Urban Arts Celebrates Inaugural Founders Lab, Where NYC Students Used AI to Build Their Own Startups
NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2026 – Urban Arts today announced the successful completion of the inaugural Founders Lab, a ten-day accelerator that gave 20 students from low-income New York City communities the opportunity to use artificial intelligence to turn problems they know firsthand into startup ventures they could build, test and pitch.
The pilot brought together four teams of five students for an intensive startup experience spanning ideation, product development and customer validation. Along the way, they used AI as a constructive tool to research markets, evaluate competitors and synthesize feedback, while learning to think like founders by testing assumptions, taking risks and refining their ideas. The program reflects a broader shift in entrepreneurship: AI is rapidly reducing the barriers to turning an idea into a working product, but access to the mentorship, networks and business knowledge needed to become a founder remains uneven.
“Urban Arts has spent decades helping young people see a future for themselves in technology. Founders Lab takes that a step further by showing them they can own a piece of what comes next,” said Philip Courtney, CEO of Urban Arts. “The goal isn’t just to build a talent pipeline into the AI economy. It’s to build an entrepreneurial pipeline. That means giving students the tools to test a concept, learn from failure, and keep pushing until they hae something they’re ready to put in front of the world.”