The Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship at New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center recently celebrated the completion of its GenAI Systems Builder Sprint, a six-week accelerator designed to help startups in New Mexico and the Borderplex region build practical AI-powered tools and automation systems for their businesses.
The program, held from April 2 through May 7, 2026, guided 8 participating startups through a progressive curriculum that moved founders from foundational systems thinking to building functional AI-powered applications. Delivered through weekly two-hour virtual sessions via Zoom, the Sprint gave founders a structured, hands-on environment to translate real business challenges into working AI tools, at no cost to participants.
"The GenAI Systems Builder Sprint enabled entrepreneurs to move beyond simply using AI tools and begin building AI systems that run parts of their companies. Each cohort member left with a working prototype tailored to their startup's specific needs, and that kind of practical, builder capacity is exactly what the New Mexico and Borderplex entrepreneurial ecosystem needs to grow and compete," said Carlos Murguia, director of the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship.
The six-week program was structured to build founder capability progressively. In Week 1, "From Chat to Systems", participants shifted from using AI for simple prompts to thinking in systems, setting up development environments, creating their first code repositories, and building working local applications. Week 2, "Your First System", focused on designing useful AI tools that support real business workflows, with participants building web applications that generate AI-powered meeting preparation briefs.
In Week 3, "Systems for Operations: Cursor is a System Builder", founders identified operational bottlenecks in their startups and built automation engines to process structured data and generate outputs such as automated emails and reports. Week 4, "APIs & Automation: From Single Input to Operational Scale", introduced API integrations, enabling participants to connect their AI systems to external data sources and build data processing pipelines that automate recurring tasks. Week 5, "AI Memory Systems: From Tasks to Execution", introduced embeddings and vector databases, with participants building internal AI assistants capable of retrieving company knowledge, generating insights, and supporting operational execution workflows.
In the final week, "From Drafts to Durable Workflows", founders refined their systems by incorporating structured review and improvement layers designed to evaluate outputs, identify gaps, and improve the reliability of AI-generated work. Participants also reflected on how they plan to apply and extend these systems within their ventures to address operational bottlenecks and improve day-to-day workflows.
"Watching tasks that typically take weeks get done in seconds was very powerful. GenAI opened my eyes to how much leverage founders actually have access to right now. Tools like Cursor are a game changer for productivity. I'm leaving the Sprint excited to automate more of my company's processes," said Jessica Abreu, founder and CEO of Aravera Health.
The Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship continues to advance regional innovation by offering accessible, high-impact programming that strengthens the capacity of New Mexico and Borderplex founders to compete in an increasingly AI-driven economy.
For more information about the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship, contact Murguia at
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-hunt-center-marks-completion-of-the-genai-systems-builder-sprint/s/b32ab1d0-3a33-4d3f-85c2-4fa157254166
