CHROMA 2026

CHROMA 2026 · September 24 · Gradient, 12 N Cheyenne Ave, Tulsa, OK

Founders, investors, enterprise leaders, and technology partners in the same place at the same time. This is the room we are curating in Tulsa. We are talking about comapnies like Microsoft, Google, Cherokee Nation, Nvidia and so many more.

Chroma is Gradient's annual innovation conference in downtown Tulsa. It is built on a simple idea: proximity breeds possibility. Instead of a lobby full of strangers, Chroma engineers the encounters. Curated 1:1 matchmaking, a live tech showcase, mainstage conversations that pair startups with the enterprises and investors who can actually move them forward, and a closing keynote from a bestselling author, Alex Banayan.

Your ticket also includes admission to the Startup World Cup Tulsa Regional that evening.

On the mainstage

• Google: From Regional Potential to Global Impact. How AI and infrastructure are changing where companies get built.
• Startup × Enterprise: Breaking Into Enterprise. Moderated by Abigail Bassett (Fast Company), with Safety Radar × Williams and TOBE Energy × Zeeco on getting in the door, earning trust, and surviving pilots and procurement.
• Startup × Big Tech: Building in the Age of AI. Jeff Taylor moderates NVIDIA Inception's Dimitri Fernandes and Josh Hathaway (DockWare.ai, formerly SpaceX) on what separates AI startups that scale from those that stall.
• Startup × Disruption: Changing the Game. A Manna Air Delivery leader on launching disruptive technology in a region built to support it.
• Startup × Scale: Build from Anywhere. Brandon Krieg (founder, Stash) and Simon Turner (Managing Partner, Gitwit) on customers, capital, talent, and building a globally significant company from anywhere.
• Closing Keynote: Alex Banayan, The Mindset of Exponential Growth. The bold decisions and relentless persistence behind breakthrough companies, followed by a book signing and VIP reception.

All day, off the stage

• Curated Matchmaking. Pre-scheduled 1:1 meetings designed to produce pilots, partnerships, customers, and capital. Not speed networking. Real introductions, matched in advance.
• Tech Showcase. Live product demos from the founders building Tulsa's next generation of companies.
• Networking Breakfast. The day starts over coffee with the people you came to meet.

Then: Startup World Cup Tulsa Regional, 6:00 PM

Regional finalists pitch live for a spot in the global Startup World Cup finals and a shot at a $1 million investment. Included with your Chroma ticket.

Who should be in the room

Founders raising, hiring, or chasing their first enterprise customer. Investors sourcing in the Heartland market. Corporate and innovation leaders looking for technology they can pilot. Ecosystem builders and operators who want to discuss the furute of enterprise in the Heartland.

Presented by Stride Bank, with Tulsa Innovation Labs as Innovation Partner and the Oklahoma Commercialization Network as Startup World Cup Partner. Matchmaking partners include NVIDIA, Microsoft, Google, Williams, ONE Gas, Lumen, Zeeco, Cherokee Nation, Cortado Ventures, Endeavor Heartland, 412 Angels, Flyover Capital, FortySix Capital, OLSF Ventures, Serac Ventures, and Gitwit.

Space is limited and matchmaking closes before the event. Register early so we can build your schedule.

Program subject to change.

LEARN MORE AT chroma.joingradient.com