This Month's Latest Tech News in Columbia, MO - Saturday May 31st 2025 Edition

Columbia, MO experienced a surge of AI and tech momentum in May 2025, underscored by Missouri Startup Weekend, where entrepreneurs competed for a prize package exceeding $45,000 and up to $150,000 in potential VC investment from Redbud VC, hosted at EquipmentShare's new Technology & Development Center.

As noted by Maria Heyen,

“Startup Weekend has been a mainstay event in Columbia for over 13 years, and the consistent success of the event is what creates an environment that attracts the best investors and founders throughout the region to support early entrepreneurs.”

Over 76 Missouri-based startups have now benefited from more than $22 million in IDEA Fund allocations via Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), with $4 million awarded just this January to innovative companies in AI, agriculture, and health sectors.

Regional venture capital access also broadened through the May 2025 VC Immersions series, connecting founders with 30+ funds - including Columbia's Redbud VC - and facilitating $6.7 million in early-stage financings.

For details on the competitive spirit and support fueling Columbia's tech rise, explore the Missouri Startup Weekend's transformative impact at Missouri Startup Weekend 2025 Prizes and Impact, see the full list of recent MTC-funded startups at Missouri Technology Corporation January 2025 Investment Cycle, and learn about how the VC Immersions program is expanding investor networks at Heartland Startups Venture Capital Immersion Series 2025.

Missouri is fast becoming a hub for big tech investment in AI infrastructure, with global giants like Google, OpenAI, Oracle, and Microsoft targeting the state for their next wave of data centers and supercomputing projects.

Google's capital expenditure is set to reach $75 billion this year, launching 11 new data center regions - including in Missouri - to support surging demand for AI-powered cloud services, as part of an industry-wide trend where hyperscaler spend has jumped 34% since last year (Google's $75 billion AI data center buildout).

Meanwhile, the ambitious $100 billion "Stargate" initiative, led by OpenAI and partners Oracle and SoftBank, is prompting states and municipalities - including Missouri - to compete for high-profile AI supercomputing campuses, which are projected to generate more than 100,000 immediate jobs and offer free compute power to public education and local governments (OpenAI's $100 billion Stargate project).

However, such rapid expansion is amplifying concerns over electricity use, water resources, tax incentives, and local opposition - especially as industry demand for power has increased over 40% nationwide and vacancy rates for data center space remain below 2% (Long-term data center growth outlook).

As investments intensify, Missouri stands out as a strategic candidate in the central U.S., balancing the economic benefits and community impacts of this next-generation AI infrastructure boom.

EquipmentShare, a leading construction technology provider founded in Columbia, Missouri, has marked its 10th anniversary with the grand opening of a $100 million Technology Development Center (TDC) adjacent to its headquarters.

The TDC, spanning a 35-acre expanded campus with nearly 500,000 square feet of facilities, brings together research and development, engineering, and learning teams to design next-generation technology and deliver nationwide training.

Their proprietary T3™ platform powers real-time fleet management, jobsite visibility, and advanced analytics, underscoring EquipmentShare's commitment to digital transformation in the construction industry.

Thanks to investment incentives - such as Chapter 100 bonds for property tax abatement - the expansion is creating over 500 high-paying local jobs, fueling both Columbia's economy and Missouri's stature as a tech innovation hub.

“We're pleased to see a Missouri-made innovator like EquipmentShare continuing to invest and create jobs in Columbia. This company's history of success shows what can be achieved through bold ideas, hard work, and commitment to community.” – Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe

For more, read the official EquipmentShare announcement on its 10-year milestone and TDC opening, explore how this Center is creating 500 new jobs in Columbia, and see state leaders' perspectives in the Missouri Department of Economic Development coverage of EquipmentShare's growth.

Columbia-based Healium has gained national recognition after a landmark Mayo Clinic study demonstrating Healium's VR technology effectiveness in reducing pre-surgery anxiety among older cardiac patients.

Conducted with 100 patients scheduled for open-heart surgery, the randomized controlled trial contrasted immersive Healium VR goggles and tablet-based video experiences, finding both methods substantially lowered anxiety scores and pulse rates, though the VR goggles were more impactful (average anxiety reduction: 2.9 points for VR, 2.0 for tablet) according to Mayo Clinic News Network.

