Round 5 update
With more than 18,200 votes in the round, RoadSync earned the most votes out each of the four startups.
Now No. 7 RoadSync is up against No. 10 Gimme Vending in the final match.
Gimme Vending eked out a win over DefenseStorm by just five votes. The final winner will be announced April 2.
Good luck to the final two!
Round 4 update
We've got more than 17,00 votes going into the semifinals of Tech Madness.
Every race was close, but DefenseStorm, RoadSync, Gimme Vending and Hermeus are the only startups left in the competition.
Keep an eye on RoadSync, which is consistently pulling a high number of votes, and underdog Gimme Vending, seeded at No. 10.
Vote in round five until March 29.
Round 3 update
A cybersecurity startup. A sustainable chicken feed company. A hypersonic jet manufacturer. What do these all have in common? They've made it to the round four of Tech Madness.
With more than 15,500 votes in Tech Madness, the bracket com petition is now a battle of the underdogs. No. 2 Flock Safety — the last of the top-seeded companies — narrowly beat No. 6 Padsplit to make it into this round.
No. 5 Groundfloor may be the one to watch in round four. In this round, the fintech startup got more than 300 votes, more than any other startup.
Round 2 update
It was the round of upsets.
None of the No.1-seeded companies are in the game. Flock Safety is the only No. 2 seed to make it to round three — and even that match-up was a close call.
With more than 12,600 votes overall, each round seems to be getting even tighter. No. 14 ParrotMob beat No. 6 Verusen by one vote. No. 7 Loyal bested No. 2 CallRail by 4 percentage points.
Tech Madness reigning champion ViZZ, seeded No. 9, is still going strong.
Round three voting is open until March 22.
Round 1 update
More than 8,000 votes were cast in round one of Tech Madness. Thirty-two startups are now in the second round.
Our No. 1-seeded companies are still in the game, but the votes are closer than you may think, and we did see some initial upsets. Keep rooting for your favorite startup. Round two voting is now open until March 18.
Let the games begin.
With your help, we’ve scouted and seeded 64 startups and technology-enabled companies in the Atlanta ecosystem for our annual Tech Madness, bracket-style competition.
Each week, a new set of companies will advance in the competition based on your votes until one startup is left standing. Last year, ViZZ, a software company that builds virtual experiences, took home the metaphorical trophy.
Vizz is back in the game this year. Will they keep their title, or will a new startup emerge victorious? That’s up to you to decide.
To determine the outcome of each matchup, ask yourself:
- Which startup you would invest in. It’s up to interpretation for how you choose.
- Which startup could deliver the highest return?
- Which is the safest bet?
- Whose mission are you most passionate about?
Remember, this is a friendly competition. We’re not voting against one company or another but rather for which company we feel most aligned. The goal is to raise awareness for the companies in our ecosystem, so feel free to get your friends involved to cast their votes as well.
The companies were based on nominations and editorial choice. The seeding is based mostly on venture funding and supplemented with other metrics, such as stage and headcount.
Voting for the first round is open now until March 14. We’ll post the next round on Monday, March 15. For a full roster of companies, scroll down to below the voting platform.
Here’s the schedule:
- Round 1 voting March 9-14
- Round 2 voting March 15-18
- Round 3 voting March 19-22
- Round 4 voting March 23-25
- Round 5 voting March 26-29
- Round 6 voting March 30-April 1
- Winner announced April 2
Here’s the roster of companies in alphabetical order:
- Apptega — A software company that helps small business and corporations with cybersecurity and compliance.
- Artis Technologies — A financial technology startup that connects businesses to a network of banks, credit unions and other lending entities and enables financial institutions to offer downstream credit through their existing customers.
- Bitcoin Depot — A cryptocurrency startup that has a network of ATMs so people can easily convert cash to cryptocurrency.
- BitPay — A fintech startup backed by Silicon Valley’s Founders Fund that allows companies to accept and process crypto payments.
- Bluefin Payment Systems — A fintech startup that specializes in securing payment data and personal information through point-to-point encryption and data tokenization.
