Buzz

The Rise of the Atlanta Unicorn

February 25, 2021

Fueling Atlanta's rise to be a top-five tech-startup city has been a long term goal of the Atlanta Tech Village. 

In the past six months, Atlanta lit up the map with four unicorns, two of which are Village startups, Calendly and SalesLoft. But these aren’t the only Atlanta unicorns, they are among 10+ other companies who have reached unicorn status since 2013. As Atlanta Tech Village Founder, David Cummings said in a recent interview, “I think any success stories create more gravitational pull to the city”.

Unicorn? Like the animal? Yes, well kind of. In business, a unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion. It doesn’t get much more magical than reaching unicorn status. 

Why Atlanta? For starters, nearly 70 percent of all payment card transactions are processed here, and more than half of U.S. financial technology firms are based in the Atlanta area.

With over 21,000 students, Georgia Tech is one of the top five engineering colleges for both graduate and undergraduate studies. We have talent flooding the metro Atlanta area left and right to attend not just Georgia Tech but Emory, Georgia State, Morehouse, Spelman, Mercer, Clark Atlanta and so many more universities and colleges.

Atlanta's housing expenses are 6% lower than the national average and the utility prices are 15% lower than the national average and overall cost of living is 150% lower than the bay area

From the Village to ATDC, there are more resources for startups and founders than ever before (and yes, that includes funding) in Atlanta. 

So while the rest of the world is starting to look at Atlanta, it’s validating what we’ve always known: Atlanta is the place to build.

Atlanta Tech VIllage is committed to helping to fuel Atlanta into one of the top spots to grow a tech startup.

Come build with us.

February 25, 2021
Hilton Thompson