The study signals a move away from traditional pharmacological interventions - which can complicate anesthesia - in favor of a nonpharmacological, patient-friendly approach.

As summarized in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings featuring VR anxiety reduction research, both interventions were well-tolerated in an older population and improved patient experience.

Dr. Jordan Miller, the study's senior author, noted,

“This research represents a step forward in improving the patient experience and potentially using this approach to optimize postoperative recovery.”

Healium's founder, Sarah Hill, highlighted future plans to scale the company's platform using generative AI for creating individualized therapeutic content from biometric data.

The findings have spurred Mayo Clinic to consider widespread clinical adoption and future enhancements including biofeedback modules and family anxiety interventions.

Device	Anxiety Reduction (avg. points)	Pulse Rate	Respiration/O2
VR Goggles	2.9	Reduced	No change
Tablet Video	2.0	Reduced	No change

Missouri is poised to join the ranks of the top 10 states for tech manufacturing job growth by 2030, according to the latest Technology2030 report from the Missouri Chamber Foundation.

Over the past five years, the state has added more than 14,000 tech manufacturing jobs - making it the 7th fastest-growing in the nation - while tech now accounts for 5% of Missouri's employment and 10% of its GDP. The state's competitive advantages include a low cost of doing business, strong workforce diversity, and robust cost-of-living-adjusted wages.

The report notes major growth in areas like AgTech, artificial intelligence, and fintech, but identifies challenges such as expanding broadband infrastructure and supporting rural tech entrepreneurs.

As Kara Corches, Missouri Chamber CEO, remarked,

“Missouri remains an emerging hub for the tech sector. There is a lot of momentum right now, particularly in tech manufacturing... We need to make sure Missouri has a sufficient workforce pipeline to support these opportunities.”

To sustain this momentum, recommendations include increased talent recruitment, investment in digital equity, and establishing a state-backed AI research center.

For a more detailed breakdown, see the following key data from the report:

Metric	Missouri (2023)
Tech Employment	~150,000 jobs
Annual Tech Wages Paid	~$16 billion
Tech Manufacturing Jobs Added (5 years)	14,000+
Tech Share of State GDP	10%
Workforce Diversity (National Rank)	9th
Tech Manufacturing Job Growth (National Rank)	7th

For more on Missouri's strategic tech initiatives, visit the Missouri Chamber report summary and read regional coverage from the Missourinet deep dive.

In a pivotal Senate hearing this May, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before Congress to emphasize America's urgent need for expanded AI infrastructure, streamlined regulations, and investment to stay ahead in the global technology race, particularly against China.

Altman, joined by leaders from AMD, Microsoft, and CoreWeave, called for a “light-touch” federal regulatory framework, cautioning that “sensible regulation” must avoid dampening innovation or fragmenting governance across states.

The hearing centered on landmark infrastructure efforts, such as the $500 billion Stargate project in Texas, and reflected a marked shift from past calls for stronger AI oversight - industry consensus now focuses on competitiveness, supply chain resiliency, and workforce development.

Altman highlighted,

“We need abundant intelligence and abundant energy to lead the AI revolution... This is magic, and it will happen here in America.”

Discussions also addressed surging energy demands of AI data centers, the risks of losing technological lead to China, and the need for unified standards and export controls.

Notably, executives warned that China is close behind in AI capabilities, with Altman stating, “It's very hard to say how far ahead we are, but I would say not a huge amount of time.” The structured summary below illustrates the key policy actions and AI infrastructure initiatives influencing US leadership in 2025:

Date	Action/Policy	Description
Jan 23, 2025	EO 14179	Removes barriers to US AI leadership, directs new AI action plan.
Jan 21, 2025	Stargate Project	$500B AI infrastructure investment to promote US development.
May 8, 2025	Senate Hearing	Leaders testify on infrastructure, regulation, and global AI competition.

Read more about the Senate's “Winning the AI Race” hearing at the Senate Committee website, an in-depth recap of Altman's regulatory stance at Fortune's analysis of Altman's testimony, and detailed policy context on executive actions and infrastructure at Covington's review of 2025 AI developments.

