Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series on tech activity and trends in Tulsa.
Welcome to the latest edition of Tulsa Tech Bytes, in which we highlight some exciting developments in Tulsa's rapidly growing tech ecosystem.
Tulsa Innovation Lab, in partnership with Black Tech Street and other organizations that make up the Tulsa Hub for Equitable, Trusted Autonomy (THETA), has been awarded a $51 million federal grant to invest in innovations along multiple industry and business vectors that will have a significant impact on the economy, education, and job creation. With this grant, Tulsa joins an exclusive group of only 12 U.S. cities as a designated tech hub, significantly stimulating the existing and future development of the local and regional tech ecosystem.
Regent Capital Corporation, the holding company for Regent Bank, has invested as limited partners in two of Oklahoma's most prominent venture capital firms, FortySix Venture Capital (46VC) and Cortado Ventures. These equity investments are intended to stimulate the rapidly growing technology ecosystem and provide much-needed equity capital to technology startups and founders across Oklahoma in sectors such as healthtech, energy tech, cybersecurity, fintech and aviation mobility.
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Two fast-growing Tulsa tech startups have raised new venture funding rounds. Volt Systems raised $3 million in a seed round led by Mercury with participation from Atento Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures, Stout Street Capital and Yellow Rocks. Titan Intake raised $1.3 million in a seed round from 46VC and others.
Scissortail Wealth Management has announced the offering of a new technology investment fund. The Scissortail team has worked with 46VC to create a private venture capital fund for the firm's clients. The fund will be offered exclusively through Scissortail Wealth Management and managed by Tracy Poole and the 46VC team.
PhyCap Fund is launching as a healthtech focused venture capital fund by physicians, for physicians working to develop innovative solutions for the healthcare industry. PhyCap Fund (short for Physician's Capital) will be managed by 46VC and will be comprised of physicians and healthcare-related institutions as limited partners, providing a national network of hands-on industry experts.
Among local tech events, the Startup World Cup will be held at 36 Degrees North in Tulsa on September 6th. Local tech startups will compete in a regional pitch competition for a chance to win a $1 million first prize at the grand finale in Silicon Valley later this year.
For more information, please visit the 36 Degrees North website.
36n.co/startup-world-cup.
And Oklahoma venture capital firm Cortado Ventures has announced that its next MidCon VC summit will be held in Tulsa in spring 2025.
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— After more than 30 years in Silicon Valley, Peter Mullen returned to his hometown of Tulsa to help grow the tech ecosystem. He currently serves as Director of Venture and Technology Banking at Regent Bank.
