Atlanta Tech Leaders Head to Silicon Valley This Week

Patch Staff Report

Mayor Kasim Reed and Invest Atlanta will lead a delegation of Atlanta tech leaders and entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley to support the City’s emerging startup scene.

From February 25th – 26th, they will meet with 12 venture capital firms and social media platforms to elevate Atlanta’s growing reputation as a hub for technology and entrepreneurship.

“Atlanta has long been a city that welcomes and nurtures talent, entrepreneurship, and innovation,” said Reed in a news release. “I am confident that this trip will enable us to position our city as an ideal location for long-term tech investments and ensure that Atlanta’s technology sector continues to grow and thrive.”

Atlanta leaders will visit the heads of major technology companies, including Google, Facebook and Cisco during this three-day trip to San Francisco and Palo Alto. Currently, just five percent of all venture capital investment goes to the Southeast, which includes Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. The delegation is hopeful the trip will spur investment in promising Atlanta startups.

“Atlanta is one of the most attractive cities in the United States for Silicon Valley investors,” said John Yates of Buckhead's Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP and delegation member. “We have the ingredients venture capitalists seek – major universities, talented entrepreneurs, leading incubators and active angel investors. And two-thirds of VC investment last year was in areas where Atlanta is a leader -- information technology, healthcare and financial services.”

Since 2010, Reed and Invest Atlanta, the City's economic development agency, have made significant investments to further Atlanta’s reputation as the technology hub of the Southeast.

With a strong foundation in established tech companies and organizations including AT&T and the Atlanta Tech Village, Atlanta is also home to industry transforming tech start-up companies including Cardlytics, a leading advertising & technology company and the pioneer in Card-Linked Marketing, and athenahealth, one of the fastest growing healthcare IT companies in the country.

The Atlanta metropolitan region is currently ranked 12th in the nation for tech start-ups.

“From Startup Atlanta to Govathon, we’re committed to the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Invest Atlanta CEO Brian McGowan. “When someone has a great idea or a brilliant innovation, we want them to think of Atlanta as a home for their business because we have the infrastructure and network for them to be successful here.”

The City of Atlanta supplied information for this report that was edited for publication.