Tulsa, Oklahoma—once home to the thriving Black Wall Street—could soon become a model for how communities harness artificial intelligence to drive education, innovation, and economic growth. Black Tech Street (BTS) has signed an MOU with NVIDIA, aiming to establish Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District as a national leader in AI-powered economic development.
From Black Wall Street to AI Street
Black Tech Street, which works to “rebirth” Black Wall Street as a center of the innovation economy, is spearheading Tulsa’s role in the federal Tech Hubs program. The city recently secured $51 million in funding as part of the designation, with $10.6 million earmarked for a new Greenwood AI Center of Excellence, led by BTS.
Partnering with NVIDIA gives that effort rocket fuel. The deal will bring cutting-edge technology, advanced computing resources, and expertise to the region—along with a plan to train up to 10,000 learners through collaborations with Langston University, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa Community College, and local community groups.
“NVIDIA is powering the AI revolution… To have them standing with us in Greenwood, committing to help our community harness and lead this revolution, means more than I can articulate,” said BTS founder and CEO Tyrance Billingsley II.
What the Partnership Brings
The collaboration is designed to blend workforce development, startup acceleration, and community-based innovation. According to the MOU, NVIDIA will:
- Recruit students, entrepreneurs, and technologists into training and certification programs.
- Provide access to GPUs and cloud platforms for AI projects and startups.
- Host hackathons, tech fairs, and innovation challenges to drive community engagement.
- Connect local innovators to its Inception startup ecosystem.
- Pursue funding alongside BTS from federal, state, and philanthropic sources.
Local leaders are enthusiastic. “This partnership will help cement Tulsa’s role in the AI and tech industry, generating an economic impact we’ll see for years to come,” said Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols.
Economic Empowerment Meets AI
The initiative isn’t just about teaching code—it’s about economic empowerment. By fueling tech startups, creating high-paying jobs, and integrating AI into community systems, the collaboration aims to turn Greenwood into a national model for AI-driven economic growth.
Louis Stewart, NVIDIA’s Head of Ecosystem Development, said the partnership is about preparing all segments of the workforce: “We’re equipping people to sustain transformative technology that is building America’s future.”
A National Signal from Middle America
As AI investment clusters on the coasts, Oklahoma is making a bid to prove innovation hubs can thrive elsewhere. Senator James Lankford put it bluntly: “Oklahoma is fast becoming a national leader in next-generation innovation… You don’t have to be on the coasts to be on the cutting edge.”
The execution of the MOU will be supported by Tulsa Innovation Labs, Microsoft, Seedai, Langston University, Tulsa Economic Development Corporation, Urban Coders Guild, and the Tulsa Higher Education Consortium.
Through NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute University Ambassador Program, local educators will also gain certification and access to GPU-accelerated resources, ensuring the initiative builds not just talent pipelines but long-term institutional strength.
Why It Matters
With AI often criticized for concentrating wealth in a handful of tech capitals, the NVIDIA–Black Tech Street partnership signals a different vision: community-centered AI innovation that creates pathways for historically marginalized groups.
If successful, Greenwood could once again be synonymous with prosperity—this time as a proving ground for what an inclusive AI-powered economy looks like.
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