This Month's Latest Tech News in Little Rock, AR - Saturday May 31st 2025 Edition

Little Rock is undergoing a significant tech transformation driven by major investments and visionary development. This month, the Port of Little Rock finalized a landmark deal with Willowbend Capital LLC for a $1 billion, 300,000-square-foot data center, expected to generate 50 high-quality jobs and spark further growth, with the potential for additional facilities and increasing annual city payments for each new data center added.

Read more about the Port of Little Rock $1 billion data center project.

In tandem, Little Rock's Tempus Realty Partners made headlines by acquiring a $43.75 million mixed-use technology property in Pittsburgh, reflecting nationwide demand for high-quality office space by tech firms and positioning Little Rock as an emerging national player.

Learn about Tempus Realty Partners' technology real estate investment.

These bold moves highlight a region prioritizing technology-driven economic growth, with local leaders describing the data center investment as

“generational in the way the port grows jobs and its presence in Little Rock. It's just another win for the City of Little Rock”

.

See the detailed THV11 coverage on Little Rock's tech boom.

Google is set to reshape Arkansas' tech landscape with its planned $10 billion data center campus in West Memphis, marking the largest private investment in state history and positioning the region as an emerging hub for AI and cloud infrastructure.

Operated locally under Groot LLC, the 1,178-acre site will feature five state-of-the-art data centers, advanced water-based cooling systems, and an on-site utility substation powered by Entergy Arkansas.

The West Memphis City Council has approved a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement valued at $10 billion and personal property tax abatements that could reach up to $50 billion.

Construction will be led by Turner Construction and Yates Construction, with workforce impact expected to begin with 300 jobs and expand further as operations ramp up.

This development aligns with Google's goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 and its nationwide strategy to invest $75 billion in AI data centers this year.

As Mayor Marco McClendon noted,

“We're excited to be working with a Fortune 100 company on a project that will bring high-paying jobs, cutting-edge infrastructure, and long-term growth to West Memphis.”

For more on the project's economic, environmental, and community significance, see detailed coverage at Google's West Memphis data center announcement, city council details at Data Center Dynamics project summary, and a construction and sustainability breakdown at Global Construction Review on Google Arkansas investment.

BOND.AI, a Little Rock-based AI firm, has partnered with Arkansas Heart Hospital to launch the 101+ app, a next-generation health platform designed to analyze over 150 clinical biomarkers and 500 data points to deliver personalized longevity and health recommendations.

The app leverages BOND.AI's Empathy Engine AI Technology to assess areas including cellular and metabolic health, inflammation, stress, and genetic risk factors for diseases like kidney disease, dementia, and cancer, ultimately providing users with a tailored plan for improving their HealthSpan.

While traditional longevity tests can cost up to $250,000, the 101+ app drastically reduces this barrier with plans starting at $999, offering two subscription options and aiming to make advanced health insights accessible to more people.

As Dr. Bruce Murphy, CEO of Arkansas Heart Hospital, stated,

“The biggest disease impacting Americans today is not heart disease or kidney disease, but rather the disease of aging... [With] access to data from the 101+ app that will detail individual body function aspects affecting longevity, users will be able to combat aging through a holistic approach and learn more about their health than they ever thought possible.”

This innovative initiative positions Little Rock at the forefront of AI-driven preventative healthcare and has drawn attention for its potential to extend both lifespan and quality of life.

For a full analysis of how the 101+ app compares with traditional tests, see this Arkansas Black Vitality report on the AI-powered longevity app.

Dive deeper into the partnership and the technology behind 101+ in the Arkansas Business coverage of BOND.AI and Arkansas Heart Hospital's launch, or get a holistic feature breakdown at Arkansas Money & Politics' 101+ app review.

Little Rock has launched Roxie, an AI-powered chatbot designed to streamline access to city services and information for residents. Introduced during Mayor Frank Scott Jr.'s 2025 State of the City address, Roxie helps users schedule meetings with the mayor, pay parking tickets, file police reports, and quickly navigate the city's extensive online resources - condensing over 20,000 pages of information into concise answers.

Chief Data Officer Marquis Willis, who led the project alongside multiple city departments, emphasized data governance and collaboration:

“It was a lot of collaboration from communications, a lot of collaboration from information technology, the office of executive administration, just the city of Little Rock as a whole... it's fun to see an idea go from a concept to actual production, and being glad for our residents to experience.”

Roxie's deployment is part of a broader effort to improve city operations, with future plans for additional AI-powered tools to enhance efficiency and community engagement.

For an in-depth look at Roxie's capabilities, visit this detailed THV11 overview of Little Rock's AI chatbot, learn how it fits into city innovation goals in the Arkansas Times coverage of Mayor Scott's 2025 State of the City address, and explore commentary on AI adoption in public service in the THV11 report on AI technology use in Little Rock.

Comcast Advertising has launched an AI-powered platform in partnership with Waymark, designed to empower small and local businesses in Little Rock to create professional-quality TV commercials rapidly and at a fraction of traditional costs.

This new tool scans a business's website and generates fully customizable commercials - allowing for tailored messaging, graphics, voiceovers, language options, and seasonal or audience-specific tweaks - eliminating the historical barriers of ad production time and expense according to Comcast's official release.