- Buckle — A financial services startup that provides rideshare drivers with insurance.
- Calendly — A cloud-based scheduling software startup that reached unicorn status earlier this year. The startup is backed by Boston’s OpenView Ventures Partners and started in the Atlanta Tech Village.
- CallRail — A marketing analytics growth-stage startup that provides businesses with insight into where a phone call-based sales lead is coming from and which marketing campaigns are effective.
- ConnexPay — A payment processing company that aims to streamline payments in the travel industry by using one platform to process payments from the consumer, travel agency and hospitality company.
- Cortavo by Aventis Systems — An information technology service company that helps businesses manage their IT infastructure, from hardware and software to communications and support.
- Clubba — An education technology platform in the Atlanta Tech Village that allows children to attend virtual clubs in creative topics, such as becoming a YouTuber or coding games.
- Curricula — A story-based security awareness training platform in the Atlanta Tech Village designed to make learning about how to protect yourself from threats online fun, engaging and memorable.
- Cypress.io — A software startup backed by OpenView Venture Partners that automates a way for developers building websites to test their code.
- DataSeers — A Tech Alpharetta fintech startup that solves data issues faced by financial institutions in areas of reconciliation, compliance, fraud and analytics.
- DefenseStorm — An Alpharetta-based cybersecurity startup focused on helping banks and credit unions combat fraud in real time using its artificial intelligence-powered CyberFraud product.
- Demand Driven Technologies — A software startup that offers inventory management and supply chain planning solutions for manufacturers and distributors.
- Emrit Inc. — A hardware and software startup founded by an Inno under 25 honoree that aims to make the largest internet-of-things network by delivering “CoolSpot” hotspots to a network of people around the world, changing the way people are connected to the internet.
- FivePoint Payments — A payment processing company that helps local government entities process online payments.
- FlockSafety — A surveillance hardware company backed by Meritech Capital that provides solar-powered camera systems to read license plates and car details in a neighborhood or at a business to help police solve property crimes.
- FullStory — A digital experience analytics company founded by former Google engineers that helps businesses of all sizes gather and use website analytics to help with customer insights.
- Gimme Vending — A logistics software startup that helps companies that deliver perishable groceries and vending machine snacks manage their inventory and delivery routes.
- Gravy — An Alpharetta-based fintech startup that helps businesses with subscription-based revenue recover failed payments.
- GrayShift — A digital forensics company backed by PeakEquity Partners that provides law enforcement with the technology to hack into encrypted iPhone and Android data.
- Greenlight Financial Technology — A fintech unicorn that provides debit cards and bank accounts for kids that parents can manage and use to teach responsible spending and saving habits.
- Groundfloor — A fintech startup that provides short-term real estate loans to individuals looking to build or renovate their houses. The loans are financed through retail investors, who make their money through the interest rates.
- Grubbly Farms — An agriculture technology startup backed by Atlanta’s Overline Ventures that develops fresh and sustainable feed and snacks for backyard chickens.
- Greenzie — A robotics and software company backed by Atlanta Ventures that automates commercial lawn mowing.
- Hairbrella — A direct-to-consumer startup backed by Atlanta’s Collab Capital that creates satin-lined hats to keep women’s hair protected when its raining.
- Hermeus — A hypersonic jet company backed by Canaan Partners that is developing a Mach 5 aircraft, which can fly at more than 3,000 miles per hour.
- JTEC Energy — A clean technology startup founded by Super Soaker inventor Lonnie Johnson that is developing a way to harness waste heat and turn it into renewable energy.
- The Labz — An interactive virtual events platform for entertainment and branded events that partners with Level Forward production company.
- Lending Science DM — A marketing and risk management startup focused on helping financial services companies.
- Loyal — A health technology startup backed by concord Health Partners that is focused on making it easier for healthcare providers and patients to schedule appointments and access care options within health system networks.
- Lucid Scientific — A biotechnology tools startup that creates the RESIPHER product line, which helps accelerate the process of drug discovery by providing researchers with insights into cellular metabolism.
