Tristan Thompson is entering the tech industry with a role aimed at bridging the digital divide.
According to TMZ, the NBA veteran just joined World Mobile as its Chief Digital Equity Officer, a position focused on bringing reliable internet to communities often overlooked by large carriers, particularly in rural and low-income areas.
The scale is massive: roughly one-third of the planet remains offline, which limits access to education, jobs, and healthcare.
World Mobile’s approach leans on a peer-to-peer model rather than traditional towers and fiber. The company deploys small devices called AirNodes that residents and local businesses can host, creating a mesh of coverage that grows as more nodes come online.
Thompson will help steer the Community Connectivity Fund, a multi-million-dollar pool intended to seed pilot projects and accelerate infrastructure in areas that need it most.
The gig lands as Tristan Thompson prepares for what would be his 14th NBA season. He’s currently a free agent, so he’s splitting time between basketball work and a growing portfolio in tech.
Beyond World Mobile, he helped launch TracyAI and, in June 2025, became Chief Advisory Officer at AxonDAO, a decentralized science platform focused on giving people more control over health data while advancing wellness research through AI and blockchain.
At World Mobile, the goal is proof at scale: to demonstrate that AirNodes can deliver stable, affordable connectivity where legacy build-outs haven’t proven viable.
If pilot sites show strong results, the network can expand by adding hosts and partners, creating locally owned coverage that’s cheaper to maintain than top-down systems. Thompson’s profile brings attention and relationship-building to that push, from community outreach to investor conversations.
For fans tracking Tristan Thompson beyond the hardwood, this marks a clear lane: technology that ties celebrity influence to practical infrastructure.
At AxonDAO, he’s helping the company expand into athlete-focused wellness verticals—recovery, sleep, nutrition, and mental health—and leading outreach to other pros. He has also framed internet access as a baseline utility, noting that connection can unlock learning, jobs, and telehealth in places that have long gone without dependable service.