The Mayor's Office joins Kapor Foundation, HiiiWAV, and Northeastern University Oakland to kick off a week of 80+ events spanning education, innovation, arts, and community across Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Oakland today kicked off Oakland Tech Week 2026 at "Responsible Innovation: A Vision for Oakland's Future," the opening event of a citywide week of 80+ events hosted by a coalition of 30+ Oakland organizations. The opening featured a keynote address from Lisa D. Cook, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Held at the Kapor Center, the gathering brought together the Mayor's Office and Kapor Foundation, alongside philanthropy leaders, investors, founders, and community partners to connect national trends with Oakland's local context setting the tone for a week built on a single premise: that Oakland can chart a path forward for responsible and equitable innovation that is built with intention to benefit Oaklanders.

Produced by HiiiWAV, the Oakland artist-led nonprofit, Oakland Tech Week runs September 27 through October 3 under the theme "Culture, Code, and Community." Alongside partners including the City of Oakland and Northeastern University Oakland, Oakland Tech Week will be spotlighting leaders and initiatives developing talent, mobilizing advocacy groups, supporting mission-driven entrepreneurs, and driving economic development and well-being for Oakland families. In its first year, Oakland Tech Week drew more than 4,200 participants to 40+ events with 70+ speakers, and was recognized by a Mayor's Proclamation. This year roughly doubles the programming, with attendance expected to surpass the inaugural event.

This week comes at a moment of rapid change in how technology is built and who benefits from it. Artificial intelligence is reshaping education, the workforce, the economy, and civil and human rights, and the choices made today about how it is designed and deployed will determine who benefits tomorrow. This gives Oakland a timely opportunity to lead the nation in responsible, equity-centered AI, building on Oakland's legacy of resistance, fights for equity and justice, and deep community and cultural ties advanced here for years.

"Oakland has always been a place where community and creativity drive progress," said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. "Opening Oakland Tech Week reflects our belief that a thriving innovation economy and strong, healthy communities are built together and result in good paying, local jobs. We're proud to open this week alongside partners who are making sure the benefits of technology reach the people who call Oakland home."

"AI is dominating headlines and promising either life-changing breakthroughs or massive disruption and destruction," said Allison Scott, CEO of the Kapor Foundation. "We believe that we will only see the benefits of this technological advancement when responsible AI innovation is driven by community voice and participation – not dictated to them. Oakland has a real opportunity to demonstrate what responsible and equity-centered AI looks like, and we look forward to advancing this work together."

"Oakland Tech Week is different from other tech weeks because we put creatives and impact organizations at the center," said Bosko Kante, Founder and Executive Director of HiiiWAV. "It is a way to lift up responsible uses of AI and give this community real access, education, and investment around technology. Oakland's culture, its civic life, and its technology are the same story, and for one week we tell it in one place."

"Preparing the next generation to build technology responsibly starts in the classroom," said Carrie Maultsby-Lute, Head of Partnerships at Northeastern University's Oakland campus. "We're proud to host Oakland Tech Week's convening on ethical computer science and AI education, because the students learning these tools today are the ones who will decide how AI serves communities tomorrow."

Monday's opening leads into more than 80 events across the week, largely produced by community partners throughout the city. Highlights include an education-focused convening on ethical computer science and AI education across the state of California with place-based examples at Northeastern University Oakland (Tuesday, September 29); the Beyond Big Tech panel on movement-building and grassroots organizing led by Media Justice featuring leading AI experts such as Dr. Timnit Gebru and Alex Park at the Kapor Center (Wednesday, September 30); Oakland Ballers Founder's Day at Raimondi Field bringing 100+ investors and founders including Oakland Ballers' Paul Freedman (Friday, October 2), and a discussion on shifting power of the AI ecosystem featuring renowned scholar and author Dr. Safiya Noble (Friday, October 2). Additional notable events include Omidyar Network's Oak x Tech featuring discussions on young people and AI, the future of work, and tech policy featuring Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (Thursday, October 1) and San Francisco Foundation's For Us, By Us: Funding Community-driven Tech initiatives (Saturday, October 3).

The citywide closing celebration will bring a family-friendly finale featuring HiiiWAV Fest at the Henry J. Kaiser Center with multi-disciplinary hackathons, a community tech fair, and a headlining performance by Bay Area artist-entrepreneur E-40 with The Soul Slappers, the NPR Tiny Desk band (Saturday, October 3). A full schedule is available at oaklandtechweek.com.

About Oakland Tech Week

Oakland Tech Week is a seven-day citywide festival of music, art, and technology, produced by HiiiWAV and dedicated to advancing responsible, equity-centered AI and public-interest technology in Oakland. It connects founders, investors, technologists, artists, and residents to show Oakland as a place to build, invest, and create, on the premise that technology gets built with communities, not on top of them. As AI reshapes the economy, the week positions Oakland and the broader region as a hub for innovation that centers the well-being and dignity of its communities. Oakland Tech Week 2026 is supported by sponsors including Google for Startups, the Center for AI Safety, the San Francisco Foundation, Gerbode Foundation, Alameda County, Kaiser Permanente, Omidyar Network, the University of California Office of the President, and the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. A full list of partners and sponsors is available at oaklandtechweek.com.

About Kapor Foundation

The Kapor Foundation works at the intersection of racial equity and technology to build a more equitable technology sector that benefits all of society. The Kapor Foundation's core focus areas include: expanding access to computer science/AI education pathways, deploying capital to launch and scale responsible, ethical, and gap-closing AI/tech solutions, and advancing policies that mitigate technology's harm and enable equitable opportunity. For more information on the Kapor Foundation and the Kapor Center family of organizations, SMASH and Kapor Capital, visit KaporFoundation.org.

About HiiiWAV

HiiiWAV is an artist-led 501(c)(3) music organization in Oakland, founded by artists, for artists. Its mission is to help creatives build profitable, culturally rich, and socially impactful companies that create generational wealth and timeless music in their communities. Since 2020, HiiiWAV has supported 220+ artists and helped them raise $4.15M in capital. hiiiwav.org

About Northeastern University Oakland

Northeastern University Oakland is the Bay Area campus of a global research university, bridging learners, industry, and community through education, workforce programming, and applied AI research. Through experiential learning, partnerships with local organizations, and a 14-campus global network, Northeastern Oakland creates pathways for students, entrepreneurs, and community members to address pressing challenges and build thriving ventures. It is a proud co-steward of Oakland Tech Week.

SOURCE Kapor Foundation

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