Atlanta, Georgia has it It has emerged as one of the busiest new hubs in the country, with a thriving enterprise, cybersecurity, and SaaS sectors, as well as a plethora of investors looking to back the hot new startups coming out of town. Some well-known companies from Atlanta include Calody, Cabbage One Trust, and FullStory – all of them unicorns, by the way.
Many, like Cal Friendly, have passed on the stories of the Atlanta Tech Village, which has served as an incubator for the city’s talent ecosystem since David Cummings founded it in 2012.
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Record companies such as Quality Control, the music house of the Migos, have an investment arm, and local HBCUs, such as Morehouse, have their own entrepreneurship and innovation centers. Even the Atlanta Hawks launched their own investment company to support talent in its early stages. In fact, ATL hails itself as so committed to strengthening its tech ecosystem that it has appointed a Chief Technology Officer, or as some informally call the role, the city’s tech czar.
Naturally, the next step was TechCrunch spotlighting the city to showcase all that’s new and upcoming. Investors and founders have always been excited about what is happening in the region. Last year, Atlanta startups raised about $1.65 billion, according to PitchBook. Although down about 47.9% year-on-year, this amount is still the second highest amount of funding allocated to the city in recent years.
“The venture capital opportunity in the South is better than it’s ever been,” Lisa Calhoun, general partner at Valor Ventures, told TechCrunch+ last year. “A lot of new founders are starting companies at amazing rates; in terms of deal flow, we haven’t had that much before.”
Tune in on June 7 at 10:00 ET as TechCrunch Live breaks down what’s happening in Atlanta’s tech ecosystem. While much of the action is on lockdown (stay tuned), we can promise an exciting list of panels and articles showcasing the city’s culture and commitment to becoming a tech hub. Trust us, this isn’t an event you want to miss, so stay tuned for updates, and we hope you can join us as we officially welcome you to Atlanta.
Note: If you are an early-stage founder based in Atlanta, please submit an application to the panel of guest investors in our Live Presentation Competition; The winner gets a free booth at TechCrunch Disrupt this year to showcase their company in the startup alley.