Over the past decade North Texas, as the destination for over 100 new corporate headquarters relocations and a burgeoning financial industry, has cemented a...
Apartments sit across the street from Dallas TX4, the fourth and final new data center building under construction at the NTT Data center campus in Garland, Texas, March 4, 2026. A row of diesel powered back-up generators in the foreground are being prepared to go online.
Over the past decade North Texas, as the destination for over 100 new corporate headquarters relocations and a burgeoning financial industry, has cemented a place among the country’s top business hubs. More recently the region has also established itself as a major center for applied AI, Mike Noel, a D-FW based managing director for the multinational tech firm Accenture, said in a speech in Irving on Monday. Along with the region’s strong financial connection to AI-related investments — this year alone tech companies are expected to invest around $650 billion on the technology, according to one analysis — Noel pointed to D-FW’s large high-tech workforce, strong research base and talent pipeline and local companies’ fast-moving AI adoptions. D-FW already has the sixth most AI-related jobs among U.S. metro areas, Noel pointed out, as well as a “growing AI community” of nonprofits, industry groups and other networking events. “D-FW has clearly earned its spot as a leader in applied AI and growth in America,” he said. “The opportunities we have are absolutely extraordinary.”It was not immediately clear which specific AI jobs statistic Noel was referring to, but the region has clearly been adding AI jobs. One more comprehensive AI economic report, published by the Brookings Institution in June, categorized D-FW as a “star hub” for the AI economy, its second-highest tier, with around 6,800 AI-related job postings and an overall “AI readiness” ranking of 13th among U.S. metro areas. Another report, published this month by the data site Coworking Cafe, ranked D-FW as the fifth best U.S. metro area for AI jobs, citing North Texas’ combination of strong growth in the sector and relative affordability. Noel was speaking as part of the opening remarks for Convergence AI Dallas, a two-day AI and business conference hosted by the Dallas Regional Chamber at the Irving Convention Center. Nearly 1,200 people registered for the event, according to a chamber representative, and more than 800 attended on Monday.Along with various speakers, the conference agenda includes small-group discussions, AI workshops and networking-oriented events. “It’s about gaining real insights, making real connections and having honest conversations about how AI is changing our world,” said Noel. “It’s not just about the hype. We’re going to have the tough conversations too about the headwinds that we’ve all seen.” One attendee, Victor Fishman, the executive director of the Texas Research Alliance, a group that fosters connections between D-FW universities and the private and public sectors, toldhe expected the conference to give him better insight into the current state of the rapidly evolving technology. “This gives you a view of how fast AI and technology in general is moving across all of our industry verticals and the challenges that companies are able to address now that they could not before,” he said.“And what that means is our universities have to be aware of that, our municipalities have to be aware of that, and our public agencies have to be aware of that if they’re going to be productive partners with all of our industry companies.” In addition to Noel, Monday morning’s schedule at the conference included a discussion focused on AI learning between Hani Rachidi, an AI Labs head at Capital One, and Kristen Dicerbo, the chief learning officer at Khan Academy, a large online educational nonprofit; remarks and a new AI product launch from Dave Copps, the cofounder and CEO of the AI intelligence platform Worlds; and a presentation on AI and infrastructure by Troy Rudd and Janne Aas-Jakobsen, executives at the Dallas-based multinational consulting firm Aecom, which advises clients on projects related to transportation, energy, commercial real estate and other spheres. “The impact has started to become very, very clear,” Aas-Jakobsen, the company’s head of AI for engineering, said of AI in her remarks, “and the way we use AI is the core of what we do in engineering. It’s helping us in solving the complexity at higher speed, lower risk.” AI is also enabling the firm to better tailor its services to clients, Aas-Jakobsen added, by designing for more specific priorities like maximizing ceiling height or minimizing material expenditure in commercial real estate projects. “That is the kind of engineering that we haven’t been able to do when we’ve been working in the digital age,” she said. “That is what we now can do.”Cindy Clemishire says she will continue to seek justice after Robert Morris' release from jail
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Hemp Cannabis ban to close at least 1 North Texas business, others worriedSmokable hemp will be banned in Texas March 31. Dallas businesses fear a major hit as license fees rise and fines reach $10,000 a day.
Read more »
North Texas man charged with murder after random fatal stabbing at Garland grocery storeA 32-year-old man faces murder charges after allegedly committing a random and unprovoked fatal stabbing at a Garland grocery store on Friday night.
Read more »
H-E-B Announces Plans for New Grocery Store in Royse City, Expanding North Texas FootprintH-E-B is set to build a new grocery store in Royse City, Texas, a rapidly growing community northeast of Rockwall, with construction expected to begin early next year and an opening anticipated in 2028. The expansion reflects H-E-B's ongoing investment in the dynamic North Texas market.
Read more »
Arts performances and exhibitions across North Texas April 3-9Here’s a list of performances and exhibitions across Dallas-Fort Worth from April 3 through 9.
Read more »
Astronaut Victor Glover, Jr., with North Texas ties, to pilot Artemis II missionVictor Glover Jr. will pilot NASA’s Artemis II on a 10-day lunar flyby, becoming the first Black man to fly around the moon.
Read more »
April 2026 Astronomy: What's in the North Texas Sky this month?See what to watch in the North Texas sky in April 2026, from the Pink Moon and Lyrids to a planet parade and possible comet views.
Read more »