Today, the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) announced a new three-year financial commitment by Visa, the world leader in digital payments, to further accelerate innovation across financial and payments technologies (FinTech).
ATDC, the state of Georgia’s technology incubator, works with entrepreneurs to build and scale successful technology companies. Its FinTech program, launched in 2015, has focused on building and growing FinTech companies in Georgia. Since its launch, the program has evaluated more than 250 startups, has 25 companies in its current portfolio, and produced one unicorn, Greenlight, a 2018 ATDC graduate now valued at more than $2 billion.
Visa’s financial sponsorship and leadership in the FinTech category will allow for continued growth and startup support for entrepreneurs in the program. As part of the sponsorship, Visa executives will mentor program participants and create connections to maximize opportunities to bring their FinTech innovations to Visa and its partner network.
“Georgia is our nation’s FinTech command center and we at ATDC are proud to partner with Visa to continue to drive innovation forward in this sector,” said John Avery, ATDC director. “We are dedicated to our FinTech ecosystem’s continued growth and success, and ATDC serving as the nexus to entrepreneurs, industry, investors, and Georgia Tech’s resources to help these startups thrive.”
Startups accepted into the incubator’s program will be integrated into Georgia’s robust FinTech ecosystem, where more than 200 FinTech companies generating $72 billion in annual revenue call home. Over 70 percent of all U.S. financial transactions are handled by payment processing firms headquartered in Georgia.
ATDC has hired Robert E. Daniel as the FinTech catalyst who will oversee the vertical, manage the pipeline, and evaluate these startups and their innovations for acceptance into the portfolio.
“We view Atlanta as a thriving FinTech community and an epicenter of financial technology expertise where Visa can become an integral part to its continued growth. A partnership with ATDC provides Visa the opportunity to get involved with supporting local startups as the future of payments continues to look bright, thanks to this world of innovative entrepreneurs,” said Patrick Williams, Visa’s head of digital partnerships in North America.
About Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a program of the Georgia Institute of Technology, is the state of Georgia’s technology startup incubator. Founded in 1980 by the Georgia General Assembly which funds it each year, ATDC’s mission is to work with entrepreneurs in Georgia to help them learn, launch, scale, and succeed in the creation of viable, disruptive technology companies. Since its founding, ATDC, a program of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, has grown to become the longest running and one of the most successful university-affiliated incubators in the United States, with its graduate startup companies raising $3 billion in investment financing and generating more than $12 billion in revenue in the state of Georgia. To learn more, visit atdc.org.