IBM made headlines this month after laying off around 8,000 employees - primarily from its Human Resources department - as it accelerated its shift to AI-powered automation across back-office operations.

The company's AskHR platform now automates 94% of standard HR tasks, such as responding to employee queries and processing paperwork, drastically improving efficiency but revealing persistent limitations with complex case handling that requires human judgment and empathy (IBM's AI Layoffs Backfire: The Human Element Strikes Back).

Notably, IBM's CEO Arvind Krishna emphasized that while automation is aggressively streamlining workflows, the company's overall workforce has actually increased thanks to strategic hiring in software development, marketing, and sales - underscoring a corporate pivot toward roles where creativity and people management are vital (Tech Layoffs 2025: IBM Lays Off 8,000 Employees as AI Replaces HR Department).

At the annual Think conference, IBM unveiled new AI agent tools and confirmed that its generative AI business has reached $6 billion, with customer-focused solutions that compete with major players like Amazon and Microsoft.

As the tables below show, automation is transforming the makeup of tech organizations:

Area	IBM Layoff/Automation Data
HR Department Layoffs	~8,000 employees
Routine HR Tasks Automated	94%
Human Judgment Tasks Remaining	6% of HR workload
Total Workforce After Layoff	270,300 employees

While IBM's experience highlights the ongoing evolution - and limits - of workplace AI, it confirms the industry-wide trend toward blending AI speed with the irreplaceable value of human expertise and interaction (IBM CEO: AI Replaced Hundreds of Human Resources Staff).

Generative AI is fundamentally reshaping the journalism landscape, with leading research from the Tow Center for Digital Journalism documenting a dramatic erosion of referral traffic to news outlets as users increasingly rely on AI-powered platforms for quick, conversational answers.

Studies indicate that AI tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity contribute less than 0.1% of referral traffic to top news publishers, while Google's AI Overviews can cut click-through rates by 56% on desktop and nearly half on mobile, as seen with Mail Online's recent performance.

This shift has severe implications for the business models of both national and local news outlets, which previously depended on search-driven audiences. A survey of publishers and industry experts found that 80% of consumers frequently use AI-generated previews, bypassing original reporting, and that licensing deals between news organizations and AI companies remain rare and limited primarily to major players.

The table below summarizes recent traffic impacts and AI referral patterns:

Platform	News % of Referrals	Click-Through Rate Change	Notes
Google AI Overviews	–	-56% (Desktop)	Mail Online example
ChatGPT	3%	Negligible	Less than 0.1% of top site traffic
Perplexity	7%	Negligible	Majority of referrals to academic/education sources

As the Tow Center report stresses, the abstraction of news from its creators risks undervaluing journalistic work and diminishing the visibility of smaller, local outlets.

As one global news policy executive noted:

“If they produce great journalism, it still has incredible value... How do we establish the right frameworks to recognize that value and ensure that those revenues flow back into creating more great journalism?”

For more, read the Tow Center's in-depth analysis on AI's impact on news and search, examine the detailed referral data in the GenAI News Gatekeeper report, and explore how Google's AI Overviews are driving sweeping changes in publisher fortunes via Press Gazette's investigation.

Meta has announced a landmark achievement for its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, surpassing one billion monthly active users across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

This figure, shared by CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the company's recent shareholder meeting, doubles the platform's user base since September 2024, underscoring rapid adoption and deep integration into Meta's ecosystem.

The milestone coincides with the launch of a standalone Meta AI app, designed to rival leading AI assistants like ChatGPT by providing personalized, multimodal responses and a unique Discover feed for sharing AI-powered experiences.

Meta's AI is distinguished by its extensive personalization features, drawing on years of user data to refine recommendations, voice conversations, and entertainment within its suite of apps.

Future developments will include paid recommendations and a potential subscription model to unlock advanced capabilities and additional computing power, as Meta continues to leverage AI-as-a-service while addressing privacy and regulatory challenges, especially in Europe.

As Zuckerberg stated,

“The focus for this year is deepening the experience and making Meta AI the leading personal AI with an emphasis on personalization, voice conversations, and entertainment.”

