Venture Atlanta Expands National Reach, Announces 2020 Lineup of Most Promising Tech Companies

In the midst of a pandemic, Venture Atlanta, one of the nation’s best venture capital conferences, continues to usher in new startup capital and highlight the Southeast’s most promising tech businesses. The annual conference today announced the 103 companies that will present and be showcased at this year’s fully virtual event, Venture Atlanta Live Online, to be held October 21-22. The number of selected companies is the largest ever. To view the list of companies, go here.

The all-digital concept has proven to be popular for Venture Atlanta, with over 400 companies vying for a spot this year to pitch to and be seen by investors, breaking previous conference records. The virtual format has also broadened the event’s reach, with 50 percent of chosen companies being located outside of Georgia, nearly twice as many as last year. Now in its 13th year, Venture Atlanta hosts over 250 funds that have led to $4.5 billion in funding raised and $14.7 billion in exits. The conference boasts a roster of highly successful alumni, including most recently Kabbage, which is being acquired by American Express for a possible $850 million.

“Even in light of COVID-19, we didn’t cancel but pivoted in order to best serve the needs of our region’s vibrant tech community,” said Venture Atlanta CEO Allyson Eman. “Venture Atlanta Live Online is nothing at all like a Zoom videoconference or webinar—we’re offering a truly exciting, completely virtual experience that mirrors and even improves upon the benefits of live conferences. As our list of spotlight companies shows, we’ve drawn top talent from some of the hottest pockets of tech innovation in our region.”

Eman added that due to the virtual format, investors from around the country will be able to discover more than a hundred of the best tech companies in the Southeast, making it possible to do a “year’s worth of work in just two days, with no travel.”

“We were very impressed with the quality of the companies that applied this year, and we are happy to see Venture Atlanta’s geographic reach continue to expand,” said Paul Rothstein, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and co-chair of the Venture Atlanta Recruiting and Selection Committee. “Venture Atlanta has a strong track record of helping to connect companies with capital, and we are excited for the many new opportunities that this year’s virtual format will create for the tech community.”

Venture Atlanta Comes Alive on Your Computer
Venture Atlanta Live Online will offer an unparalleled experience that streams two days of immersive events and interactive networking opportunities. Attendees will be able to connect with others at the conference, set up one-on-one meetings, stroll the virtual show floor, watch pitches in real time, and use features like live chat and audience polling. This year’s newly added All-Access pass provides attendees with on-demand access to Venture Atlanta Live Online content for a full year, behind-the-scenes access to keynote speakers, and additional content such as new pitch decks, round tables, and investor profiles throughout the year.

“Connecting the Southeast’s vibrant tech businesses with capital promotes growth in the region as well as opportunities for the people who live here,” said JC Boyanton, senior vice president of Technology Middle Market Banking at SunTrust now Truist and chair of the Venture Atlanta Recruiting and Selection Committee. “We are proud to support Venture Atlanta Live Online in its efforts to showcase the most promising technology companies to investors.”

Connecting a large number of diverse and innovative companies to capital and connections is more important than ever. “For more than a decade, Venture Atlanta has been a valuable resource, bringing billions of dollars’ worth of capital and thousands of jobs to our region. I’m excited that we can continue this tradition with a digital format that will spotlight the tech innovation this event is known for,” said Katie Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “Now more than ever, we need platforms like Venture Atlanta to help us build the access to capital and networks to drive inclusive innovation to ensure that metro Atlanta’s entrepreneurial landscape is diverse on every level and fertile for ingenuity.”

The Countdown Is On for Venture Atlanta Live Online
Venture Atlanta Live Online will feature keynotes from Arianna Huffington, author and founder of The Huffington Post and Thrive Global; Dug Song, co-founder and general manager of Duo Security, and Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot. To see the full list of announced speakers, visit the website.

Invesco is this year’s premier sponsor, with Cherry Bekaert, Nelson Mullins, and Truist as additional headline sponsors. For a complete list of sponsors, go here.

Venture Atlanta Live Online will conclude with TechSquare Labs’ Atlanta Startup Battle, in which the top five companies will pitch on stage against one another to win a $100,000 investment. Don’t miss this event which will happen right after Venture Atlanta concludes on October 22. Venture Atlanta ticket holders can view the pitch-off live.

Registration Now Open
To register for Venture Atlanta Live Online and to learn more about reduced group attendance rates, go here.

About Venture Atlanta
Venture Atlanta, the Southeast’s technology innovation event, is where the region’s most promising tech companies meet the country’s top-tier investors. This year’s event is going all digital through Venture Atlanta Live Online.

As the Southeast’s largest investor showcase helping launch more than 400 companies and raise over $4.5 billion in funding to date, the event connects the region’s top entrepreneurs with local and national investors and others in the technology ecosystem who can help them raise the capital they need to grow their businesses. The annual nonprofit event is a collaboration of the Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG).

For more information, visit www.ventureatlanta.org. For updates, follow us on Twitter and visit our blog.

Contacts:
Allyson Eman, CEO
Venture Atlanta
770.298.4202
aeman@ventureatlanta.org

Michele Cramer
Carabiner Communications
404.246.2567
mcramer@carabinercomms.com