Major technology companies are establishing offices in Atlanta in order to take advantage of the city’s technological talent, particularly among African-Americans.
Apple, Google parent Alphabet, and Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, have all established offices in Atlanta in recent years, following the example of their Silicon Valley counterparts.
Visa, which has its headquarters near San Francisco, is also opening a new office in Atlanta later this year, where its chief diversity officer will be based. The office will be dedicated to forging relationships with diverse start-ups and employees.
“We recognize that our customer base, at all levels, includes members of the Black community, and we are not shy about seeking members of the Black community to join our workforce,” Michelle Gethers-Clark, Visa’s diversity chief, told CNBC.
According to research firm CBRE, Atlanta-based Georgia Tech produces the most technology graduates per year in the United States. In a report published in 2021, Atlanta was ranked as the eighth-best city for sourcing tech talent in the world.
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According to CBRE, Atlanta has experienced a 15 percent increase in tech jobs over the past five years, which is comparable to the growth experienced by other notable tech hubs such as the San Francisco Bay Area (16 percent) and Austin, Texas (10 percent).
“Atlanta is uniquely positioned to rewrite what technology should look like,” said Nakia Melecio, whose start-up catalyst iDesignproject is based in the city. “Atlanta is uniquely positioned to rewrite what technology should look like,” she added.
Our ecosystem is so robust and inviting that when we bring in Black tech talent, we ensure that they are aware of the players, are aware of the resources available to them, and that they have the opportunity to actually grow.
In the greater Atlanta area, there is a diverse range of tech incubators, accelerators, and innovation centers that provide support, mentorship, and networking opportunities for start-ups.
These include the Atlanta Tech Village, Atlanta Tech Park, and Propel, an HBCU tech hub supported by Apple and Atlanta-based power firm Southern Co.
Over the past decade, more than a dozen companies founded or headquartered in Atlanta have grown to have valuations in excess of $1 billion, the threshold for achieving so-called unicorn status.
Digital asset marketplace Bakkt, which will go public in 2021, small business data provider Kabbage, which was acquired by American Express last year, and scheduling platform Calendly, which has a market capitalization of more than $3 billion, are among the companies on this list.
Tope Awotona, the founder of Calendly and a Black man, said the success of his company and others demonstrated that technology can thrive in Atlanta.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of investors coming out to Atlanta to source companies,” Awotona said in an interview with CNBC. “They’ve seen a lot of activity with start-ups here in Atlanta,” says the entrepreneur.
“It’s been tremendously exciting to witness this,” he continued.
