generic 16 Black People in Tech You Should Know
Technology is the future and Black people are making their mark in the industry, creating and investing in companies that will shape the world around us. Here are some of the current geniuses to know.
Jay-Z
Jay-Z has lately made some interesting investment moves, bridging the gap between entertainment and tech. In 2021, his investment firm Marcy Venture Partners took a stake in spacial LABS in an effort to make the metaverse easier to access for young creators.
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Morehouse Hackathon Team
Morehouse students Elijah Truitt ‘24, Kevin Drew ‘24, and Trent Gaylord ‘24 won the 7th Annual BE Smart Hackathon competing against 19 other HBCU teams. The project presented by the men of Morehouse was a luggage tag app for checking luggage.
Songe Laron
Songe Laron is the CEO and Co-founder of Squire Technologies, a system for barbershop management. The software makes it easier for barber shops to book appointments, send customers notifications, instant pay, create waiver forms, and more.
Timnit Gebru
Timnit Gebru is a computer scientist and the founder and executive director of DAIR, an AI research institute that was created after she was fired from Google in 2020 for raising concerns about discrimination in AI projects.
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre co-created Beats by Dre, introducing the first line of headphones in 2008. Dre. wanted Beats to have audio quality at the same level as studio artists. He made a deal with Apple in 2014 that made him one of the richest hip-hop artists in the industry.
Sheloman Byrd
Sheloman Bryd is the Executive Producer of External Development at Warner Bros. Discovery. One of his biggest projects is Multiverse, a game platform that allows you to play with characters from tv shows, video games, and movies all in one place.
N’Gai Croal
N’Gai Croal is the Editorial Director for Microsoft Game Development. He works to fully engage gamers, creating an immersive experience.
Felicia Williams
Felicia Williams is the UX Director at Google and was previously the Design Director for Twitter and a Creative Strategist for Facebook.
Arlan Hamilton
Arlan Hamilton is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, which raises funds and invests in POC, women, and/or LGBT founders in tech.
Damon Packwood
Damon Packwood is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Gameheads, a tech training program for young people. They teach their students how to code, design, lead, and more, preparing them for school and future careers.
Christina Lewis
Christina Lewis is the daughter of Reginald F. Lewis, the first African American to build a billion-dollar company. She is the Founder of All Star Code, a non-profit organization teaching young men of color how to code.
Tope Awotona
Tope Awotona is the Founder and CEO of Calendly, a software company used to make scheduling meetings a more organized process. His current net worth since creating the software is more than a billion dollars.
Troy Carter
Troy Carter was Lady Gaga’s first talent manager and used his expertise to become the CEO and Founder of Q&A, a technology and media company that develops tech for the music industry through analytics, services, and distribution.
Latoya Peterson
LaToya Peterson is the Co-Founder, CXO, and Director for the Culture for Glow Up Games, which created a way to tell stories about Black and brown people on mobile devices through AI and Virtual Reality.
Christopher Young
Christopher Young is the Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft. He is in charge of bringing partnerships and investments to Microsoft to drive growth.
Angela Benton
Angela Benton is the Founder and CEO of Streamlytics, a data technology company that brings ethics back into data collection. Streamlytics helps its users to apply data to its branding, target consumer engagement, and give them an edge over competitors.
