Every year, YouTube releases its list of top creators and offers a cultural snapshot of what captured our attention. It reflects who shaped the jokes we repeated, the challenges we tried, the music we streamed, and the digital worlds we escaped into. The 2025 list does all of that, but it also exposes a clear reality. Out of the 10 most influential creators of the entire year, only two Black creators appear: IShowSpeed and CoryxKenshin. In a landscape powered by massive digital audiences, global fandoms, and billion-view moments, their inclusion carries weight. The absence of more Black peers also raises important questions. However, their rise demonstrates what Black creators continue to accomplish, even within an industry that often overlooks their contributions. View this post on Instagram What The 2025 Top Creators List Reveals About YouTube According to YouTube’s official 2025 Trending report, the platform has entered a new moment in which creators shape pop culture in real...

A newly founded AI startup is making waves in the tech world with one of the largest seed rounds in recent memory. According to Bloomberg, Unconventional AI, launched just two months ago by former Databricks AI lead Naveen Rao, secured $475 million in seed funding at a $4.5 billion valuation to develop a new generation of energy-efficient computers designed specifically for artificial intelligence. The funding round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Lux Capital, DCVC, Databricks, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, per Bloomberg. Rao also invested $10 million of his own funds on the same terms as other investors. The company is exploring a larger funding goal of up to $1 billion, according to TechCrunch. Bloomberg notes that Unconventional AI draws inspiration from biology, where living systems must operate within strict energy limits yet achieve high efficiency. Rao highlighted the human brain as an example, noting it can perform...

Avante Price and Eli Taylor-Lemire are finding great success with their live events platform, POSH. The pair were students at New York University (NYU) and met while working at events. Price was a DJ, and Taylor-Lemire was a photographer. During an interview with Forbes, Price shared that the pair initially worked with other event brands geared towards college students, who he claims were missing the mark. POSH The founders believed they could create a solution that would provide a better overall event experience for students and organizers, which led to the formation of the live events platform POSH. Though the platform was initially built in 2019 as a software product to benefit the pair directly, it launched to the public in 2023 along with a mobile app. “POSH at the onset was just an IRL events company for NYU and Columbia kids to have a posh upscale experience,” Price told Forbes. “We got a lot of different experience with Eventbrite or these other products that existed at the...

A major technology deal is set to reshape how enterprises manage and use real-time data. According to a press release, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and Confluent announced that IBM will acquire all outstanding Confluent shares for $31 each, a transaction that values the data-streaming company at $11 billion. Based in Mountain View, CA, Confluent provides an open-source platform that enables real-time data streaming, helping businesses process, connect, and manage data across applications and systems. The company serves more than 6,500 clients — including over 40% of the Fortune 500 — and integrates with major cloud providers such as AWS , Microsoft, and others, according to the press release. “IBM and Confluent together will enable enterprises to deploy generative and agentic AI more effectively by providing trusted communication and data flow across environments, applications, and APIs,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president, and CEO, in the press release....

Netflix has announced a $72 billion deal, to acquire Warner Bros., valuing it at $82.7 billion including debt, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. The transaction is anticipated to impact both the entertainment and technology sectors. Since the news broke, some observers, according to Fortune, have raised concerns about its impact on Hollywood, while analysts point to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing as key factors. Melissa Otto, head of research at S&P Global Visible Alpha, told the outlet that discussions of the deal often overlook the role of Google and its tensor processing unit (or TPU) chips. TPUs, as Exhibit Magazine notes, are custom chips designed specifically for deep learning tasks. “What TPU chips do really, really well is in the modality of video in generative AI,” Otto said, explaining that they essentially turn mathematical representations into moving pictures in much the same way graphics processing units, or GPUs, revolutionized natural language...

As AI continues to spread across the United States and its influence shows no signs of fading, several Democratic lawmakers reintroduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Civil Rights Act on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) first introduced the AI Civil Rights Act in 2024 to “establish protections for individual rights with respect to computational algorithms, and for other purposes,” The Grio reports . On Dec. 2, the progressive senator explained that AI tools are “biased against marginalized communities,” per the outlet. “We must address AI-powered bias and discrimination in the AI age,” Markey said in a news release shared on Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s website. “Under the AI Civil Rights Act, America would show leadership in AI — not just technological leadership, but moral leadership ,” he continued . “We cannot abandon our principles in reckless pursuit of technological superiority. Otherwise, we risk building a future where innovation races ahead,...

Kristen Wells-Collins is inspiring young girls to become chemists. Wells-Collins was raised in an under-resourced community in Beaumont, TX, and said she had limited exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), according to her commentary on “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” However, Wells-Collins went on to pursue a degree in chemistry at Prairie View A&M University, according to her LinkedIn . After her studies, she became exposed to cosmetic chemistry and was immediately hooked . Black To The Lab Wells-Collins’s interest in STEM has led her to become a cosmetic chemist educator and founder of Black to the Lab, which provides an activity kit with hands-on learning experiences for girls to create lip gloss, body scrubs, lotion, and more. She is driven by a mission to increase representation in the field among Black girls, she told Jennifer Hudson. PC: Black to the Lab “We know that they know makeup, so they know science. We want young girls to know that their...

iHeartRadio is making its stance loud and clear when it comes to AI’s use on its platform. According to Billboard, Tom Poleman, iHeartRadio’s chief programming officer and president, said in a letter that the company will not be using AI-generated personalities or “play AI music that features synthetic vocalists pretending to be human.” Additionally, its podcasts published will follow this new program, “Guaranteed Human,” as well. “…iHeart is one of the last truly human entertainment sources and our listeners come to us for companionship, connection, and authenticity — something AI can’t replicate,” Poleman said. The announcement comes at a time when AI artists are making waves in the music industry, including Solomon Ray, an AI-generated “Mississippi-made soul singer,” with an EP called “A Soulful Christmas,” Christian Today reports. Christopher “Topher” Townsend, a conservative Hip-Hop artist, is the human behind Solomon Ray. The AI artist he created has garnered more than 324,000...

