François Locoh-Donou has several truths he believes Black professionals should apply. Locoh-Donou’s father was from a fishing village on the banks of Lake Togo in West Africa and was the fourth in a family of 16 children, Locoh-Donou explained on stage during AFROTECH™ Conference 2025. When it was time for his father to start school, admission was determined by height. After three failed attempts, he shares that his father refused to leave the school until he was accepted at age 9 into first grade. When it was time to graduate, his father then had the option to become a teacher, but he had broader aspirations. Leaving the village to study at a public high school 300 miles away, he graduated in the early 1960s. He applied for and was awarded a full-ride scholarship from the government to study architecture in college, which enabled him to complete projects across Africa. Locoh-Donou shares that he learned what an “extraordinary figure” his father was. He had not only helped his...

As anticipation continues to build for “Grand Theft Auto 6” (“GTA 6” or “GTA VI” ), one of the most anticipated video game releases in recent memory, new reports suggest that fans will have to wait a bit longer. Rockstar Games’ ‘GTA’ 6 Release Date Announced According to Reuters, publisher Take-Two Interactive has pushed the release date for Rockstar Games’ next major title, “GTA 6,” to Nov. 19, 2026. The announcement represents the second public delay, postponing the launch from May 2026, the outlet reports. Take-Two’s stock dipped about 6% following the news, but industry analysts told Reuters the delay could actually strengthen the game’s commercial potential. Releasing during the holiday season could align “GTA 6″ with peak consumer spending and major console promotions. “Releasing it closer to the holiday season allows for more opportunities to bundle with the tail end of current-gen consoles, making it more valuable to Take-Two because of the marketing dollars the console...

Dr. Astro Teller shares how Google X is pushing technological boundaries to solve global problems. During an AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 panel moderated by Blavity Inc. COO and Co-founder Jeff Nelson , Dr. Teller defined a moonshot as a groundbreaking technology that can solve a major world problem, but may sound like a piece of science fiction. He has worked at Google for 15 years as the co-founder and captain of moonshots at X, the moonshot factory, which engineers technologies specifically to solve global problems. Innovations that have come out of its lab include Google Brain, which is responsible for many of the advancements seen in machine learning today, such as AI chatbots. Additionally, Waymo, self-driving cars, and “Project Wing,” a drone delivery service, emerged. “The idea was not that we would look backwards at Google and try to fix Google’s problems, but instead our mission has always been go out in the world and find new problems to have and then hopefully solutions for...

More than 1 million people have lost their jobs already in 2025. Many people are out of a job this year, and this includes more than 300,000 Black women, according to The Root. This also comes at a time when diversity is under attack — with federal dollars being used as bait — and Americans are feeling the effects of a government shutdown. In Big Tech alone, there has been a string of layoffs this year at media companies, including Paramount, VIBE, and Teen Vogue, as a result of mergers, as well as other companies that include Meta, Microsoft, Starbucks, Oracle, American Airlines, and, most recently, Amazon. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Amazon will lay off 14,000 corporate workers, and AI is partly to blame. “This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet,” Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, said in a memo. “We’re convicted that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and...

Artificial intelligence is increasingly entering the music world, with AI-generated artists gaining attention on charts and in media coverage. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Telisha “Nikki” Jones, a poet and entrepreneur from Mississippi, has made headlines for her AI creation, Xania Monet. The artist’s debut single, “How Was I Supposed to Know?,” has already secured Jones a multi-million-dollar recording contract with Hallwood Media following a competitive bidding process that reached $3 million. In an interview with “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King, Jones discussed her approach to creating Xania Monet.   The 31-year-old emphasized that she writes all of the lyrics herself, often drawing from poems she has been composing since she was 24. “There’s real emotions and soul put into those lyrics,” Jones said. She added that “How Was I Supposed to Know?” was inspired by the death of her father when she was 8 years old. After writing the lyrics, Jones uses the AI platform Suno to...

