PHASE II
PROPOSAL

Oakland Tech Week proved that Oakland can lead the Bay Area in responsible, community-rooted innovation—when the right partners build together. In 2025, HiiiWAV, the Kapor Foundation, Northeastern University Oakland, and the City of Oakland launched a seven-day, citywide convening that surpassed every target: 40+ events, 4,200+ participants, 30+ coalition organizations, and 14 Oakland-aligned startups showcased directly to active investors. It wasn’t a conference—it was the public debut of a durable platform now known as City of Belonging, designed to ensure technology is built with communities, not on top of them.

Phase II (2025–2026) is the scale plan. With a $1.25M two-year budget and $1.05M remaining to raise, we will expand Oakland Tech Week into a year-round ecosystem that strengthens founder pipelines, workforce pathways, and civic-ready responsible AI. Phase II includes: production of Oakland Tech Week 2026 (Nov 15–22, 2026) targeting 60+ events and 6,000+ participants; a year-round accelerator supporting 50 founders; and a $100K prize pool to unlock pilots, customers, and investment. We will also resource coalition backbone capacity and expand initiatives already launched—CR4AI (Community Research Center for Reliable AI), Town Alive activation zones, Laney College’s AI Center of Excellence, A.P.P. Accelerator, and Code Vibes AI certification.

SF Foundation’s investment is catalytic because it strengthens the connective tissue: coalition capacity, neighborhood activations, and an equitable innovation narrative grounded in economic justice. Together, we can turn a remarkable launch into a 5-year, $5M platform that keeps Oakland’s culture, talent, and wealth-building at the center of the AI era.