing thing, what Google is doing,” Thalassinidis said. “We [might] start seeing more and more [tech] companies being started in this area” because of Google’s investments.

More than 60 people showed up to the event, according to Thalassinidis.

“That’s the type of thing we love to see,” Thalassinidis said. “The energy that this tech community has will grow [and] I’m very excited.”