3Ci 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.
We are grateful for the Atlanta tech community. Check out this roundup of the top tech stories from @3Cipeople. #TechCONNECT #ATLtech
Top Tech Stories
Atlanta Startups Shine On Deloitte’s Annual Fast 500
According to Madison Hogan, of the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Atlanta Inno, more than 20 Georgia-based startups made Deloitte’s Annual Fast 500 rankings. This is a list that ranks companies based on percentage of revenue growth over the last three years. Kennesaw-based LendingPoint ranked 9 on the list followed by number 21 on the list, Terminus. Then comes GreenPrint at 27, FullStory at 28, Calendly at 48, and Springbot at 193. To see Deloitte’s full list click here.
Tesla’s Cybertruck Soars With Preorders
During the big reveal of Tesla’s electric pickup truck last week, the new vehicle’s windows failed an on-stage smash test. Despite this mishap, CEO Elon Musk revealed that Tesla’s still received nearly 150,000 pre-orders, totaling $14.6B in just two days. The finished trucks won’t roll out until 2022, but you can get all the details right here.
Mailchimp Creates Website Builder for Small Businesses
Atlanta-based Mailchimp continues to add additional products and resources to its line of marketing tools for small businesses and entrepreneurs. You can access the new website builder while it’s in beta, which includes functionality such as creating and hosting your website for free, selling products from your online store, and growing your audience with a built-in signup form. Get the full story and try it out for yourself in beta.
5G Is Here, And It Will Change the Future
The Wall Street Journal has compiled a slew of insightful pieces around how 5G will change much more than your phone. Journalist Eric Silvers reports how carriers are looking to send 5G data to the cloud and how the greatest potential of the cloud lies in network slicing. This will allow companies not only to separate traffic, but it will also allow them to offer different levels of service to different subscribers.
Microsoft Implements California Consumer Privacy Act
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a new data privacy law that applies to certain businesses collecting personal information from California residence and goes into effect January 1, 2020. Christopher Budd at GeekWire offers four key insights that you should know, including the fact that ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Venture Atlanta 2019: Success Breeds Success
Venture Atlanta is an annual conference that creates opportunities for top tier investors to connect with and fund the region’s most promising technology companies. Venture Atlanta 2019 had 1100 attendees, 335 investors representing, 224 funds nationwide, and 325 company applications submitted. Resulting in 35 presenting companies selected and 42 showcase companies selected from eight states across the Southeast. If you did not have a chance to attend, please click here to read more about this amazing conference.
Atlanta Funding News
Valor Ventures Closes on Second Fund
Atlanta-based early-stage venture capital firm Valor Ventures announced the first close of its second fund. The VC firm is vying for a $25 million fund, and the firm’s general partner and founder, Lisa Calhoun, is the first woman in the state to raise a VC fund, according to a news release. Valor’s second fund plans to help support founders scale with programs such as Startup Runway, Atlanta Tech Park, and Valor’s Innovation Council, which consists of more than fifty corporate leaders.
Companies and People on the Move
Monica Hooks Takes on Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative
Alumna entrepreneur Monica Hooks is taking the reins as WEI’s new Executive Director. Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative is the only city-funded, women-focused incubator in the country, now going into their third cohort. Hooks brings more than 20 years of marketing and business development experience to the position with deep expertise in new media, entertainment, and technology.
Google Moves into Banking
Google is moving into banking with a project called Cache. It is expected to launch next year with checking accounts run by Citigroup Inc. and a credit union at Stanford University. Peter Rudegeair, with The Wall Street Journal, reports that consumers will be able to open a checking account through Google’s digital wallet, making the search giant the latest Silicon Valley heavyweight to push into finance. Its move follows Apple’s introduction of a credit card for iPhone users and Facebook’s unveiling of a digital currency it hopes will up in payments.
Google Maps Wants to Make Your Thanksgiving Travel Easier
Google Maps has put together some traffic and travel trends to help make celebrating even easier. Thanks to data from 2018’s holiday season, we can now take a closer look at the places people visit during the holidays, when to visit them, and the best times to get on or stay off the road. To make sure you don’t get caught in the gridlock, Google Maps analyzed 2018 traffic data to pinpoint the best and worst times to leave for your Thanksgiving road trip.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and More
SalesLoft Acquires Costello to Power Sales Engagement
SalesLoft just acquired opportunity management and guided selling software provider, Costello, to empower sales engagement for every seller. Costello adds quick deal updates, guiding selling playbooks, pipeline collaboration, and real-time sync to CRM to the robust SalesLoft platform, strengthening its position as the number one sales engagement platform for account executives and sales management. Get the full story right here.
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