The Chief Technology Officer role is increasingly crucial in our rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Once focused primarily on IT infrastructure, today’s CTOs are key strategists, driving innovation and product development. These leaders, alongside Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and other adjacent roles, play essential parts in technology management across most companies.

UrbanGeekz spotlights 10 tech innovators in the States whose foresight and innovation have profoundly shaped their organizations and, by extension, our modern digital lives.

Let’s dive in.

Top Stories 📰

Story 1: Meet 10 Black American C-Suite Leaders spearheading Tech & Innovation

Story 2: Here’s our recap of the 9th Annual Roadmap to Billions NYC Conference, which was a huge success

Story 3: Fawn Weaver, the visionary founder of Uncle Nearest, has been inducted into the American Marketing Association New York Marketing Hall of Fame

Hot News 🔥

1. Black Tech Saturdays has received a $1 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to grow its model.

2. Zeal Capital Partners, a venture firm focusing on diverse founders, has secured $82 million for its second fund following a two-year fundraising period.

3. Portuguese construction startup Litehaus has raised €1.46 million ($1.58 million) in a pre-seed round to simplify Europe’s home-building process.

4. Nigerian digital lender Carrot Credit has raised $4.2 million in seed funding to expand its asset-backed lending platform.

5. Bloom Money Secures $2M to Help Immigrants Save Money

6. Swedish startup Filed has secured $17.2 million in a pre-seed round to help tax firms supercharge their capacity through AI.

   Opportunities - Accelerators/Funding, Events.💼 

Grants💰

• $150K Investment | Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation aims to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic ideas and nurture them at the early stages with maximum leverage and total commitment. 🗓️ Apply on a rolling basis:

• Up to $100k | Cartier Women’s Initiative recognizes and funds women entrepreneurs using business as a force for good.🗓️ Apply by 6/24:

• $20K | Santander’s Cultivate Small Business helps early-stage entrepreneurs build and sustain food industry businesses, focusing on historically underserved founders in low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods. 🗓️ Apply by 7/8:

• $20K | Robin Hood Blue Ridge Labs Founder Fellowship will help you validate your idea, build your MVP, and gain real traction with hands‑on workshops, user testing, mentorship, funding, coworking, and network access.🗓️ Apply by 6/8: 

• $50K | Progressive Insurance & Hello Alice Driving Small Business Forward Grant supports founders who use a vehicle to power their business — $1M in total awards.🗓️ Apply by 06/20

• Up to $15K | The Catalyst Fund by The Roddenberry Foundation makes grants between $2.5k - $15k to anyone with an early-stage idea or project that addresses pressing global challenges 🗓️ Apply on a rolling basis:

• Up to $10K | Each qualifying nonprofit has access to up to $10,000 per month in search ads shown on Google.com. Additional Google Ads may be purchased in a separate account. 🗓️ Apply on a rolling basis: 

  Accelerators 🚀

• Y Combinator is accepting applications for the Summer 2025 Batch funding cycle, which will take place from January to March in San Francisco.

• Techstars Accelerator provides funding, mentorship, hands-on training, and access to Techstars' global network of VC investors, corporate partners, and alumni founders.

• The Propellant Labs is a startup accelerator offering different programs to help entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses.

• FoundersBoost, a global pre-accelerator program, is an equity-free opportunity to take your business to the next level. 

• Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator® invests in up to ten companies per year (two cohorts of five) focused on fintech, insuretech, digital health, and data analytics.

• UpTide is an accelerator that gives community-building nonprofits the tools they need to reach the next level of impact.

• Peachscore + Dealum hosts 12 cohorts annually, offering startup founders the flexibility to join immediately upon acceptance and get up to $150k, no matter when they apply.

• Robin Hood Labs Founder Fellowship provides hands-on support to validate your idea, build your MVP, and grow.

Events and Discounts🎟️

Gemini Advanced is now free for college students until the end of the 2026 finals season. Sign up by June 30th to get the Google One AI Premium plan, which includes Gemini’s deep research tools, instant video generation with Veo 2, smart support in Gmail, Docs, Slides, and Sheets, plus 2TB of storage to power your studies, creativity, and career prep.

Atlanta Tech Week is a week-long series of events, including the AI Summit, community-led meetups, and the Silicon South Summit Showcase, highlighting Atlanta's innovation economy.

Date: June 8-13, 2025

Location: Atlanta, GA

RenderATL is a premier technology conference that combines culture, code, and community. It features industry-leading speakers, immersive workshops, and focuses on topics like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Web Development, and Product Management.

Date: June 11 - 13, 2025

Location: Atlanta, GA

TSP Live 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the premier business conference for Black entrepreneurs, hosted by Lamar and Ronnie Tyler. This milestone event, dubbed “The Homecoming”, brings together a powerhouse community of 7- and 8-figure business owners. Attendees can expect actionable strategies, high-level networking, and a celebratory Black Tie Gala honoring a decade of entrepreneurial excellence. The event is designed for serious entrepreneurs who are ready to scale their businesses and build lasting wealth. Grab your tickets here.

Date: June 26-28, 2025

Location: Atlanta, GA

Thank you for joining us in this edition of Geekz Insider. We hope that our shared stories and opportunities will ignite your career goals and entrepreneurial spirit, fueling your drive to innovate. From dynamic founders to transformative AI programs and life-changing grants, there’s something here to inspire everyone.

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Written by Stephen Oluwadara and produced by Gugu Nxumalo