Building Tech on the Gulf Coast: Kai Gray, Founder of Motive AI | Founders Series

What does it look like to build technology outside a traditional tech hub?

For Kai Gray, it starts with a simple belief: you don’t have to be in Silicon Valley to build something that matters.

In this episode of The Hatch Podcast: Founders Series, Kai shares his journey from major tech markets to Fairhope, Alabama, where he’s building both a company and a growing technology community.

As founder and CEO of Motive AI, Kai works directly with businesses to help them make practical, thoughtful use of artificial intelligence. Alongside that work, he also founded Lower Alabama AI, a nonprofit and meetup focused on bringing people together to learn, share, and build around emerging technology on the Gulf Coast.

This episode explores how place, timing, and intention intersect—and why meaningful innovation doesn’t need a major tech hub to take root.

💡In this episode:

• Why building something great doesn’t require a big-city tech hub
• How Fairhope became part of Kai’s story long before the move
• The origins and growth of Lower Alabama AI
• The difference between AI hype and practical adoption
• What it takes for a region to believe it can lead with technology

About the guest

Kai Gray is the founder and CEO of Motive AI, where he helps organizations implement artificial intelligence in practical, business-focused ways. He is also the founder of Lower Alabama AI, a nonprofit focused on education, conversation, and community around technology and AI on the Gulf Coast.

• Motive AI: https://motiveai.ai
• Lower Alabama AI: https://la-ai.io