The next step to establish Tulsa as the AI and internet capital of the world arrived Thursday with the opening of Black Tech Street’s Greenwood Cyber + AI Lab.
Located on the second and third floors of the Greenwood Entrepreneurship at Moton, a business and tech lab, the space will offer “VR headsets” and “servers” among other technologies, while also allowing startups to access assistance from Microsoft staff.
Black Tech Street will continue its ASPIRE program focused on expanding AI fluency, workforce development and education for students, educators and professionals.
Tyrance Billingsley II, founder of Black Tech Street, said his efforts to ensure Tulsans understand AI stems from the uncertainty that lies with its future, which he said is “not certain to go well.”
“There has never been a more consequential time to be alive, and there has never been a more consequential technological revolution,” Billingsley II said. “The opening of the lab at Black Tech Street HQ means that Greenwood has an invaluable asset to ensure that its members are leading this revolution and shaping how our nation will lead.”
In 2024, Tulsa’s Tech Hubs coalition, led by Tulsa Innovation Labs, received $51 million in federal funding to establish the region as a national center for advanced autonomy technologies. $10.6 million was allocated to the Greenwood AI Center.
The space will be free to use, and all intellectual property created at the center will be owned by its creators.
Billingsley II told The Eagle entrepreneurs interested in the space must fill out an intake process, which opens in July.
“Even if you don’t have tech experience and you’re just trying to whiteboard something out, it’s built to be able to help get those people and help them get from idea to prototype,” he said.
Leading up to July, Black Tech Street and Microsoft will continue filling out the space with new technology.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
