Ryan Wilson is speaking at the AFROTECH™  Conference 2026 in Houston, the conference's 10th year. Wilson is CEO and co-founder of The Gathering Spot, the private membership club and community that started with one location and now operates in multiple cities.

Unrivaled has a new uniform partner heading into its third season. The deal comes a month after Unrivaled closed an oversubscribed Series C round of more than $100 million, led by Ten Pillars Sports Fund.

Stanford University is facing an embarrassing situation after it was noticed that the school had digitally altered a student photo, swapping out the race and gender of a student.

Anthony Edwards is expanding his adidas partnership into a sketch comedy series. "They always said your commercials are like TV shows, so I went and made one," he said.

Explore how Aliko Dangote’s refinery IPO is democratizing wealth and setting a new benchmark for Black business.

Here's everything you missed at the second AI Edge workshop, which focused on building automated workflows using Claude.

Footlocker and NIKE, Inc. have joined forces with Crenshaw community leaders to open The Crenshaw Rec in Los Angeles.

The best Black medical conferences in 2026 for physicians, nurses, and health-tech leaders — including HealthStack Conference at AfroTech in Houston.

Microsoft and Kearney are showcasing how AI can be used to fight against Black maternal health disparities in new documentary.

Here's everything AfroTech learned from AI Edge's first workshop, showcasing the latest trends in the industry.

By Antonia Dean, Partner at Black Operator Ventures (Black Ops VC), an early stage VC firm Why Founders Who Build For Their Inner Circle Often Miss The Market Entirely When most founders start a company they turn to their immediate network and community for support. Whether it’s their friends telling them their idea is brilliant, or family members offering encouragement and sometimes even your first investment. These individuals want you to succeed, so it might make initial sense to go to them first. However, if you confuse support with customer demand, that becomes a problem. As a partner at an early-stage venture capital firm who invests in first-time founders, it’s one of the most common and costly mistakes in entrepreneurship that I see happen. The people closest to you are often the least reliable indicators of whether you’ve built something customers actually want. Friends and family are not your market. Sure experiences that you’ve had growing up could spark business ideas...

AFROTECH™ is returning to Martha’s Vineyard , hosting the second year of AFROTECH™ House on Aug. 16, in Edgartown, Massachusetts , bringing together founders, venture capitalists, and business leaders for a day focused on wealth building and Black economic power. The investors attending represent more than $1 billion in assets under management, making it one of the most concentrated gatherings of Black capital of the summer. AFROTECH™ House is a premium extension of the AFROTECH™ platform, built as a boutique, high-touch setting with daytime programming and an evening reception, centered on curated introductions and deal flow. Toyota Motor North America is the official automotive sponsor, backing the day from morning programming through the evening reception. Programming runs from a curated morning breakfast into fireside conversations on investing, ownership, and generational wealth, with investors and experts from Mass Mutual, Mac Venture Capital, Collide Capital, and others...

The 10 best Black tech conferences in 2026, from AfroTech in Houston to NSBE. Dates, cities, and who each one is for.

AFROTECH™ is committing to train one million people in artificial intelligence, expanding access to practical AI education while helping learners, professionals, entrepreneurs, creators, and community leaders build the skills needed for an AI-powered future.

AFROTECH™ Conference 2026 is coming soon! The annual gathering for Black professionals across technology, business, culture, and innovation returns to Houston Nov. 2-6 for a milestone year as AFROTECH™ celebrates its 10th anniversary. This year’s conference will feature programming across 13 tracks, covering topics including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and risk, engineering, product and design, marketing and advertising, fintech, healthcare, government and civic engagement, energy and sustainability, entrepreneurship, data, and the future of work. Meet Some Of The Speakers Announced So Far For AFROTECH™ 2026 As AFROTECH™ marks its 10th anniversary, new and returning speakers from across technology, business, healthcare, policy, and culture will take the stage in Houston, with more announcements still to come. Among the first speakers announced is Timnit Gebru , founder and executive director of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR), whose work...