All Things Atlanta Tech: 5 Signs of Further Growth

With a population of nearly half a million people, Atlanta is known as the “tech mecca” of the southeast. That is partly because, out of the eight states that make up the southeastern United States, Atlanta’s tech hub, housed in Georgia, is its undisputed leader. Somehow, however, Atlanta’s unique tech power has gone by fairly unnoticed. We’re changing that today with five key pointers on the region’s growth.  

 For starters, Atlanta’s strategic location allows very convenient access to major markets across the US south, east coast, and midwest, placing Atlanta tech in a league of its own. Contrary to Silicon Valley’s tech landscape that spans 13 cities, Atlanta’s tech hub is concentrated in one single location, which gives the city a unique and dynamic force. 

 In this article, we’ll showcase the reasons why Atlanta’s tech industry keeps growing so quickly. We’re unveiling amazing facts and sharing valuable data to prove it. If you’re leading a tech department or thinking of becoming more aggressive or going to market in this region, don’t miss out on the latest information we’ve gathered here for you on Atlanta! 

What Are the Five Reasons Why Atlanta’s Tech Hub Is Bound to Grow in 2023? 

1. Affordability: Atlanta’s Tech Workers Just Keep Coming  

 Like we said, Atlanta’s unique location comes with many advantages. Low housing and affordable living costs are but two of them. The city’s affordability is significantly opening doors to many workers. In Atlanta, members of the tech community get to purchase and/or rent property they might not otherwise be able to access in other states.  

 According to Nerdwallet’s cost of living calculator, for example, there’s a 199% difference between housing in San Francisco as there is in Atlanta. To illustrate this shocking gap in affordability, the average home in Atlanta is estimated at about $464,000. However, the same house in San Francisco can go as high as three times that much, sitting at about $1.4 million. 

 This fact alone means software developers are able to work and live comfortably at a fraction of other costs when moving to Atlanta’s tech hub community from other parts of the country.   

2. Atlanta’s Tech Companies Have More Job Openings than Ever 

 Atlanta’s tech is also very diverse, which means tons of employment opportunities across the board. Its most significant sectors are marketing, manufacturing, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. In 2022 alone, Atlanta offered 12,050 tech job openings, which topped other southeastern states according to the Dice Tech Job report. Linked to that, WalletHub ranked Atlanta 3rd among the best cities for employment growth and quality of living. It’s as if all the math being done on Atlanta tech were to add up on its own!  

 The city is also seeing a cybersecurity boom. According to Crunchbase, Atlanta is currently home to 100 cybersecurity businesses. There’s the official Cybersecurity Summit to take into account in Atlanta, as well. This event is a landmark annual two-day gathering that brings together C-suite and senior executives from the security industry. Attendees take part in panels with experts, network, and build upon their relationships during this event. The summit anticipates over 1,000 attendees and more than 250 speakers this year. As such, it provides an important forum for Atlanta’s tech hub leaders to get together with people from all over the country and abroad to further job opportunities and make meaningful leaps in business. 

3. Atlanta Tech Continues to Raise Massive Funding 

 According to TechCrunch, Atlanta tech raised $3.7 billion in venture capital funding in 2022. The biggest winner was Calendly, an appointment scheduling app, at $350 million.  

 Rounding out the top five are Greenlight Financial Technology ($260 million), which is a money management platform; OneTrust ($216M), a privacy and security software company; DC Blox ($187M), a data center operator that works to provide the connectivity and infrastructure needed to power digital businesses; and Stord ($155M), a supply chain management platform. As you can see, big tech companies are thriving in this region.  

 As VCs continue to invest and grow in Atlanta tech, we see a clear sign here that Atlanta’s tech scene is only bound to keep growing — and it’s doing so quickly! 

4. Many Startups Turning into Unicorns: A Glance at Atlanta tech companies 

 Tied to above and as of May 2021, at least 18 Atlanta tech companies achieved unicorn status. The term “unicorn” refers to startups that have achieved a valuation of over $1 billion prior to going public, just in case.  

 According to a report by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, such elite companies are rare—but not in Atlanta. Flock Safety, a machine learning surveillance system, and Greenlight, a payment monitoring system for minors, are two Atlanta startups that reached this status in less than 10 years. 

 As Tech Crunch puts it, Atlanta became “a top breeding ground for billion-dollar startups in the Southeast.” Is there much more to wish for a tech hub in any region, really? 

5. Community Support for Founders and Workers 

 Tied to all of the above, Atlanta as a tech hub is furthermore home to various incubator hubs today. Atlanta Technology Village is one of them, which provides workspace, mentorship, training materials, and access to experienced professionals for entrepreneurs at little or no cost. 

 In general, the city provides numerous resources and means of support for budding entrepreneurs and startups. In 2022, announced they were creating a tech hub to create highly-skilled technical and non-technical roles and support for the Atlanta community. Also, the Technology Workers Coalition, Women in Tech, and CITP are providing invaluable support through advocacy, and education for 140,000 Atlanta tech workers. Recently, Andre Dickenson, mayor of the city, invested $1.8 millionM in education and workforce development. Airbnb announced they were creating a tech hub to create highly-skilled technical and non-technical roles and support for the Atlanta community.  

 In addition, the Technology Workers Coalition, Women in Tech, and CITP are providing invaluable support through advocacy and education for 140,000 Atlanta tech workers. Recently, Andre Dickenson, mayor of the city, invested $1.8 million in education and workforce development alone. 

How Can You Become a Part of Atlanta’s Growth? 

 Tech department heads, CTOs, engineering managers, and tech recruiters can take several steps to promote Atlanta’s tech hub.  

 First, consider organizing job fairs with local partners to attract top talent to the city. Doing so can include giving out scholarships for individuals who are interested in working or attending tech or trade schools in Atlanta.  

 Finally, take part in conferences or host seminars in Atlanta. This measure alone can help further immerse yourself in the city’s vibrant tech scene while providing you with valuable networking opportunities. Connecting with entrepreneurs and other major players from the city can help bridge successful partnerships between local businesses and other companies around the globe, including international tech giants. 

 To keep up with the new technologies of the tech industry, it’s important to stay connected with other professionals through meet-ups, hackathons, and other social gatherings and events that include tech industry professionals. Actively attending or sponsoring such events or initiatives can provide key insights to your company while also actively showing your willingness to contribute towards connecting talent pools with new opportunities. If you help create and foster an equally supportive ecosystem, you won’t only be generating jobs, but this will also bring significant economic growth to the region! 

There’s No Need to Rock Atlanta Tech Alone 

 If Atlanta tech gets too hard to handle to keep up with its growing pace, team up with valuable game players in the industry who can do software outsourcing correctly.  

 At Nearsure, we’d love to explore how our remote tech talent can help thriving businesses scale in the region with aligned time zones, fully bilingual teams, and the best tech talent in Latin America.  

 Are you in Atlanta seeking to make a digital transformation? Contact us to get started.