What's that Shadowy Place? That's the Unicorn Graveyard..

Hackathons with a $3000 prize, our new AI-Community Manager, Events Galore and a word from the MLAI team

🦄 Unicorn Graveyard: NEXT WEDNESDAY

These are stories of HUGE startup wins that still ended. Four founders who hit real momentum; paying customers, rapid growth, one even building from Apple’s Billion Dollar Circle Campus; will share 5–10 minute stories and take your questions on why, despite all that, they chose to shut down or hand their startups over. No pitch decks, no vanity metrics, just the key decision points, what hurt, what they’d repeat, and how to let go without losing yourself. Come to reframe “failure” as progress, pick up practical frameworks for hard calls, and leave with notes not just vibes (tissues and party horns welcome). If you’ve ever tied your identity to a startup, or mentor folks who do, this one’s for you. RSVP and bring a friend and let’s change the culture.

Roo saving a baby from a burning building while doing a kickflip. (Or is he stealing a baby after he just set a fire?)

🦘Roo: MLAI Community Manager

We’re running a little experiment called Roo, Our AI Community Manager. Roo is a friendly Slack bot that helps you find the right people faster. Roo only looks at the #intros channel—so when you tag @Roo or ask for help, it can nudge the right folks into your thread for warm intros, answers, and collabs. If you don’t want to be part of this, simply don’t post in #intros (everything else in Slack is untouched!). We’ve updated our privacy policy with the details. Goal: less scrolling, more real connections. Keen to try it? Drop a short intro in #intros and say hi to @Roo.

🏆 NextGen AI Hackathon; $3000 Main Prize

NextGen AI Hackathon kicks off Sat 23 Aug, 1pm at the World Trade Center, (No, not THAT World Trade Centre, the one in Docklands, Melbourne). A full week of real-world building with challenge partners like AskSia, StarPlan, Care GP, Fableration, JR Academy, Boson Ventures, Alibaba, ByteDance, Acase and Heidi Health. We’ve stacked the goodies: $3,000 main prize, ~$500 per-challenge prizes, $500 in compute credits from ByteDance, and Trae subscriptions for winners. Expect quick talks, mentor drop-ins, and an open venue all week to code, test, and get feedback, wrapping with a showcase and a shot to pitch at the NextGen AI Conference. If you’re a dev, designer, researcher or serial tinkerer who’d rather ship something useful than polish another deck, this is your week. Spots are limited—grab a ticket, bring your laptop, and let’s build.

🇨🇳 The AI Wave: How Far Ahead Is China?

Fresh off the World AI Conference in Shanghai, we’re running a no-BS fireside: “AI: How Far Ahead Is China?” Expect raw clips, clear data, live demos of Chinese AI tools (with a few handy deal codes), and an honest take on the US–China race—plus where Australia actually fits. Thu 28 Aug, 6–9pm at Stone & Chalk, 121 King St, Melbourne. Limited seats—grab your ticket on Humanitix.

💻 Coworking/Co-building

Join us for a chill AI co-working day at Stone & Chalk. Doors open 9:00am—drop in anytime, but you’ll get the most if you hang for the day. We’ll kick off with quick intros + asks (9:15–9:30), a light Coffee & Learn (11:00–11:30, TBC), then a group lunch break (12:30–1:30)—all totally opt-in. Outside those, just build, meet great people, and swap help as you go. If you arrive downstairs, call or SMS Callum and he’ll bring you up. Registration here:

🔥 Thinking about a hot desk?

Thinking about a hot desk?
If you’re hunting for a new workspace (or just ready to ditch your current one), come join us at Stone & Chalk.

• MLAI has an office there — we grab lunch together, talk shop, and swap ideas. Plus, the place is full of brilliant builders. People are always dropping in to get help debugging their “vibe-coded slop” or to get expert advice on the best tools for the job.

• Grab a hot desk so we can hang out, trade tips, and maybe even help ship your next big thing.
  📩 Email us at hi@mlai.au if you’re keen or want to snag a good deal.

  

  ☕ MLAI Merch

  Caps, mugs, tees, stickers, hoodies — fresh drip to keep the Aussie AI community indie. Merch booths will pop up at our next few events; swing by, say hi, and snag something comfy.
  

☕ Outback Hack; Hackeroos x MLAI

AI in the Outback is a 20 days remote hackathon powered by Hackeroos, MLAI AUS, and the University of Melbourne, with sponsorship support from Lovable and Antler. We invite global participants to co-create AI-driven projects with an Australian theme. You could win a Hackeroos Survival Pack, AI credits, and VC mentorship. Tickets here

Stay fresh, Cheese Bags

Sam - MLAI