For a detailed comparative analysis and insights into Meta AI's monetization strategies and upcoming features, visit TechCrunch's report on Meta's standalone AI app, review key milestone details on CNBC's official coverage of Meta's 1 billion monthly users, and explore user growth context and competitive landscape via Techi's summary of Meta AI's ascent in 2025.

Columbia-based Healium is trailblazing the intersection of virtual reality, generative AI, and personalized medicine, highlighted by a recent Mayo Clinic study showing its VR technology significantly reduced preoperative anxiety in older heart surgery patients - a promising result given the connection between pre-surgical anxiety and negative outcomes as reported by Startland News.

This milestone comes as Mayo Clinic accelerates its broader push into generative AI, partnering with Microsoft Research and Cerebras Systems to develop foundation models that personalize patient care through multimodal radiology data, genomic insights, and advanced clinical analytics according to the Mayo Clinic News Network.

At the heart of these initiatives are AI-powered tools that generate actionable medical reports, enable real-time genomic analysis, and deliver customized patient experiences, all leveraging an unprecedented scale of medical data and collaboration with leading tech companies.

As noted by Mayo Clinic Chair of Radiology Matthew Callstrom, M.D., Ph.D.,

“Multimodal foundation models hold immense promise in tackling significant roadblocks across the radiology ecosystem. The innovations we're creating with Microsoft Research will help unlock valuable insights for the future of medical imaging to improve how radiologists work and how patients are cared for.”

Mayo's commitment to digital pathology - digitizing 20 million pathology slides and linking 10 million patient records for AI development - illustrates a transformative leap toward faster, more accurate diagnoses and tailored therapies, with partnerships such as Nvidia and Aignostics further amplifying these advancements as detailed by Healthcare Innovation Group.

Missouri is making significant strides to bridge the digital divide through a multifaceted push from both lawmakers and industry leaders, aiming to deliver reliable, high-speed internet across the state.

The Missouri Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, funded with $1.7 billion in federal support, has already received 519 Round 1 applications covering 90% of the state's 213,404 eligible unserved and underserved locations, with a dedicated plan to achieve universal broadband access by 2028 (Missouri BEAD Program details).

As part of a robust public-private partnership strategy, companies like Brightspeed are scaling up fibre deployments, connecting over 200,000 homes and businesses in Missouri and investing in both community infrastructure and local workforce initiatives; Brightspeed CEO Tom Maguire emphasized,

"Our multi-billion-dollar investment in fibre infrastructure is not just about delivering faster internet - it's about creating long-term value for the communities we serve and for our stakeholders."

(Brightspeed's Missouri fibre expansion).

On a local level, innovative partnerships such as Joplin's recent agreement with ALLO Fiber aim to boost competition, improve services, and lower broadband costs by introducing high-capacity networks and hardened infrastructure, with city leaders underscoring the urgency of digital inclusion for economic development and disaster resilience (Joplin-ALLO broadband partnership).

With mapping, community feedback, and collaborative investments across sectors, Missouri is rapidly advancing toward a digitally inclusive future.

Columbia, Missouri sits at the nexus of tech advancement, AI-driven industry, and evolving policy. In May 2025, the city witnessed major developments, notably Schneider Electric breaking ground on a $73.6 million expansion projected to create over 200 jobs and boost energy and AI infrastructure - a move praised by local and state leaders as a commitment to modernizing Missouri's economy and supporting sustainable job growth (Schneider Electric's Columbia Facility Expansion).

At the same time, Missouri's entrepreneurial ecosystem thrived, with standout startups like EquipmentShare, Paytient, and Veterans United Home Loans demonstrating local innovation's global impact through multi-million-dollar investments, technology adoption, and public-private partnerships (Columbia Startup Success Stories).

Meanwhile, policymakers debated nearly two dozen state bills on AI, reflecting both enthusiasm and caution: 48 states and Puerto Rico introduced legislation this year, but Missouri has yet to enact comprehensive regulations, focusing instead on proposals for AI-generated content disclosure in political campaigns and ethical judicial use (2025 AI Legislation Summary).

As public engagement - from the city's Community Summit to input on city planning - grows alongside these technological milestones, Columbia's future is being shaped both by trailblazing companies and by active conversations around responsible innovation, infrastructure, and citizen priorities.