Darrell Freeman, one of Nashville's most successful entrepreneurs, photographed with his jet.
Martin B. Cherry | 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 recurring roundup highlighting news on startups, capital raises, acquisitions and other activity in the region's tech sector.
- Darrell Freeman is spearheading an effort to open a business incubator and innovation center at Fisk University, one of the city's four HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities). The aim is for the nonprofit center to spur job creation and economic growth by serving the North Nashville business community as well as Fisk students and faculty. Freeman, one of Nashville's most successful entrepreneurs, will lead a group of at least nine people who will provide Metro Council with a preliminary report in three months that details the center's design, space needs and cost estimates.
- Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is hosting a hackathon March 12-13 at its Nashville Yards office tower downtown, partnering with Meharry Medical College and the group Hackathons International. Winning teams will receive $1,000 prizes. Click here to sign up and read more (hint: hackathons are not just for programmers.)
- Belmont University's Data Collaborative announced that its first project with its new data warehouse will tackle the region's issues with high blood pressure. "We want to solve societal problems, and data is one of the best resources we have to accomplish that goal," said the collaborative's executive director, Charlie Apigian, in a press release. The data analysis will happen in tandem with nonprofit NashvilleHealth, founded by doctor and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, as well as NTT Data Services, which opened a tech hub downtown last year. Read more here. A report is expected in the summer.
- Raydiant, a West Coast company with a software platform for digital signage and touch-screen kiosks in stores and restaurants, is opening a Nashville office this year. Raydiant — whose clients include Chick-fil-A, Wahlburgers and Red Bull — could hire 30 to 45 people for that local office, Nashville Post reports.
Tech talk
"We were shocked [Nashville] wasn't attracting more game developers. We kept scratching our head: 'Why hasn't anyone made a move yet?' … We like to take a city by storm and develop local talent."
Adam Boyes, co-CEO, Iron Galaxy Studios LLC
The Chicago-based video game developer chose Nashville over New Orleans and Las Vegas for a new outpost, which could have about 110 jobs in five years.
