The Technology Association of Georgia, Venture Atlanta, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber announced that RaceIQ Engineering, the developers of cyber-security software for the automotive market, is the winner of the 11th annual Biz Launch Competition held May 4th at the Historic Academy of Medicine at Georgia Tech.

RaceIQ works directly with automakers so they can detect and mitigate vehicle data hacks, malware and virus uploads. The company bested 14 other startups in the final round of the competition.

“We congratulate RaceIQ Engineering and all of the companies who participated in this year’s extremely strong competition,” stated TAG President and CEO Tino Mantella. “We look forward to the growth and continued success of these companies and we thank all of our sponsors and volunteers who have made the Biz Launch Competition possible.”

Allyson Eman, Executive Director, Venture Atlanta reflected, “The Business Launch is an important competition for Georgia’s early stage companies and our technology community. Venture Atlanta was proud to partner once again with TAG and the Metro Atlanta Chamber and is pleased to have an excellent company like RaceIQ Engineering on stage at Venture Atlanta November 2-3.”

As a result of the win, RaceIQ Engineering will now receive $50,000, a spot in Venture Atlanta, a marketing and promotions package from the Metro Atlanta Chamber and approximately $100,000 in donated services from the Atlanta business community to help them grow.

Three other Biz Launch finalists will split the more than $300,000 in remaining pro-bono services, including legal counsel, professional consulting, marketing, software and even real estate space. 

These finalists include:

DecisionIQ – Brings a novel approach to industrial IoT analytics to deliver software applications that reduce the cost of operations and lower spare parts inventories through automated reporting and guided decision making.@decisioniq
Fittery – A consumer marketplace that allows shoppers to quickly fill out a size and shape profile and instantly matches them to clothing that fits perfectly.@fitteryco

FraudScope – Uses novel data analytics techniques to prioritize suspicious medical insurance claims for investigation to save money lost to fraud, waste and abuse. @FraudScope

“The Biz Launch Competition showcases the tech talent that is fueling our region’s innovation economy,” said Jennifer Sherer, Vice President of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “We are happy to be a part of this event each year as we spotlight and honor the companies contributing to Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Since it was founded in 2006, the Biz Launch Competition has become one of largest competitions of its kind in the United States, providing $600,000 in cash and over $2,350,000 in donated services to more than 200 young entrepreneurs.

Applicants are screened by an experienced panel of entrepreneurs and the most promising companies are assigned a mentor for the duration of the competition.  Representatives from out-of-state venture capital companies sit on the judge’s panel and a multitude of angel and venture capital investors attend the final event.

2016 sponsors for the event include:

Noble Systems
UnoSquare
CEO Ventures
Mosely Ventures
Noro-Mosley Partners
Southeast Investor Group
TechOperators

2016 media partners for the event include:

11 Alive Atlanta Tech Edge
Hub Magazine
Hypepotamus