Global software investment firm Insight Partners is no stranger to Atlanta.
The growth-stage firm has invested more than $30 billion in companies around the world since 1995, including brands such as Twitter, Shopify and Freshly. It first invested in an Atlanta company in 1998 with iMedeon, which ViryaNet acquired in 2002.
Since then, Insight Partners has put $990 million behind Atlanta software startups, said Jon Rosenbaum, a principal at the firm. As Atlanta emerges as an East Coast tech hub and more companies scale, Rosenbaum expects the capital coming into the city to continue to grow.
Insight Partners most recently led an $80 million Series C round for Florence Healthcare, a startup that automates paperwork for clinical trials. It also backs Atlanta unicorns OneTrust and SalesLoft.
Atlanta’s technology ecosystem is at a pivotal growth point. The city has produced enough multi-billion-dollar companies and seen enough successful exits that there’s now a rising number of early-stage investors. The startups have the networking, mentorship and capital advantages their predecessors did not have.
"The first success stories in Atlanta are contributing to the next generation of success,” said Rosenbaum, who moved to Atlanta in July and serves on the board of directors for Venture Atlanta. “This trickle-down generational value add is only going to continue to create a flywheel of entrepreneurial activity here in Atlanta.”
Insight Partners’ portfolio demonstrates this trend. The firm invested in mobile security startup AirWatch in 2013. Six years later, it led a $210 million round for privacy and security startup OneTrust, which includes a leadership team of AirWatch veterans.
Amid this cycle of successful startups, large tech companies are also expanding in Atlanta. Microsoft is making the city its East Coast hub and next U.S. data center region. Google will anchor a Midtown office building, and Airbnb is searching for a space in Atlanta to open its East Coast office.
These companies attract tech talent. As new workers gain experience and knowledge, they may leave to join budding Atlanta startups, spurring innovation across the city.
Rosenbaum said Atlanta startups “embrace the fundamentals of bootstrapping." That mindset comes from Atlanta’s historic lack of capital. Because local startups do not have the same resources available as the West Coast, they build their products with less money, creating a sustainable growth trajectory for the companies.
Atlanta is going through a similar phenomenon as other emerging tech hubs around the country, such as Miami or Indianapolis, Rosenbaum said, which are also creating a rolodex of high-value startups. More investors are turning toward different regions to find the hottest innovations because of the pandemic, democratizing access to capital.
But the ecosystem’s diversity of industry within the tech field and strong university system are advantages unique to Atlanta, Rosenbaum said.
“I like to think we’ve seen the value of the city before it’s ‘moment,’ but I’m really excited at the continued investment activity,” Rosenbaum said.
