Tulsa Designated A Tech Hub By The Economic Development Administration

The greater Tulsa region has been designated as a tech hub by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Now one regional initiative is helping push Tulsa into a tech forward future.

Megan Farley with Dewberry Architecture and Jennifer Hankins with Tulsa Innovation Labs joined News On 6 to talk about the new designation and what it means for the city of Tulsa.

Through the innovation, Tulsa is one of over 300 regions that applied for $70 million in funding, and Tulsa is one of 31 regions still in the running.

“We just love to see new innovative things happen and watching the region grow," Farley said. “It’s a waiting game at the moment to see if our region is one of only a few that applied for up to $70 million in funding.”

If awarded the funding, Tulsa will be among big name cities such as Miami and Chicago.

"Tulsa is on the rise," Hankins said. "Tulsa is and has the ingredients to be the next big tech hub in the United States."

If Tulsa wins, the money will go towards new company creation, expanding university research and drive innovation across the region. Hankins said that Tulsa is heavily involved in aerospace technology and the money will help the region expand in a field that Tulsans already do well in.

"The tech hub designation is all about how do we secure US economic competitiveness," Hankins said. "So it's building on our existing strengths to propel us into the future."