Dream Con Spotlights Black Innovators in Tech for 2025

Tech and gaming go hand in hand, and Black innovators have made groundbreaking contributions to both. This Black History Month, we’re celebrating Black leaders in tech who are revolutionizing the industry.

Tope Awotona

Tope Awotona is a Nigerian-American entrepreneur who founded Calendly, the popular scheduling software used worldwide. Starting from scratch, he built one of the most successful bootstrapped tech companies.

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Calendly continues to expand, now valued at over $3 billion. Awotona has been recognized in Forbes and other business publications as a leader in tech entrepreneurship.

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Fun Fact: Tope credits video games with teaching him strategic thinking — an essential skill for scaling a business.

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Dr. Nialah Wilson-Small

Dr. Nialah Wilson-Small is a trailblazing engineer specializing in robotics and AI. She’s passionate about making robotics more accessible and encouraging young Black students to pursue STEM. Additionally, she is the first Black woman Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. from Cornell University. 

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Named to Forbes 30 Under 30, she’s working on cutting-edge AI applications and autonomous robotics for various industries.

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Fun Fact from Dr. Wilson-Small: "Gurren Lagann is special to me because it was the first full anime series I completed on my own, and it was my introduction to the mecha genre. It made me think about how my major at the time, mechanical engineering, could equip me to build mechs (sort of) like the show, and the plot made me ponder greater ethical questions related to the progression of technology in society."

Timnit Gebru

Timnit Gebru is a renowned computer scientist known for her work in AI ethics. She has been a vocal advocate for responsible AI development and co-founded Black in AI, an organization dedicated to increasing Black representation in artificial intelligence.

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She launched the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), which focuses on ethical AI development. She’s also been recognized as one of the most influential AI researchers of our time.

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Fun Fact: Timnit has spoken about how anime like Psycho-Pass raises important ethical questions about AI and society — something she actively researches!

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Next article: Dream Con Highlights the Black Pioneers in Art and Animation for 2025

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