2016: The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, Invest Atlanta and the City of Toulouse, France announced the four startup technology companies selected to participate in the first Atlanta International Startup Exchange. The two-week residency program provided the selected companies a platform for global expansion. Atlanta-based Carbice Nanotechnologies, Inc. and Partpic, Inc., and France-based startups Donecle and Uwinloc were chosen to participate in the exchange.

 

In October, executives from Atlanta met with French entrepreneurs, European decision makers, investors, and executives in their respective sectors. They also attended EmTech France 2016, an international conference showcasing emerging technologies and connecting startups with venture capitalists from across the globe.

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In November, the City of Atlanta hosted executives from France-based startups Donecle and Uwinloc for a two-week residency. French representatives fulfilled their two-week residency at the Garage at Tech Square and participated in programs at ATDC, Sandbox, and the Consulate General of France in Atlanta, and conducted meetings with executives from Delta and the State of Georgia’s Center of Innovation in Aerospace. The residency provided key partners the opportunity to showcase the City of Atlanta as an economically-sound choice for their North American operations in the future. They also attended the 2016 Venture Atlanta conference, which has led to more than $1.3 billion in startup investment since 2002.

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Their stay in Atlanta concluded at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where they along with 4 pre-selected startups had the opportunity to pitch their innovations to aviation executives at the first Aviation Innovation Demo Day. The event provided a platform for emerging enterprises to showcase their technologies and generate new business with the world’s busiest passenger airport and Global Fortune 500 companies including Delta, Lufthansa, and Southwest.

 

2017: Building off the success of the previous year, the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs and Invest Atlanta partnered with UK Department of International Trade, Invest Newcastle, Toulouse Metropole, and Sage to provide a total of ten startups a platform for global expansion in either Atlanta, Toulouse, Newcastle, or London.

 

Atlanta-based companies Qoins, a FinTech startup that encourages savings for millennials, and Babylogger, a software and hardware company that helps catalogue baby activities, traveled to the UK the second week of November to attend Venturefest North East.

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Vayando, a social impact travel organization, and Volantio, an airline booking tool for improving flight utilization, visited Toulouse during the first week of October to attend the EmTech Conference.

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Toulouse companies Nanomade and Nanolike, which provide IoT solutions applicable to smart cities initiatives, traveled to Atlanta during the second week of October to attend Venture Atlanta. They were joined by Newcastle-based companies Drone Ops and Recite Me, which respectively provide commercial drone capabilities and web access solutions for the disabled.

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Finally, London-based companies Citizen and Immersive Labs, two cyber-security companies providing authentication services and skills training, participated in CyberCon during the first week of October.

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During their stay in Atlanta, international startups had the chance to make connections with executives from Stanley, Black and Decker, IBM & IBM Watson, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Delta, Porsche, AGCO, KIA Motors, and more to receive feedback from business leaders and pitch to potential investors. Finishing their stay in Atlanta, startups also participated in the second annual Aviation Innovation Demo Day, allowing them to present their ideas and innovations to airline officials from industry leaders. 

 

2018:   The Mayor’s Office of International Affairs and Invest Atlanta partnered with Toulouse Metropole to allow seven companies to participate in the 2018 cohort of the International Startup Exchange.

 

Atlanta-based startups ThingTech, Loupe LLC, and Blind Tiger Communications traveled to Toulouse to attend the EmTech France Conference. During their stay startups had the opportunity to meet with French entrepreneurs, European decision makers, investors, and executives in their respective sectors to receive valuable feedback, pitch to potential investors, and explore their international marketability.

 

Four Toulouse-based startups, Geotrend, VUF, Pixstart, and VYFE traveled to Atlanta during the Venture Atlanta Conference, which took place during the second week of October. During their stay startups were given the opportunity to connect with local startup ecosystems, gain access to international conferences and engage with investors, business leaders and potential clients from organizations like Georgia Tech, General Electric, Turner Broadcasting, Southern Company, and more.

 

Startups finished their residency with the third annual Aviation Innovation Demo Day, where they were joined by additional startups from the Atlanta area, to pitch their innovations to airline officials from industry leaders. 

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