Mustafa Suleyman has high hopes for the future of superintelligence and its impact on humanity. During a conversation at AFROTECH™ Conference 2025, he joked that he grew up playing “Snake” on a Nokia phone, which was supposedly a “phenomenon” when it launched in the late ’90s. Suleyman’s fascination with technological advancements never wavered, and his enthusiasm remains strong as the CEO of Microsoft AI. He shared his thoughts on superintelligence, stating early on that it “must always work in service of humanity.” He also offered his predictions for it by 2040. He expressed optimism about its potential to benefit humankind, believing that if developed successfully, it would align with human interests and improve the standard of living. Suleyman explained that it is already capable of world-class medical diagnostics and continues to advance in emotional intelligence and autonomous action. “It’s going to learn to use APIs, send emails, make phone calls, interact with us,” he...

A team of Morgan State University graduates has banded together to empower other HBCU students financially. Venture for T.H.E.M. is a D.C.-, Maryland-, and Virginia-based accelerator and social impact collective that was founded in 2024 to serve marginalized founders, students, and creatives. It is led by Kiante Bush (CEO) and Clarevonte “Clay” Williams (COO), who are joined by Jewel E. Bush (communications director) and Jeffrey S. Scruggs, M.S. (CTO), according to its website. It offers resources that include weekly workshops and networking, one-on-one mentorship from venture capitalists and C-suite executives, and funding pathways, including non-dilutive grants for HBCU startups. Already, more than 20 entrepreneurs at HBCUs have received funding. Under Venture for T.H.E.M., the AI-powered mobile app Fund.FWD has launched to connect HBCU students and alums to grants, scholarships, investor opportunities, and accelerators, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. Fund.FWD...

Dr. Jessica Shepherd’s upbringing emphasized education, which led her to become a doctor and chief medical officer. Dr. Shepherd, who brought her expertise to the AFROTECH™ Conference on Thursday, Oct. 30, admits she was intentional at an early age in planning for her future. Her path to being of service to others in health and wellness became clearer through her years of schooling, which started at the University of Oklahoma for her undergraduate studies. She brought that focus to Ross University School of Medicine (Doctor of Medicine), and then completed her OB/GYN residency at Drexell University College of Medicine, according to information shared on her LinkedIn. Today, she is the founder of Sanctum Med + Wellness, a concierge wellness concept founded in 2020 and based in Dallas. Additionally, since October 2024, Shepherd has served as chief medical officer of Hers, a telehealth platform that addresses hair loss, weight loss, perimenopause, menopause, midlife issues for women,...

What started as a spark in San Francisco, CA, has grown into a global hub for Black technology and innovation. Each year, the AFROTECH™ community convenes tens of thousands of professionals and students along with more than 150 global companies to exchange ideas, elevate representation, and celebrate progress. The weeklong experience is specifically curated to include top-tier keynotes, panels, networking events, and culture-driven programming that fuels the next generation of builders and leaders. The Beginning: From Idea To Impact In 2016, Blavity Inc. co-founders Morgan DeBaun and Jeff Nelson saw a gap in the tech industry. Major players hosted large conferences filled with opportunities, but those opportunities did not seem to be fully present for Black and brown people. Determined to change that, they launched the AFROTECH™ Conference in the Bay Area with 650 attendees, proving there was an audience ready for this kind of space. Photo Credit: AFROTECH™ By 2019, the conference...

Food critic Keith Lee has launched an initiative to ensure people on SNAP benefits can remain fed. During what is now the longest U.S. government shutdown, individuals and families are not receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as of Nov. 5, meaning some families may not have the means to buy groceries amid the holiday season. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of Providence, RI, has ordered the Trump administration to use a contingency fund for those who rely on SNAP benefits. The Hill reports the administration has agreed, but payments will still be delayed and are projected to be half the amount of what recipients typically receive. Community support is needed more than ever, and Lee is using his platform, which includes 17.3 million TikTok followers alone (at the time of this writing), to launch a relief initiative for those impacted by changes in SNAP benefits. Lee revealed that when he got his start on TikTok, he was...

