Charlotte still wants to be a tech hub, even as AI threatens jobs
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The Dubois Center, UNC Charlotte's campus in Uptown, is one of the first few buildings that's part of the North Tryon Tech Hub. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios
Charlotte is forging ahead with its aspirations to become a tech hub, despite AI fueling uncertainty about whether jobs will last.
Why it matters: Charlotte is particularly exposed to AI disruption because its economy relies on banking, insurance, and similar industries that employ the bulk of the region's tech workforce.
- But local leaders say that risk is a reason to keep investing in tech.
Case in point: The "low-hire, low-fire" market and recent layoffs are adding to the unpredictable labor outlook.
- In January, home improvement giant Lowe's cut approximately 600 corporate and support roles, including 49 positions at its technology hub in South End.
- Data and analytics job postings in Charlotte are down 61% compared to 2019, according to Indeed.com.
- Software developers, research analysts and data scientists are among the most exposed to AI. "If exposure leads to even modest levels of job replacement, it could significantly impact the state's employment figures," an NC TECH report states.
Yes, but: Bojan Cukic, dean of the College of Computing and Informatics at UNC Charlotte, is among those involved in bringing an Uptown tech hub to the North Tryon corridor. He says that while we are in the midst of the "next industrial revolution," he is not as skeptical about technology replacing humans as Silicon Valley suggests.
- Some AI pioneer companies, Cukic says, may have a "vested interest in projecting that kind of feeling." Companies like Lowe's have sent tech functions overseas in recent years.
- "Students who have been considering tech in the past should be considering tech in the future," Cukic says.
Reality check: Tech jobs have been growing quickly. In the five years between 2019 and 2024, the number of tech jobs in North Carolina increased 33%, nearly double the national average, per NC TECH.
- Charlotte's tech presence is woven into industries such as finance and manufacturing, rather than concentrated in traditional tech companies and startups.
The big picture: UNC Charlotte and Charlotte Center City Partners have long envisioned the "North Tryon Tech Hub" to build on this growth. The innovation district has begun taking shape where the Dubois Center and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CO-LAB) are.
- "North Carolina does not necessarily have a choice other than not only staying on the course, but increasing ... investments in tech innovation," Cukic says.
- Stakeholders were inspired by how Tech Square in Atlanta has made Georgia more competitive. Charlotte Center City Partners' Michael Smith says the North Tryon Tech Hub is "essential for Charlotte to meet its potential."
- The tech hub could comprise 25 contiguous, underdeveloped acres controlled by Mecklenburg County and Levine Properties, which will select developers to spearhead an area where academics, entrepreneurs and corporations intersect.
Zoom in: Along with office buildings, the hub will prioritize the physical space and the programming to support entrepreneurs, Smith says.
- The tech hub will focus on cybersecurity, machine learning and "critical infrastructure," including systems like data centers that power AI.
- This year, the university will open a cybersecurity lab at the hub. Cukic says strengthening defenses is crucial as AI lowers the costs of cyberattacks.
Zoom out: UNC Charlotte is among the early universities that offer AI degrees.
- From November 2022, when ChatGPT launched, to October 2025, more than 56,800 job postings in North Carolina sought AI skills, according to NC TECH.
- UNC Charlotte pre-med students, who will one day work with robotics in hospitals, can also now choose computer science as a concentration. Some robotic medicine is being studied at The Pearl, the life sciences district in midtown, not far from the North Tryon Tech Hub.
- "Atlanta has 15 centers of innovation," Smith says. "Charlotte can definitely support two."
The bottom line: AI disruption will create "threats and opportunities," Smith says. "We are going to try to position Charlotte so that it's an opportunity."