RIoT

Come cheer on the next generation of innovators! RIoT’s RAP Founder Showcase & Pitch Night is your chance to watch local startups pitch their big ideas — live. 👉 Why attend? Because your energy fuels their success. Because you might meet your next collaborator or co-founder. Because you’ll see the future of tech and entrepreneurship unfold right here in our community. Monday, October 27 5:00pm - 8:00pm Havoc Brewing Company, Pittsboro, NC Free & Open To The Public Register Here: https://buff.ly/1qnIOFm Don’t miss it — connect, celebrate, and get inspired. #RIoT #RAPShowcase #Startups #Innovation #Community

Every startup founder knows the journey: start small, test fast, adapt, and scale what works. The same playbook applies to building smart, sustainable cities. Join us next Tuesday at Triangle Tech Night to learn how entrepreneurs are turning sustainability tech pilots into scalable businesses—with the support of investors, corporate partners, civic leaders, and programs like Raleigh’s Impact Partner Grant. If you’re working on solutions in clean energy, climate innovation, or resilient infrastructure, this is where you need to be. 📅 October 7 | 🕔 5:00 PM | 📍 Raleigh Founded - North Street ✨ Free & open to the public 👉 Register here: https://buff.ly/xdOMNji

AI may be transforming entire industries, but behind every cutting-edge system is the hardware we interact with daily. In this special live episode of RIoT Underground, RIoT’s Tom Snyder sits down with Mike Laut, Founder & CEO of Laut Design, to explore how thoughtful product design makes AI not only functional—but trustworthy. 👉 Tune in to learn how design, engineering, and innovation shape the future of human-AI interaction. 🎧 Listen here: https://buff.ly/h8G6jQB

What happens when a biomedical engineering student follows her curiosity, takes a risk, and transforms a lab project into a company? You get Ellora McTaggart, Co-Founder and CEO of Carolina Instruments—a UNC spinout building wearable, camera-free eye-tracking technology with the potential to transform neuroscience, clinical diagnostics, and beyond. Ellie’s path wasn’t the typical startup story. She chose entrepreneurship over academia, leaned into the NC startup ecosystem to learn fast, and embraced the challenge of being a young female founder in biotech—a space where representation is still limited. Her journey is about more than technology. It’s about breaking barriers, listening deeply, and proving that impact can come from those bold enough to take the road less traveled. 👉 Watch the interview + read the full story here: https://buff.ly/8lxlXzJ

TONIGHT! In a world obsessed with AI, hardware still matters right? As AI continues to revolutionize industries, it’s easy to overlook the physical products we interact with every day. Yet, behind every cutting-edge AI system lies hardware that shapes how we experience and trust these technologies. Join RIoT for a dynamic conversation with Mike Laut, Founder & CEO of Laut Design, product and brand design firm, specializing in transforming emerging technologies and ideas into market-ready products and explore the intersection of physical product design and AI-powered technology, and discuss how thoughtfully designed hardware plays a pivotal role in enhancing AI systems. 5:30pm | Raleigh Founded - Gateway RSVP Here: https://buff.ly/xfxhO78

Building smarter cities and stronger startups both start with collaboration. Entrepreneurs are pioneering solutions in clean energy, resilient infrastructure, waste reduction, and climate-focused innovation. But to move from pilot projects → scalable impact, it takes more than great ideas. At Triangle Tech Night with RIoT, we’re bringing together startups, investors, civic leaders, and corporate partners to explore how real-world pilots, strategic partnerships, and funding opportunities (like Raleigh’s Impact Partner Grant) are shaping the future of sustainable innovation. 📅 October 7 | 🕔 5:00 PM | 📍 Raleigh Founded - North Street 🎟 Free & open to the public! 👉 Save your spot: https://buff.ly/xdOMNji

Entrepreneurship often begins with a simple idea—and for Janie Hughes and Mike Hughes, that idea was bingo. What started as a playful side project quickly evolved into Bingo Bard, a social gaming platform powered by AI that helps people connect in new and meaningful ways. From family reunions to corporate networking events, their journey shows how creativity, community, and technology can transform tradition into innovation. In our latest RIoT Startup Spotlight, Janie and Mike share the ups, downs, and lessons learned as married co-founders building a startup with heart and vision. 👉 Watch their interview + read the full story here: https://buff.ly/YcPU5fR

In a world obsessed with AI, hardware still matters. Right? Join RIoT for our next #RIoTUndergroundLive where we will interview Mike Laut of Laut Design on how behind every AI system are thoughtfully designed products that shape how we interact with — and trust — these technologies. With deep expertise in industrial design, branding, engineering, and prototyping, Mike and his team bring emerging technologies to life by creating the physical products that house the AI our world depends on. 📅 Sept 16 | 5:30–8:00 PM 📍 Raleigh Founded – Gateway 🔗 Save your spot: https://buff.ly/1C30Jox

AI isn’t just about powerful algorithms — it’s about how people experience them. The success of AI depends on hardware that feels intuitive, reliable, and human-centered. From tactile feedback and ergonomics to portability and durability, product design shapes whether an AI-powered tool is trusted, adopted, and enjoyed. Join RIoT for our next #RIoTUndergroundLive where we will interview Mike Laut of Laut Design on how design thinking is fused with how products and brand identities are imagined, made, and marketed. 📅 Sept 16 | 5:30 PM |📍Raleigh Founded - Gateway 🔗 Register now: https://buff.ly/1C30Jox

Building a startup is a lot like building a smart city. + Start small → pilot ideas, test quickly, learn fast. + Co-design with stakeholders → customers, partners, community. + Iterate and adapt → what works in the lab must prove itself in the real world. + Scale what’s successful → sustainable growth comes from systems that work. Startups and entrepreneurs are already shaping the future of sustainability—clean energy, waste reduction, resilient infrastructure, and climate-focused innovation. But the big question remains: How do we move early pilots to scalable impact across cities? That’s what we’ll explore at Triangle Tech Night with RIoT. Join RIoT and Triangle Tech Night and learn how to scale sustainability startups, launch real-world pilot projects, engage investors and civic leaders, and tap into opportunities like Raleigh’s Impact Partner Grant. 📅 October 7 | 🕔 5:00 PM | 📍 Raleigh Founded - North Street | Free & open to the public! Register today 👉https://buff.ly/xdOMNji