The Atlanta Tech Village, a tech incubator based out of Buckhead, has reached a major funding milestone. Since opening in 2012, the incubator's startups have raised more than $893 million in funding.
The record funding for ATV comes from venture capital funding raised by companies that previously worked or that currently work in at the Village. Some of those past companies include big tech names, such as Salesloft, Bitpay, Cooleaf, Insightpool, Motivo, Terminus and GreenPrint.
“Our goal is to fuel Atlanta’s rise to a top tech-startup in the U.S. Our startup funding to date – with a 14% increase in the last year – only substantiates our efforts as we continue to work towards that goal," Karen Houghton, vice president of ATV, said in a statement.
Programs at the Village include its pre-accelerator It Takes a Village, its eight week free Startup Summer School and Women + Tech program focused on empowering women in the industry.
When asked what this new funding milestone means for the overall tech climate in Atlanta, ATV representatives said that it's a great time to be an entrepreneur.
"The number of inquiries that we've received from out-of-state investors interested in Atlanta startups has more than tripled over the last six months," an ATV representative said. "Nationally, funds are taking notice thanks to the recent (and ongoing) Atlanta success stories. There's a momentum that's been building over the past few years here, and that wave continues to crest. The future of Atlanta tech is very bright."
ATV representatives did not reveal whether a majority of the funding raised came from Atlanta or elsewhere, but said for early-stage startups, having hometown investors is always the preference---all other things being equal.
"Getting face time with a great, engaged investor regularly can be invaluable during a founder's journey," an ATV representative said. "The trouble is that there's not enough of the right kind of capital here yet, so it's not always an option for a startup to raise from Atlanta investors. Things are changing, though."
The representative noted Atlanta is home to 25 incubators/accelerators and 57 different funds -- and new ones are emerging. Over the past eight months alone, Villagers have raised $110,849,950, according to the incubator.
"We are currently sitting at $893,275,000; if we continue on track 2020 will be the year we reach the billion-dollar mark," an ATV representative said.
When asked what the rest of 2019 looks like for ATV, a representative said the remainder of the year looks exciting---not only for the Village, but for the entire ecosystem in Atlanta.
"We are looking forward to supporting our partners and friends at Techstars and Venture Atlanta in October!" an ATV representative said. "In November, we will be graduating our 4th cohort with our pre-accelerator program, It Takes a Village. By the end of 2019, we will announce our 2020 date for Pitch Atlanta and our new Mentor and Advisor board, will select our 5th It Takes a Village cohort, and will have served over 1,000 women through our Women + Tech Program. 2019 holds a lot of exciting things for the Village as well as for Atlanta."
