Connect with us

Technology

UrbanGeekz CEO Kunbi Tinuoye Joins TechLifeSteph To Discuss AI And Entrepreneurship

Published

on

PHILADELPHIA, July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — UrbanGeekz founder and CEO Kunbi Tinuoye recently joined WURD’s TechLifeSteph host Stephanie Humphrey for a wide-ranging conversation exploring artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, the future of digital media, and several recent stories published on UrbanGeekz.

During the interview, Humphrey invited Tinuoye to discuss the inspiration behind UrbanGeekz. The conversation also explored recent UrbanGeekz reporting on media entrepreneur Byron Allen’s proposed BuzzFeed deal, Calendly founder Tope Awotona’s path to building a billion-dollar company, and the growing wave of AI-first startups attracting investor attention.

Founded in 2015, UrbanGeekz was launched to address a gap in the media landscape. Drawing on her experience as a journalist at the BBC and later at theGrio, which at the time was part of NBC News, Tinuoye spotted a clear issue: media outlets often overlooked or underrepresented premium stories about technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation centered on Black and Latinx communities.

“While there was strong coverage of entertainment and lifestyle, there was very little focus on the innovators, entrepreneurs, founders, and technology leaders shaping the future,” said Tinuoye during the interview on Life and Tech With TechLifeSteph. “UrbanGeekz was built to inspire through representation,” she added. Its mission is to show what’s possible for underserved communities by highlighting success in technology, entrepreneurship, and the innovation economy.

More than a decade later, UrbanGeekz has established itself as a leading voice in multicultural technology journalism, spotlighting founders, investors, executives, and innovators who are often absent from mainstream coverage.

Navigating the Future of Media

A key focus of the discussion was the rapidly changing digital media landscape and the role of innovation in ensuring long-term sustainability.

Tinuoye pointed to media entrepreneur Byron Allen’s recent acquisition of a majority stake in BuzzFeed as an example of how media organizations are adapting to evolving audience behavior, artificial intelligence, and shifting monetization models.

The conversation explored how publishers are increasingly embracing video-first strategies, AI-powered content tools, and new distribution channels to remain competitive as algorithms and audience preferences continue to evolve.

“Media companies must continue innovating if they want to remain relevant,” Tinuoye noted. The industry is changing quickly, and organizations that embrace new technologies while maintaining quality journalism will be best positioned for success.

Lessons from Black Billionaire Founders

The interview also examined lessons from successful Black and Latinx entrepreneurs featured on UrbanGeekz.

Among those highlighted was Calendly founder Tope Awotona, whose journey illustrates an alternative path to startup success. Rather than pursuing rapid growth fueled by early venture capital, Awotona built a profitable business before raising significant outside investment, allowing him to maintain substantial ownership and control.

Tinuoye emphasized that many founders from underrepresented backgrounds often focus on long-term sustainability, wealth creation, and legacy-building rather than prioritizing short-term valuations.

“Many entrepreneurs are thinking beyond simply becoming the next unicorn,” she explained. They’re focused on creating generational wealth, maintaining ownership, and building businesses that can endure for decades.

AI’s Growing Impact on Entrepreneurship

Artificial intelligence was another major theme throughout the discussion.

Referencing a recent UrbanGeekz story about Yale students who secured $5.1 million in funding for the AI-powered social networking platform Series, Tinuoye highlighted the increasing importance of AI-first business models in attracting investor interest. The conversation explored how venture capital firms are actively seeking startups that integrate artificial intelligence into their core products and operations, rather than treating AI as an add-on feature.

Tinuoye also highlighted how transparency, building in public, and community engagement have helped Series build momentum and attract investor interest.

“The startup is gaining attention today and building in public,” she said.

Looking Ahead: UrbanGeekz 50 2026

The interview also provided insight into initiatives currently underway at UrbanGeekz. Among them is the upcoming UrbanGeekz 50, an annual flagship list that celebrates the most influential multicultural innovators in technology. Verticals include venture capital, entrepreneurship, and business leadership.

Inspired by prominent industry recognition listicles, the list spotlights individuals making significant contributions to innovation while helping increase visibility for underrepresented leaders across the global technology ecosystem. UrbanGeekz is also expanding its coverage of Pan-African markets, reflecting growing investor interest and entrepreneurial activity across the continent.

Inspiring the Next Generation

Throughout the conversation, one message remained constant: representation matters.

At its core, UrbanGeekz remains committed to its founding mission of inspiring innovators through storytelling. Through its website, newsletter, social media channels, and original reporting, the platform continues to showcase diverse leaders breaking barriers in technology, business, science, and entrepreneurship.

As the conversation concluded, Tinuoye and Humphrey emphasized the importance of representation and visibility in inspiring young people to pursue careers in technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The segment was facilitated by a partnership with URL Media, a national network of multicultural publishers.