AT&T has adjusted its policies around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). According to a Dec. 1 letter shared on X, the company had been examining recent executive orders, Supreme Court rulings, and direction from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This has informed AT&T’s decision to dismantle “DEI-related policies.” The company also stated plainly that it “does not and will not have any roles focused on DEI.” The letter further said AT&T will remove DEI training and career development as well as internal and external messaging to comply with the EEOC. “AT&T has always stood for merit-based opportunity, and we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination today,” the letter mentioned. “Consistent with applicable law, our multi-pronged approach allows employees to thrive in an environment free from invidious discrimination.” AT&T’s announcement follows its November 2024 agreement to purchase wireless spectrum...

Kayla Rowe turned pain into a business empire that is helping countless women and raking in major revenue. Rowe is a University of South Florida alum with a degree in public health , which she obtained in 2015, according to information on her LinkedIn. Her mother also planted the seed for her interest in health as a certified nursing assistant, Ebony reports. However, the catalyst for Rowe becoming a founder came after experiencing a miscarriage when she was five months pregnant in 2021. “That was very hard for me,” she told Ebony. “After that happened, I became more aware of everything, what I was eating, putting on my body, [and] I just became more cognizant and aware of health.” Her Fantasy Box A year later, Rowe launched Her Fantasy Box, a plant-based feminine hygiene and wellness brand. With a focus on transparency, safety, and women’s wellness, Rowe shared that it was important for ingredients to be nontoxic and not include parabens, phthalates, and other harmful chemicals...

Fanbase continues to find new ways for its users to profit from their content. The Atlanta, GA-based company was founded by Isaac Hayes III in 2018. Through its social media platform, users are paid from day one for their content, including videos, photos, audio, and stories, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. Fanbase is now teaming up with pocstock, a global diversity content company that offers royalty-free diversity stock photos, videos, and illustrations of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Indigenous people, as well as people with disabilities. According to separate coverage from AFROTECH™ , pocstock secured $500,000 in seed funding in a 2023 round led by 9.58 Venture Partners, with a portion of the funding used to integrate AI to improve the customer experience and ensure photographers have access to “cutting-edge, diversity-imaging solutions.” “As with any frontier, especially technology, there will be a rush to get products out to the market,” pocstock CEO Steve Jones said in a...

Quitting isn’t an option for college student and founder Elijah Khasabo. The 22-year-old is currently enrolled at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, studying marketing. His ambition is evident beyond his studies, as he is also a co-founder of Vidovo, a platform that makes it easy for brands to connect with and hire user-generated content (UGC) creators and influencers, according to its website. The platform also improves the content creator experience for its growing network, which will have access to hundreds of brands after onboarding. On LinkedIn, Khasabo shared that he had just $19.12 to his name when he launched Vidovo at age 19 from his bedroom just over two years ago . Vidovo has been bootstrapped, and it was built without any connections. Khasabo wanted to quit various times, but credits his mother for instilling his spirit of perseverance. “It didn’t matter that I had nothing. I had the drive, and honestly that was enough to start. It made sense on paper, brands were...

A vending machine has opened to feed families in The Bronx. According to a report from the New York State Department of Health in January 2024, among New York City boroughs, The Bronx had the highest percentage (39%) of people who were food insecure. Challenges may have only heightened after Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were halted during the recent U.S. government shutdown, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Although benefits were restored, estimates from the Congressional Budget Office report that, as a result of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, 2.4 million people could lose SNAP benefits altogether between 2025 and 2034. The bill adjusted requirements for those receiving SNAP, and now individuals will have to work, volunteer, or participate in job training totaling at least 80 hours per month, CNN reports. If they don’t meet the requirement, they can only receive SNAP benefits for three months every three years. Change Food For Good, a New York...

Google has unveiled a new project that will reduce the environmental impact of AI on Earth. The tech company unveiled Project Suncatcher, which aims to launch data centers in space powered by solar energy, Business Insider reports. Google is exploring bringing the project to life through a web of solar-powered satellites, equipped with its Tensor Processing Unit AI chips, according to a press release. The project aims to “one day scale machine learning in space.” “Inspired by other Google moonshots like autonomous vehicles and quantum computing, we’ve begun work on the foundational work needed to one day make this future possible,” notes the press release. Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the company plans to launch the space data centers by 2027. “We’ll send tiny, tiny racks of machines, and have them in satellites, test them out, and then start scaling from there,” Pichai said, according to Business Insider. “At Google, we’re always proud of taking moonshots. One of our...

AI is already capable of replacing nearly 12% of the U.S. workforce, according to a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study. This was determined by the Iceberg Index, which is a “skills-centered measure of workforce exposure in the AI economy,” according to a research paper. The tool was created by MIT in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and it can reportedly predict how the U.S. workforce can be impacted by AI and related policy, according to CNBC. “Project Iceberg enables policymakers and business leaders to identify exposure hotspots, prioritize training and infrastructure investments, and test interventions before committing billions to implementation,” the report said, per CNBC. At this time, the index does not show when or where jobs will be lost. It was used to analyze 151 million workers, covering more than 32,000 skills across 923 occupations across the country, and assessed whether AI is already capable of taking over those skills,...