What is Rose Rock Bridge Venture Studio? Tulsa’s tech startup launchpad, explained

Tulsa Innovation Labs is helping early-stage tech companies grow and connect with major energy corporations through the Rose Rock Bridge Venture Studio. The latest group of winning startups is already making waves, and many of them are choosing to launch right here in Tulsa.

Malachi Blankenship, Director of Capital and Entrepreneurship for Tulsa Innovation Labs, said Rose Rock Bridge is giving startups a real shot at success by helping them plug directly into legacy industries.

“Venture Studio at Rose Rock Bridge, what we're doing is we're helping companies that are in the early stages of their growth, right? Think like three to four-person teams grow into the large companies that we all know and see today,” Blankenship said. “And the cool thing about Rose Rock Bridge is that we are helping those companies connect with some of the legacy industry partners here locally. ONEOK, Williams, even Devon in Oklahoma City, and H&P are some of our four key energy partners.”

From 700 Applicants to 15 Finalists

More than 700 companies applied to be part of the Rose Rock Bridge program. A team at Tulsa Innovation Labs narrowed the field to just 15.

“We went through over 700 applicants, downselected the 15, brought them in front of all of our corporate partners, and tried to decide which ones are actually most aligned with their innovation priorities that can be deployed directly into their companies,” Blankenship explained.

Those applicants weren’t just local. “We had some local and we had some from all across the nation and internationally as well.”

What Makes Rose Rock Bridge Unique

While many people are familiar with venture capital and startup funding from shows like Shark Tank, Blankenship said Rose Rock Bridge offers something different.

“What makes our Venture Studio so unique is that it's really a deployment studio,” he said. “These companies are in the energy tech space, and they're trying to get in front of the big corporations that we have here locally. So what Rose Rock Bridge is literally just the bridge from that innovation land into corporate world.”

Fueling Tulsa’s Growing Tech Reputation

Tulsa has become a national hotspot for tech and entrepreneurship, and programs like Rose Rock Bridge are helping grow that reputation even further.

“Really, it's double-sided, right?” Blankenship said. “We're attracting new companies to Tulsa, which is amazing, right? And they're launching here. Local companies and innovators are growing their company in this space.”

He added, “Corporations come to us, large corporations come to us, and we help them with their innovation priorities so they can accelerate. And then innovators that are at the earliest stage, or even later stages, that are trying to connect with that corporate world, we're helping them too.”

Building a Lasting Tech Ecosystem in Oklahoma

The ultimate goal is to make Tulsa a permanent home for innovation.

“Not only do we want them to stay here, but we want our corporations to grow as well,” Blankenship said. “And we want to just create that cluster of innovation and excitement in our city that spurs on new knowledge, brain spillover.”