Chase Gilbert, CEO of Built Technologies Inc.
Nathan Morgan | for the Nashville Business Journal
Nashville's tech scene is about to radically change with the arrival of Oracle and as Amazon and other firms fill their downtown hubs. But there's plenty of action right now. Tech Bytes is a twice-monthly roundup highlighting news on startups, capital raises, acquisitions and other activity in the region's tech sector.
- Penny Mordaunt, a top international trade official for the United Kingdom, met with local and state officials — including leaders in the tech community — on a visit to Nashville this week. She also hung out with fellow Brit Ian Ayre, CEO of Nashville Soccer Club, and got a tour of the team's Major League Soccer stadium under construction in Wedgewood-Houston.
- A record-tying $15 million donation will boost Belmont University's new data science initiative and entrepreneurship programs. The contribution means that a forthcoming six-story building will be named the Jack C. Massey Center. The building, which President Greg Jones has labeled as Belmont's "new front door," will house the new Belmont Data Collaborative as well as the Cone Center for Entrepreneurship. Massey is best known as a co-founder of HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA) and also buying Kentucky Fried Chicken from Colonel Sanders and making it into a global business. Read more about the donation here.
- Built Technologies — one of Nashville's two "unicorn" startups valuations larger than $1 billion — debuted a new product on Tuesday. That software platform, named Built Pay, aims to automate more of the billing and payment process for construction companies. In a statement, CEO Chase Gilbert said: "We hear loud and clear how painful sending and receiving payments are for our customers and the construction community as a whole. Construction operators work far too hard to waste time and money on this process and deserve better tools to grow their business as they build our communities." More information can be found here.
- Boston-based Indico Data hired Nashville resident Bob More as its chief revenue officer. According to a press release, More is a mentor at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.
Tech talk
"We believe there will be a good talent pool and tech footprint here. Obviously, we're not the only ones who believe that, right? We'll definitely have to compete."
Joe Greer, vice president and Americas Development Center Lead, Capgemini.
• Greer spoke to the Business Journal about Capgemini's expansion into Nashville, which will result in a minimum of 500 jobs and as many as 1,000 in the years to come.