This Black-owned design and operations firm is expanding its technology footprint. ContinuumX.ai Space Continuum, led by President Joshua Johnson, has launched ContinuumX.ai , its technology division, which will focus on robotics, AI integration, and enterprise deployment and will target healthcare, education, hospitality, and manufacturing industries, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. Humanoid and cognitive robots are in the works to be deployed in the U.S. Its efforts are in collaboration with strategic technology partner NEURA Robotics. Partnering with NEURA Robotics was a natural fit, since the company focuses on serving humanity and views robotics as a tool to collaborate with humans rather than replace them, Johnson told AFROTECH™. “A lot of robots will replace certain jobs. That’s based on the company saying that’s actually requiring what their vision is. That can be for different reasons. But we also need to identify where there’s a labor shortage in some...

The AI Edge Virtual Summit returns to empower professionals to move from experimenting with AI to building with it. Fresh off the success of AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 — which brought together more than 40,000 attendees to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX, from Oct. 27-31 — the summit will expand on the AI track that engaged founders, venture capitalists, students, professionals, and government leaders. Carrying forward the conference’s theme, “Building What’s Next,” the AI Edge Virtual Summit — powered by AFROTECH™ and which drew more than 4,000 participants in August — will guide attendees on building, automating, and scaling with AI to drive innovation and impact across their careers and industries. During the August summit, Blavity Inc. founder and CEO Morgan DeBaun shared her vision for how professionals can approach AI. “I’m sure you’ve also seen the news that says, ‘AI is taking people’s jobs,’ and the CEOs who are saying, ‘We’re going to replace 30%, 40%...

OpenAI’s Sora 2 is once again being misused. The feature has led to users creating AI-generate d videos through its model, which the company claims is “accurate, realistic, and more controllable than prior systems,” as AFROTECH™ previously told you. The feature was called out by Dr. Bernice A. King, the daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr., which prompted OpenAI, founded by Sam Altman, to stop users from creating deepfake videos of the Civil Rights activist. “The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. (King, Inc.) and OpenAI have worked together to address how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness is represented in Sora generations. Some users generated disrespectful depictions of Dr. King’s image. So at King, Inc.’s request, OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures,” OpenAI said on X. Futurism reports that in the latest controversy surrounding Sora 2, it was use d to depict a Black woman selling $2,500 a month in...

Steven Bartlett has secured historic funding for the creator economy. Bartlett, who has remained on an entrepreneurial path since dropping out of college and becoming a millionaire by 23, as AFROTECH™ previously told you, has scored an eight-figure investment for his creator company Steven.com. The company houses several divisions such as FlightStory, FlightFund, and, more recently, FlightCast, an AI-powered podcast hosting platform, as mentioned in a news release. “Steven.com is the creator holding company built to help high-potential creators grow their audience, build IP, commercialise their work, launch ventures, and provides the technology to power it all .​.. If you’re an aspiring creator please do get in touch,” he explained on Instagram. Slow Ventures and Apeiron Investment Group led Steven.com’s round. Philipp Freise (KKR), Second Sight Ventures, Tom Profumo (Active Partners), Magnus Grimeland (Antler), Gary Vaynerchuk, Kevin Rose (founder of Digg), Will Ahmed (Founder of...

Creators fighting the algorithm may need to have a change of heart, according to Tubi Vice President of Creator Partnerships Kudzi Chikumbu. He took the stage at AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 alongside Patreon’s Head of Business Development Stephanie Smellie on a panel moderated by Dream Con’s CFO Kendale King about how creators can break the revenue ceiling. Chikumbu suggests creators view platforms like businesses that they are looking to scale. They should evolve their content according to user and consumer taste, and lean into what platforms are telling them to be. “People need to stop blaming the algorithm and start being more flexible,” he said. He highlighted the push towards long-form content, which has remained a superpower for Tubi, and has captured the hearts of Gen Z and millennials through original IP and stories. “When people talk about ‘Why can’t I just post my pictures anymore? Why do I need to push for content, long-form content?’ It’s because that’s what people are...