About UrbanGeekz

UrbanGeekz is an African American, Latinx, and multicultural digital news platform focused on technology, business, science, and entrepreneurship. The groundbreaking video-centric multimedia platform covers tech, startups, and business. Its mission is to make tech ‘cool’ and accessible while highlighting innovative careers and STEM-related fields as exciting and rewarding paths, especially for women and underrepresented groups.

About Life and Tech with TechLifeSteph

“Life and Tech with TechLifeSteph” is a weekly one-hour show on WURD Radio, broadcasting in the Philadelphia region on 900 AM and 96.1 FM, and streaming online, through radio apps, and on social platforms, including Facebook. The show explores technology topics designed to help audiences feel more empowered as they incorporate tech into their daily lives.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/urbangeekz-ceo-kunbi-tinuoye-joins-techlifesteph-to-discuss-ai-and-entrepreneurship-302817119.html

SOURCE UrbanGeekz

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

America Works Launches “250 Hires Initiative” to Celebrate America 250 and Expand Workforce Opportunity Nationwide

Published

on

By

NEW YORK, July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — America Works, a national leader in workforce development with more than 40 years of proven results, today announced the launch of its 250 Hires Initiative, a national campaign to place 250 individuals into jobs in honor of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

This initiative will stand as a high-visibility moment to demonstrate America Works’ broad reach, measurable outcomes, and results-driven approach to helping people secure long-term employment.

With more than 30 million clients served and decades of experience placing job seekers into work across the country, America Works is building on a long record of measurable results through the 250 Hires Initiative.

“For more than four decades, we’ve proven that employment is the most effective pathway to independence,” said Dr. Lee Bowes, Co-Founder and CEO of America Works. “This initiative reflects both our legacy and our forward-looking commitment to helping individuals succeed in today’s evolving workforce.”

America Works delivers performance-based employment outcomes for welfare, disability, reentry, veterans, and homelessness programs across multiple states under rigorous oversight and evaluation. Its model has been consistently validated by leading research institutions, government agencies, and independent evaluators, including early studies by Ernst & Young showing strong one-year employment retention, research from the Manhattan Institute on sustained employment outcomes for disability beneficiaries, and research by the Fraser Institute emphasizing long-term welfare exits and strong value for money.

“This milestone is deeply personal for our team and the communities we serve,” said Marsha Netus, Vice President and Regional Director of America Works of Maryland and Washington, D.C. “We have seen firsthand how access to employment can profoundly transform lives. The 250 Hires Initiative brings that impact to life in a way that is both meaningful and measurable.”

As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the 250 Hires Initiative emphasizes America Works’ continued leadership in workforce development and its commitment to expanding economic opportunity nationwide.

About America Works

Founded in 1984, America Works is a national workforce development organization committed to delivering real jobs, real support, and real results. With more than 30 million clients served across 50+ states, America Works helps job seekers overcome employment barriers through rapid placement, individualized support, and employer partnerships. The organization places clients on average in about seven weeks and maintains a retention rate of more than 70%, reflecting its performance-based approach to workforce success. Learn more at americaworks.com/about.

Media Contact:
Brigit Hennaman
VP, Rubenstein Public Relations
bhennaman@rubensteinpr.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/america-works-launches-250-hires-initiative-to-celebrate-america-250-and-expand-workforce-opportunity-nationwide-302817192.html

SOURCE America Works

Continue Reading

Technology

Allora Labs Launches Forge to Let AI Models Compete, Improve, and Earn on Real-World Predictions

Published

on

By

The world’s first arena for predictive intelligence, Forge is a live environment where machine learning models compete on real-world problems and improve together, built on the thesis that the future of prediction belongs to a network of models rather than any single one.

NEW YORK, July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Allora Labs today launches Forge, the world’s first arena for predictive intelligence: a live environment where AI models compete on real-world problems, improve through that competition, and earn continuously for the predictions they produce.

A network of models, not a single one

Predicting what comes next is one of the oldest pursuits there is. Allora‘s thesis is that its future will not belong to a single dominant AI model but to a network of them, each competing and improving, together forming a collective intelligence that grows more capable as more models join.

Built for developers who want a real test

Forge is built for developers who want to test their models against the best in the world. Models improve fastest under real competition, and on Forge they face it on live problems with real outcomes. A developer brings a model and a predict() function, and Forge runs it live and handles the data, the infrastructure, and the rest, so the work stays on the model rather than the operations around it. Models remain owned by their developers, wherever they run.

Predictions that are already in demand

More than 140 partners across the Allora Network build on the predictions made on Forge, so a model’s work is consumed in production and rewards its developer continuously as the model improves and the network grows.

“We don’t believe the future will be predicted by one model that beats all the others,” said Nick Emmons, CEO of Allora. “It will be predicted by many models competing, each making the others better. Forge is where that happens, and where the engineers building the best prediction models in the world are rewarded for it.”