- Make Music Count — An edtech startup that uses a virtual keyboard and popular songs to teach students math equations from the elementary to high school level.
- Maptician — An Alpharetta software startup that helps businesses plan their office space with the Maptician Flex product. It added features to accommodate Covid-19 safety, including contact tracing and alternate work schedules.
- ModifyHealth — An Alpharetta “food as medicine” health startup that provides meal delivery, dietician support and digital health services for patients suffering from chronic gastrointestinal diseases like irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease.
- Musicbuk — An app founded by an Inno under 25 honoree that connects musicians with students without the large fees for virtual, and eventually in-person, singing and instrument lessons.
- OneTrust — A global privacy and cybersecurity unicorn backed by Silicon Valley’s TCV that helps companies use customer data while balancing trust and government regulations.
- OncoLens — A health technology startup backed by Atlanta’s BIP Capital that produces a care treatment planning platform, which includes virtual tumor board technology, workflow automation and survivor planning.
- Onwards HR — A human resources software startup that provides businesses with software that helps them manage employee separations and company reorganizations.
- PadSplit — An affordable housing startup backed by social impact investors that allows people to rent out rooms of their houses for short- and long-term rentals, similar to a boarding house.
- ParrotMob — A mobile payments startup that allows e-commerce brands to process orders through text messages.
- Procoto — A software startup that produces self-service procurement solution for small and mid-sized businesses.
- QGenda — An automated physician scheduling software startup that aims to make clinical appointment scheduling more efficient.
- Qoins — A fintech startup that produces an app that allows people to manage and pay off their debts by rounding up the change on their purchases, then automatically making monthly payments.
- Press Sports App — A social media platform for athletes, similar to LinkedIn, that aims to give them a space to showcase their clips for recruitment opportunities.
- PrizePicks — A daily fantasy sports platform that allows fans to engage with spots by betting on the odds of the game. A partner of the Atlanta Braves, PrizePicks is the closest legal alternative to legal mobile sports betting in many areas across the country.
- Relay Payments — A payments startup backed by New York’s Addition that provides an end-to-end instant electronic payment network for logistics companies.
- RoadSync — A transportation payments startup that automates the payments and other financial processes for the trucking industry.
- SalesLoft — A sales engagement unicorn backed by New York’s Owl Rock Capital that helps its customers, which include tech giants such as Google, Slack and Shopify, find and close sales through its virtual system.
- Shoot 360 Atlanta — A basketball training startup that uses technology, video games and performance metrics to innovate how basketball players practice.
- Shotcall — A startup that allows video game streamers, some of whom have risen to global influencer status within the gaming world, to play games with their fans through virtual events.
- SmartPM — A software startup that analyzes construction project timelines and pinpoints areas of possible inefficiency.
- SnapNurse — A medical staffing platform that connects on-demand nurses and health professionals to hospitals and other healthcare facilities based on their needs.
- Spa Space App — A software startup that matches people to different spa or physical therapists based on their personal wellness needs.
- Springbot — A startup that produces an all-in-one e-commerce marketing platform built for small businesses. Its offerings include marketing automation, content and channels such as email, social media and advertisements.
- Steady — An income-building platform that provides flexible on-demand jobs and financial services to gig workers.
- Stord — A logistics software startup backed by Founders Fund that allows companies to manage and monitor their shipments and inventory domestically.
- Trust Stamp -— An Atlanta- and United Kingdom-based startup that uses AI to authenticate identity.
- Vacmobile — A Tech Alpharetta health technology startup that produces an app to safely store personal immunization and vaccination records. It can also create a Covid-19 health pass that people can show to verify they tested negative or have been vaccinated.
- Verusen — A logistics software startup that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to make supply chains more efficient.
- Virtualmart — A 3D printing startup that is launching a virtual marketplace for 3D printing to connect consumers and designers.
- ViZZ — A DSi-Digital company that uses 3D virtualization and AI to produce a virtual software experience to help manage products in the commercial development, construction and property management industries.
One vote per person per day; read contest rules here.