Since launch, thousands of video ads have been produced, many for businesses new to multiscreen TV and streaming campaigns, with Little Rock's Metal Roofing Supply calling the process “insanely easy” and the results “better than anything I could have done.”

“Our collaboration with Comcast Advertising's Media Solutions marks a major leap forward in using AI technology to enhance accessibility and drive the evolution of TV advertising. The ability to create effective, high-quality video ads in minutes is a powerful shift.” - Hayden Gilmer, Vice President of Revenue, Waymark

The platform is part of Comcast's broader Media Solutions strategy, offering advertisers a single, streamlined point of access for local, national, TV, streaming, and multiscreen campaign planning as detailed by TeckNexus.

Through the partnership, Comcast supports local businesses in boosting their reach without the need for large creative budgets or technical expertise - bridging the gap for companies that previously saw TV advertising as unattainable.

For a deeper dive into the initiative's reach and user testimonials, check out the industry-focused coverage on TV Technology's analysis of Comcast's AI ad creation platform.

AI education is gaining major traction in Arkansas, with Harding University in Searcy set to launch one of the Southeast's first undergraduate artificial intelligence majors this fall.

The program - led by Assistant Professor Joe Faith - offers a robust interdisciplinary curriculum featuring core computer science, mathematics, and seven specialized AI courses, highlighting both technical proficiency and ethical development.

As outlined in local coverage of Harding University's AI major initiative, the college aims to prepare undergraduates for evolving careers where “AI is going to be a part of any job that currently exists...

and jobs that don't exist now but will be new over the next decade.” Instructors like Faith are integrating pioneering research - such as transformer-based neural networks for chronic kidney disease prediction - directly into the classroom, providing hands-on exposure and industry use cases, as detailed in Harding University's research feature on the future of AI.

Coupled with Arkansas K-12 educators and administrators evaluating how to harness generative AI tools in their classrooms, these developments mark a proactive shift toward equipping students for a responsible AI-powered future.

As reported in regional news on Arkansas educators adapting to AI's inevitability, these efforts reflect a commitment statewide to navigating the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

UA Little Rock has launched its inaugural AI Tech Talk event, spotlighting innovative campus research and real-world applications of artificial intelligence across disciplines.

The April 24 event, hosted by the university's Tech Launch initiative, featured 12 presentations from faculty and graduate students, encompassing projects ranging from AI-powered cyberthreat intelligence to the development of a chatbot for couples counseling and generative AI in high school education.

Marla Johnson, UA Little Rock's tech entrepreneur-in-residence, emphasized,

“We created the AI Tech Talk to shine a light on the incredible and diverse work happening across campus… AI is shaping every discipline, and this event gives us a chance to learn from one another, spark new ideas, and build a stronger, more connected research community.”

Complementing these efforts, a recent Tech Launch panel brought together local and international experts to discuss AI investment, focusing on the careful planning needed for AI adoption, the importance of balancing hard and soft skills, and opportunities in sectors like healthcare and agriculture (UA Little Rock Tech Launch panel discussion on AI investment).

Together, the AI Tech Talk and ongoing education initiatives highlight UA Little Rock's growing role as a hub for AI innovation and student well-being, resonating with national conversations on AI and mental health (AI and student mental health symposium at Dartmouth College).

Arkansas lawmakers and officials are taking a firm stance in defending state-level authority over artificial intelligence regulation, opposing a proposed ten-year federal moratorium embedded in President Trump's recent budget reconciliation bill.

This federal measure, narrowly advanced in the House, would block states from enforcing their AI laws - sparking opposition from at least 40 state attorneys general including Arkansas's Tim Griffin, who argued,

“That's a horrible idea [...] It's replacing something, what the states are doing, with nothing.”

During the most recent session, Arkansas legislators passed several measures targeting AI, such as establishing copyright rights for AI-generated content and criminalizing nonconsensual use of AI for explicit “deepfakes” and likenesses amid federal regulatory uncertainty.

State Rep. Scott Richardson stressed,

“There still needs to be some guardrails, and the lack of action from the federal government has forced states to try and address these things at a more local level.”

Recent Arkansas statutes require public entities to implement AI use policies and clarify ownership of content created by generative AI - part of a larger movement reflected nationwide, with 26 states enacting over 75 AI-related measures this year alone.

The moratorium proposal has drawn sharp criticism not just for limiting local consumer protections against exploitative content, but also for stifling innovative governance.

For an overview of these legislative developments and their business implications, including constitutional challenges, consult the detailed analysis by Jones Walker LLP on the US House AI moratorium and comprehensive breakdowns of newly enacted Arkansas AI laws at White & Case LLP's report on state AI legislation trends.

The debate underscores a national tension as federal and state authorities wrestle over the right level of AI oversight and consumer protection.

BOND.AI's innovative 101+ app, launched in partnership with Arkansas Heart Hospital, is advancing the frontiers of AI-driven health innovation in Little Rock and beyond.

