By Larry K. Williams, TAG president and CEO
A few weeks ago, TAG successfully brought our annual Fintech South summit to a close, as we celebrated the accomplishments of the more than 200 financial technology companies throughout the state of Georgia.
One of the most exciting parts of the conference was the Innovation Challenge, which recognized Georgia’s most accomplished fintech startups. We were proud to announce Arcum Partners, an artificial intelligence firm focused on helping payment companies strengthen and rebuild their client relationships, as the winner of this challenge.
Georgia’s startup ecosystem is ever expanding and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the nation. Thanks to a diverse and robust talent base, together with a concentration of both SMEs and Fortune 1000 companies, our region is a magnet for early and mature startups alike.
In fact, our capital city of Atlanta was recently ranked the fifth best city in the U.S. in which to launch a startup. And, in a survey that examined the base locations of the country’s fastest-growing companies, Georgia ranked seventh with an impressive total of 209 of Inc. Magazine’s top 5,000 firms in the nation.
There is a variety of tech innovation centers in the Georgia region that provide support to our startup community. This includes the technology business incubator Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), which provides assistance to entrepreneurs across the state.
In addition, Venture Atlanta hosts the largest venture capital conference in the Southeast. This year, Venture Atlanta is set to take place from October 19th through the 20th at the Woodruff Arts Center. Registration is now open, and company applications will remain open through August 12th.