3Ci CONNECT’s Weekly Tech Minute is a weekly installment of Atlanta’s top tech news. Hosted by one of Atlanta’s own tech experts, Titania Jordan, the Weekly Tech Minute is where our city’s tech leaders and enthusiasts turn to receive up-to-date stories about Atlanta’s buzzing tech scene.
Check out this roundup of the top Atlanta tech news from February.
Top Tech Stories
Georgia Tech Hosts NFL’s 1st & Future
Five companies competed in this annual pitch competition a day before Super Bowl LIII. The winner of this invite-only pitch received over $50,000 in cash along with tickets to the big game. Congratulations to winner TopSpin Technologies and runner up SOLIUS.
The Future of Connectivity in Atlanta is Bright!
Everyone’s buzzing about Sprint’s addition to our city—permanent 5G compatible broadband hardware. This month, the company installed MIMO (multiple input, multiple output), an antenna system that uses many more radios than traditional equipment (think 128 transmitters compared to the current 8). This configuration allows the network to reach more people, penetrate deeper into buildings, and send signals on many more levels. What’s more? On Valentine’s Day, the Georgia House passed legislation aimed at increasing deployment of 5G wireless technology in Georgia.
UGA is Building the “Campus of the Future”
The University of Georgia is doubling down on its mission of innovation and economic development in the local community with the announcement of an upcoming Innovation District. It has high hopes of becoming a beacon of technological, entrepreneurial, and educational advancement. Go Dawgs!
Atlanta Funding News
Featurespace
On January 27, this Atlanta and UK-based fraud protection and risk management startup raised $32.3M from New York-based Insight Venture Partners and MissionOG. The funding will be used for international expansion and continued development of the company’s software capabilities.
ThingTech
This Atlanta-based IoT PaaS provider raised $4M in Series A round from local BIP Capital and Engage Ventures.
Pointivo
This Atlanta-based 3D intelligence platform just raised a $7M Series A round lead by BIP Capital. They were also awarded more than 1.5M through the Small Business Innovation Research Program and at least 1.4M in other seed and venture rounds.
CommisionTrac
Closed a 1.15M seed round to help CRE brokerages close their deals. The company has about doubled the number of brokers using the platform since last fall and has processed over $100M in deal flow.
Companies on the Move
Zillow
Identifying Atlanta as a region for fast growth, Zillow has set its sights on our city for its Zillow Offers regional headquarters. The Seattle-based company hopes to identify a new office this summer.
EarthLink
IT security firm, EarthLink, is moving back to Atlanta! Currently based in Little Rock, Arkansas, the company will be re-establishing its headquarters in Atlanta thanks to a $330M deal with a Dallas-based private equity firm. The company plans to retain its current employees and hire for additional positions to accommodate projected growth in Atlanta.
Smarp
Big news! This Helsinki, Finland based content and distribution company is planning to move it’s North American headquarters from New York to Atlanta. They’re planning to add 60 jobs and invest $3M dollars.
Samsara
Logistics IoT unicorn, Samsara, has big plans to grow its midtown Atlanta office of 30 people to over 100 in 2019 and to 400+ in the next three years. According to our sources, it was Atlanta’s rich history as a transportation and operations hub as well as its booming tech community that drew this unicorn to the city after a search across the cost from Boston to Miami.
Google
Have dreams of working for the tech giant? You could be in luck. Google plans to spend $13B on new data centers and offices in the US this year. The investment will allow them to double their workforce in Virginia and Georgia. Stay tuned.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and More
SAWA
After going through Techstars Atlanta’s third cohort in 2018, this automated graphic design platform has been acquired by MailChimp. SAWA’s founder and sole full-time employee, Francis Tao, will be joining the MailChimp team as a Senior Product Manager to integrate SAWA’s technology into the platform.
To stay up-to-date with all of Atlanta’s top tech news, be sure to tune in every week by subscribing right here or via the 3Ci YouTube channel by clicking right below.
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