Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the CEOs of 10 of Atlanta-based corporations launched a mentorship-driven accelerator program and venture fund.
Atlanta-based Engage accelerator is open to startups across the country, with a focus placed on mentoring and market access strategies. Applications will be available in early 2017, with programming scheduled to begin in the spring.
Up to 48 startups could go through the program in the first three years.
The 10 corporations, AT&T, Chick-fil-A, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power Foundation, Inc., Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Invesco Ltd., The Home Depot and UPS, have committed a total of $15m ($1.5m each) to the venture fund and will actively support the accelerator through mentoring, education and collaboration. Executives from these firms will serve as mentors to the companies receiving financial support from Engage.
The fund, formed to make equity and equity-related investments into companies admitted to Engage, will be managed by Tech Square Ventures. Engage will also offer programming and other services through its affiliation with the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), which was established at Georgia Tech by the state of Georgia in 1980 to launch and build technology companies.
Educational programs, mentoring and follow-up services will be administered by ATDC at Georgia Tech, the state’s technology incubator.
FinSMEs
13/01/2017