Atlanta will have at least two representatives at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals in Austin this year.
On Thursday, the tech, music and film festival announced the nominees for the 23rd annual SXSW Innovation Awards, which recognizes tech developments across 13 different categories. Vital, an Atlanta-based emergency department software startup that uses AI to predict admits hours in advance and reduce length-of-stay, was named a finalist in the Health, Med and BioTech category.
These finalists were selected from nominees who have submitted their projects to this competition since June. Finalists will showcase their work at the Innovation Awards Finalist Showcase on March 14. SXSW will present the Innovation Awards Ceremony at the Austin Convention Center on March 16.
Last week, SXSW announced Atlanta-based cove.tool, an Atlanta-based B2B SaaS company that helps architects design energy efficient buildings while saving on construction cost, as a finalist for SXSW Pitch. cove.tool was one of the five finalists selected in the Smart Cities, Transportation and Logistics category.
cove.tool will pitch on March 14 or March 15 along with the 50 other companies selected. SXSW will select winners from each category and hold its award ceremony on March 15. To read the full list of SXSW Pitch finalists, click here.
These companies are among a growing list of Atlanta startups that have appeared and won accolades at the famous tech festival.
Last year's SXSW Pitch winner for the social and culture category was Atlanta-based iAccess, an app that helps people with mobility impairments rate and review places they've visited. EnrichHER, an Atlanta-based platform that helps female founders find funding, also competed in the social and culture category. That same year, Atlanta locals Kelly Burton from Founders of Color, Steven Cook from FortuneCMO and Kunbi Tinuoye from UrbanGeekz participated on the SXSW Advisory Board. ChooseATL, a program started by the Metro Atlanta Chamber to bring talent and companies to the city, debuted The Atlanta House, at the festival in 2019.
In 2018, Atlanta conglomerate Coca-Cola was awarded best in the “Responsive Design” category at the SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards for the design of the company’s 3D billboard in Times Square. Coke, in collaboration with space150, designed an ever-changing and evolving advertisement that gives us a glimpse of where 3D tech can go commercially. The award honors excellent digital design, creating the best-integrated interaction in terms of content, aesthetics and functionality.
