High-stakes pitches: Tech startups compete for $475,000 at Venture Atlanta conference
For Southern tech entrepreneurs, a few moments in front of the right investors can turn a big idea into a billion-dollar business. That high-stakes opportunity kicked off Wednesday morning in Midtown as the annual Venture Atlanta conference returned to the Woodruff Arts Center and Atlanta Symphony Hall.
Over the two-day event, about 600 startup founders are pitching their companies face-to-face to big-name investors, all hoping to find someone ready to bet on their vision and take home the grand prize of $475,000 in funding.
Connection and capital are the two main draws at this year's conference, where innovators across artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, healthcare, and robotics are taking the stage to make their case for growth funding.
Among the founders hoping to secure investment is Eric Truitt, an Atlanta native and Georgia Tech alumnus who now serves as CEO and founder of Mantis Space.
"I was raised in Atlanta, went to school at Georgia Tech, and getting to come back in our community..." Truitt said of the opportunity to pitch in his hometown.
His company is tackling a growing problem in orbit, keeping satellites powered when they lose sunlight.
"Right now, there's thousands of satellites in orbit, and all of those satellites run on sunlight," Truitt explained. "But every 90 minutes, nearly every one of those satellites goes into the dark. So we're building the first power grid for space to keep the lights on for every one of those 10,000 satellites."
Also eagerly awaiting their turn on the main stage are Daniella and Rob Sladen, founders of the aerospace defense startup Zulu Pods. The company is aiming to solve critical supply chain issues in the defense sector with a specialized orange prototype designed to lubricate unmanned aircraft.
"We focus on components for affordable mass, so there's a lot of drones and missiles that are being bought these days, and it creates a massive supply chain bottleneck," Rob Sladen said.
Their compact prototype holds enough oil to keep a drone or similar flying device in the air for an hour.
Now in its 19th year, Venture Atlanta has established itself as a premier launchpad for dozens of profitable companies across the region.
According to Venture Atlanta CEO Allyson Eman, the conference has supported 1,100 companies over the past nearly two decades, helping them raise more than $9 billion in capital and achieve $22 billion in exits.
Some of Atlanta's most recognizable tech names got their start on the conference stage, including parking app giant ParkMobile.
"ParkMobile actually pitched on our stage in 2009," Eman noted.
Another notable alum is Bark Technologies, a company dedicated to online child safety that secured funding through the event.
"It's a fantastic company, I love what they're doing to help kids and safety," Eman said. "And they've been growing ever since they've been on Venture Atlanta."
The Venture Atlanta conference continues through Thursday, when the winning startup will be awarded $475,000 in funding. This story will be updated once a winning company is announced.
