Funding Round

Altesa BioSciences Secures $75M Series B: Atlanta’s life sciences sector saw a massive boost as Altesa BioSciences closed a $75 million Series B round. The clinical-stage biopharma company is focusing on chronic lung diseases like COPD and asthma. The raise underscores Atlanta’s ability to attract top-tier capital for biotech innovation.

Venture Wins

The Rise of Robotic "K9s": Atlanta Ventures (led by David Cummings) announced a $950,000 lead investment into Undaunted, a proactive robotics-powered security platform.

• The Tech: Undaunted uses AI-powered cameras and human-operated robots to prevent crime in real-time.
• Community Tie-In: Undaunted is closely tied to a growing local hardware community and their efforts to bring them together, including an Feb. 13 event they participated in.
• The Backing: The round included key Atlanta real estate and tech players, including Flock Safety, South Downtown, Perennial Properties, Jamestown, and Balfour Residential.
• The Impact: Undaunted has already deployed its robotic security across dozens of Atlanta properties, proving that the city is becoming a testbed for "Physical AI."

Bryan Dinner, founder and CEO of Undaunted (source: Atlanta Business Chronicle)

Ecosystem Growth & Community Impact

Donnie Beamer speaking at Get Hired Atlanta with the team at WriteSea

• The HBCU AI Research Leadership Act: Congresswoman Valerie Foushee introduced landmark legislation to establish AI Research Institutes at HBCUs, a move officially endorsed by the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC). This act is designed to close long-standing research funding gaps and strengthen the AI workforce pipeline.
• Showcase Atlanta: The Mayor’s Office launched the Showcase Atlanta Youth Entrepreneurship Accelerator to ensure local small businesses and "solopreneurs" are technically and operationally ready for the massive demands of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• WriteSea AI-Powered Career Readiness: The City of Atlanta and Invest Atlanta launched a one-year pilot with WriteSea, an AI-powered platform to equip 100 residents with resume and interview tools. The collaboration leverages AI to expand access to high-quality job-search resources and strengthen local workforce engagement.
• HYPE About Tech: "Futureproofing" the Next Generation: The 2nd annual HYPE About Tech Conference took over Clark Atlanta University. With the theme "Futureproof: Skills that Outlast the Algorithm," the event connected over 300 young women of color with STEM leaders, cementing Atlanta's commitment to building a diverse tech talent pipeline.
• Tech North Atlanta Debuts First-Ever Awards: The nonprofit Tech North Atlanta announced its inaugural awards program to spotlight the innovation happening in the north metro region. Categories like "AI Product Innovation of the Year" aim to recognize the digital transformation happening beyond the city’s core.

Sports & Municipal Tech

• BravesVision: A New Era for Local Streaming: The Atlanta Braves launched BravesVision, their own local television network and streaming platform. Starting with the 2026 season, fans will have a direct-to-consumer streaming option (Braves.TV), ending the era of local blackouts and setting a new standard for team-owned media tech.
• ScanTech AI x City of Atlanta Partnership: To prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the City of Atlanta launched a pilot with ScanTech AI Systems. The program uses "Sentinel™" AI CT scanners to modernize security screening, ensuring the city's infrastructure can handle the global influx of visitors with speed and precision.

Thought Leadership

• Op-Ed Signals New Legislative Focus: Donnie Beamer, who leads Atlanta Tech Hub, published a high-profile opinion piece in James Magazine titled "How Georgia’s Legislature Can Power Our Tech Economy." He called for the state to prioritize a financial strategy that encourages local venture investment and talent retention. Read the full article here.
• Update: HB 1347 was recently introduced by Representative Brad Thomas which seeks to increase the allowable alternative investment limit for certain public retirement systems from 10% to 15%.
• AI as a "Super Power": David Cummings published "AI Is a Super Power—Start Treating It Like One," urging founders to move beyond basic LLM use cases toward deep, core AI integration for every team member. Read the full post here.
• High Valuation Trap: Kathryn O’Day published “The Real Pros & Cons of a High Valuation,” a timely piece that tackled the "High Valuation" trap, urging founders to seek a "Goldilocks valuation" as Atlanta startups navigate the 2026 funding environment. Read the full post here.
• Additionally, Kathryn will be serving as a judge for the upcoming InVenture Prize Competition on March 11. You can attend the event in person at Georgia Tech or watch the broadcast on GPB at 7 pm.

To keep track of Atlanta’s next big moves, check back for the March Spotlight update.

Zynova Tech Launches Zynova.ai: Demonstrating the breadth of Atlanta's AI applications, Zynova Tech introduced a proprietary workshare platform for the title insurance industry. It utilizes "Agentic AI" to automate complex processes like regulatory compliance and multi-jurisdictional order processing.

‍Reframe Tracks Dry January Success: The Atlanta-based B2C app, Reframe, which helps users reduce alcohol consumption, shared data on its successful January performance. The data, analyzed from over 222,000 users, highlighted that perseverance—continuing to log progress even after a slip—is the strongest predictor of completing Dry or Damp January. The startup, which originated from Georgia Tech's Create-X program, has raised $24.7 million in total venture capital.

Global Investment & Expansion

Global companies are increasingly choosing Atlanta as the gateway to the U.S. market.

Ekko Chooses Atlanta for U.S. Headquarters: London-based fintech startup Ekko has selected Atlanta as its U.S. headquarters, setting up shop in the burgeoning South Downtown development at the Atlanta Tech Village Sylvan outpost.

Ekko's platform embeds in payment systems to inform consumers of the environmental impact of their purchases, and the company plans to hire 10 to 15 positions, further cementing Atlanta's reputation as a magnet for global innovation and the payments industry.

Tech Talent Drives Tractian's HQ Move to Midtown

Atlanta's tech momentum is set to continue into February and beyond. One major development already making headlines is Tractian, a fast-growing AI startup that develops an "industrial copilot" for monitoring and optimizing heavy machinery.

Backed by $200 million in investor funds, Tractian has signed a 10-year lease to triple its Atlanta office footprint, moving its U.S. headquarters to the Coda building at Technology Square. The move, which CEO Igor Marinelli cites as a long-term bet on Atlanta's engineering talent (particularly from Georgia Tech), will see the company occupy nearly 22,000 square feet.

To keep track of Atlanta’s next big moves, check back for the February Spotlight update.