The platform leverages BOND.AI's Empathy Engine® to analyze complex individual health data, empowering users with personalized recommendations targeting aging and chronic disease prevention - a strategy Arkansas Heart Hospital CEO Dr. Bruce Murphy believes will redefine self-care, stating,

“This is going to actually revolutionize how people take care of themselves. They don't wait to get sick, they go back and fix it before it actually happens through a process that we have devised.”

With capabilities such as advanced behavior mapping, needs prediction, and rapid data processing, 101+ aligns with global trends highlighted in the 2025 BOND AI Trends Report - which documents explosive adoption of AI tools and a surge of open-source model deployments worldwide.

As AI-powered healthcare platforms proliferate, the 101+ app positions Little Rock at the intersection of local impact and national innovation, joining a cohort of top AI health companies recognized for transforming clinical care and patient outcomes globally.

For more on its human-centered approach and technical features, visit the official BOND.AI website.

To read perspectives on the app's potential to elevate longevity and wellness, see the editorial coverage at Arkansas Business.

As artificial intelligence becomes deeply integrated into newsroom workflows, building public trust hinges on transparency and clear communication about how AI is used in journalism.

New research reveals that more than half of Americans (52%) and an even higher percentage in the UK (63%) remain uncomfortable with AI-generated news content, highlighting a credibility gap that threatens industry trust.

To address this, the Poynter Institute, in partnership with the Associated Press and supported by Microsoft, has launched the free "Talking About AI: Newsroom Toolkit." This resource provides videos, templates, and scripts that guide journalists in explaining AI's role, embedding ethical principles, and finding the right balance between technical disclosure and audience engagement.

As Sean Marcus of MediaWise noted,

"If audiences aren't able to understand how we are using AI, we can very quickly lose trust and credibility."

Addressing lingering concerns, Poynter's guide helps news organizations adopt transparent AI policies rooted in journalistic values like accuracy and public service, as detailed in their customizable newsroom AI policy guide.

For a global perspective on audience skepticism, a Reuters report documents broad discomfort and demands for ethical guidelines in AI-powered newsrooms, reinforcing the urgency for proactive audience outreach.

By prioritizing transparency and ethics, Little Rock and other newsrooms nationwide are taking meaningful steps toward reinforcing public trust in an AI-transformed news era.

Little Rock has officially reinstated its contract with ShotSpotter, the gunshot-detection technology provided by SoundThinking, after a deeply divided Board of Directors vote and months of heated public debate.

The $188,000 agreement renews a system first launched in 2018, which deploys acoustic sensors citywide to notify police of gunfire, but has sparked ongoing controversy over effectiveness, surveillance, and racial equity.

Critics - including city directors Antwan Phillips and Andrea Lewis - point to language in ShotSpotter's own contract, cautioning that “we do not warrant or represent, expressly or implicitly, that the service or its use will...

result in the prevention of crime… or detection or neutralization of any criminal,” and question both process and transparency in the renewal vote. Protesters rallied against what local attorney Amy Pritchard described as “a layered surveillance infrastructure...

without transparency, without policy guardrails and without public consent,” while supporters like the Little Rock Regional Chamber's Jay Chesshir argued the technology is vital for public safety and economic development.

The controversy mirrors national debates, with organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation highlighting research that challenges ShotSpotter's marketing claims and cautions against expanding surveillance tech.

For a comprehensive analysis of the city's polarized decision and diverse perspectives from board members, legal counsel, and community organizers, read the in-depth reporting at the Arkansas Times' coverage of the Little Rock Board's chaotic ShotSpotter contract renewal, local reactions and police statements from THV11's report on the board's decision, and the StateScoop recap of Little Rock's deliberations and outcome.

Little Rock's technology landscape is reaching new heights, driven by rapid economic and workforce gains, surging investor and entrepreneurial activity, and national leadership in cybersecurity education.

Over the past five years, the city's GDP grew an impressive 25.92%, outpacing cities like Kansas City and Tulsa and earning Little Rock the number two spot for economic growth among similar metro areas according to a recent study.

The region is also setting employment records, adding nearly 13,000 jobs in one year and fostering innovation hubs such as the expanded Little Rock Technology Park, which now supports 49 companies and robust entrepreneurial programs highlighted by the Little Rock Chamber.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a national standout, ranking 13th for best cybersecurity bachelor's degrees and 24th for affordability - supported by major grants, including $4.65 million from the National Security Agency to train the next generation of cybersecurity educators and address the growing demand for cyber talent in the state.

As Dr. Ahmed Abu Halimeh, interim chair of UA Little Rock's Computer Science Department, puts it:

“This recognition highlights the excellence of our cybersecurity program and the dedication of our faculty to providing a high-quality education that is both accessible and impactful.”

Little Rock's momentum is reinforced by entrepreneurial spirit and strong local support, as seen at events like AEDC's Meet the Buyers, as well as by regional developments - such as billion-dollar tech and AI investments in neighboring states that expand the South's reputation.

For those hoping to join this thriving tech community, upskilling opportunities abound through accessible options, including Nucamp's Cybersecurity Fundamentals bootcamp and Coding bootcamps, with scholarships and flexible financing available to help power Arkansas's next tech moment.