Availability

Developers can join and deploy their first model directly on Forge.

About Allora Labs

Allora Network is a decentralized AI inference network that harnesses a globally distributed community of machine learning models to produce highly accurate, context-aware predictions in real time.

Built on a modular, topic-based system, Allora orchestrates competing models on shared prediction tasks and continuously evaluates performance under live conditions, synthesizing outputs into a high-confidence aggregated signal.

By treating inference as an open, competitive, and economically aligned process, Allora enables ever-improving AI services that can be embedded directly into operational systems, powering use cases from EV charging optimization to autonomous IoT decisioning.

Media Contact:
Phi Tran
VP of Marketing, Allora Labs
phi@alloralabs.xyz

Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7En9x9lIpyA 
Photo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/3003183/Allora_Labs_Forge_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/allora-labs-launches-forge-to-let-ai-models-compete-improve-and-earn-on-real-world-predictions-302816675.html

Continue Reading

Technology

Thrifty Traveler upgrades free online credit card benefit tracker with new household and card management features

Published

on

By

MINNEAPOLIS, July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Thrifty Traveler, a leading flight deal and travel news website, today unveiled the latest updates to its popular free credit card benefit tracking dashboard for travelers, introducing several new features designed to maximize benefits and rewards on more than 100 popular travel credit cards.

Launched last month, Thrifty Traveler’s Credit Card Benefit Tracker allows users to manage 120 travel credits in a single, intuitive online dashboard. Each card features a comprehensive list of benefits with color-coded warnings as perks near expiration. Users simply mark benefits as used, and the tool automatically tallies up the total, showing whether they’ve recouped the cards’ annual fee. Travelers can also track current points balances across dozens of credit card companies, airlines and hotel chains.

The upgrades and new features  allow users to quickly see a summary of their credit card status and points balances across an entire household (of up to four users total); track and manage duplicates of the same credit card; add and track authorized users on the account; and even process credit card downgrades or product changes without starting over.

“As banks hike annual fees while adding more use-them-or-lose-them benefits, coming out ahead on travel credit cards is getting harder and more time-consuming,” said Nick Serati, co-founder of Thrifty Traveler. “Tens of thousands of travelers have used our free tools to stay on top of their travel credit card benefits, and that number keeps growing. Thanks to user feedback and ideas, our latest upgrade makes this one-of-a-kind dashboard even better, while remaining completely free for anyone and everyone.”

Unlike many comparable services, Thrifty Traveler’s online tool does not require users to share login credentials or any other personal information like Social Security numbers, credit card numbers or even credit scores to track credit card benefits and points balances.

The latest update introduces several new or enhanced features, including:

Add custom cards: While the Thrifty Traveler’s tool tracks over 120 travel cards, users can now add custom cards to their dashboard, such as retail store cards or Apple Card – a big assist for tracking application dates and open accounts.Separate monitoring for ultra-valuable benefits: Users can now more closely track airline companion certificates and hotel free night certificates – perks that can easily save hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year.Add in extra perks and offers: Cards from banks like Chase, American Express, Capital One, and others frequently offer other money-saving statement credits beyond the established benefits. Users can now independently add to their annual savings after using an Amex Offer or Chase Offer as well as retention offers.Visual enhancements: Allowing users to reorganize cards in their preferred order or hide benefits they don’t use.

New users will see all these features and many more immediately. Existing users will see them at their next login, without requiring any action or affecting any cards they’re already tracking.

This tool now includes more than 120 popular travel credit cards from banks like American Express, Capital One, Chase and others, as well as all the major co-branded airline and hotel credit card portfolios. Prior updates brought what was once a downloadable spreadsheet into an online dashboard, tripled the number of credit cards available, and added the ability to monitor airline miles and points balances as well as credit card benefits.

No personal data or sensitive user information is required to use this tool, so there’s no need to worry about data privacy. Travelers can access it by creating a free account. New users will also be added to Thrifty Traveler’s daily points and miles newsletter, “The Extra Mile.” Existing Thrifty Traveler subscribers can simply log in with their credentials to get started.

For the full list of cards, benefits, and how to get started with this new tool, visit Thrifty Traveler’s website.

About Thrifty Traveler
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thrifty Traveler is a leading travel and flight deal website that sends hundreds of thousands of travelers cheap airfare alerts as well as points and miles deals every day while also covering the ins and outs of the airline and travel industries. More than 1.1 million travelers rely on Thrifty Traveler for flight deals, travel tips, advanced guides to redeeming credit card points and airline miles as well as expert industry analysis.

Media Contact
Kyle Potter
kyle@thriftytraveler.com
218-522-1505

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thrifty-traveler-upgrades-free-online-credit-card-benefit-tracker-with-new-household-and-card-management-features-302817204.html

SOURCE Thrifty Traveler

Continue Reading

Trending