It’s no secret that Atlanta is the hub of the Southeast’s technology and tech startup sectors. And at the center of it all, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is helping to shape and groom those startups looking to grow, perfect and market their disruptive technologies and ideas.
It’s no wonder then, that Venture Atlanta’s “5 Startups to watch in 2015” are all connected to ATDC.
Venture Atlanta, a non-profit organization that links Georgia’s entrepreneurs with venture capitalists, bankers, angel investors and others looking to invest in startups, said 2014 was pretty active in funding and it predicts this year could be even more so.
Against that backdrop of potentially robust funding activity, Venture Atlanta says these are the five startups to keep an eye on this year:
Predikto: An ATDC Select Company, Predikto uses predictive analytics to forecast equipment failures to companies in the manufacturing, power generation and transportation sectors before they happen. The company, whose predictions exceed 90 percent, uses all data, including equipment sensors and asset maintenance history to reduce asset failures and improve the operational performance.
SalesLoft: An ATDC Select Company, SalesLoft improves company revenue by providing sales reps with a real-time stream of news, information, and alerts on the companies and people to whom they sell.
SafelyStay: SafelyStay, an ATDC Graduate Company, pioneered the first dedicated clearinghouse for the peer-to-peer vacation rental industry. Instant reservations are powered through a system of safeguards including identity verification, criminal checks, insurance and secure payments, to provide trust and security to both guests and vacation homeowners in each reservation.
Groundfloor: One of ATDC’s newest Select Companies, Groundfloor operates on the “crowdfunding” model, but only for the real estate space. Individuals who want to fund loans pool their money — $10 is the minimum required investment per person. Groundfloor verifies the information submitted as part of the loan application process to ensure it is accurately represented. The information also is compared to a grading algorithm that yields a grade from “A” to “G” and assigns an interest rate.
Pointivo: Led and co-founded by Dan Ciprari, a former ATDC Entrpreneur In Residence, Pointivo is focused on the construction industry. Using technology developed at Georgia Tech, Pointivo, which is an ATDC Member Company, captures video from any video camera, smart phone, or any other recording device, rebuild the scene using its algorithms to extract lines , edges, and accurate measurements. That, in turn creates a three-dimensional model with detailed dimensions construction clients can use or integrate with other applications.