ThoughtLab Collaborates with Urban Leaders to Provide Cities with an Evidence-Based AI Playbook and Benchmarking Model Published Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 6:07 a.m. Updated Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 6:07 a.m. NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 14, 2026-- Breakthroughs in AI offer cities extraordinary opportunities to improve economic competitiveness, social impact, and citizen services. But realizing AI’s full potential will only happen if urban leaders are able to overcome challenges around governance, data, resources, and public trust. To help city leaders navigate this path, global research firm ThoughtLab today announced the formation of a multi-stakeholder research coalition to develop an evidence-based AI playbook and benchmarking model for cities. Coalition members include leaders from across the urban ecosystem, including Dell Technologies, FedEx, FTI Consulting, General Motors, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Wireside Communications. The flagship research program, Building an AI-First City, will analyze the AI strategies, investment plans, and performance results of hundreds of worldwide cities. The study will draw on proprietary benchmarking data, a curated repository of municipal AI strategies and policy documents, and in-depth collaboration with public-sector leaders, innovators, and technology partners. "AI is triggering a new era of urban transformation that will fundamentally reshape how cities provide value and services to residents, businesses, and communities,” said Lou Celi, CEO of ThoughtLab. "The research will equip urban leaders with evidence-based insights, valuable benchmarks, and proven strategies to deploy AI responsibly, securely and effectively. Our goal is to help cities harness AI into a force multiplier to drive economic growth, social impact, and sustainability, while being sensitive to citizen concerns.” A comprehensive view into AI innovation across cities The study will examine the full spectrum of latest AI solutions, including agentic, generative, edge, multimodal, physical AI, and sovereign AI—and their integration with critical urban systems, such as digital twins, cloud platforms, IoT,