Venture Atlanta 2026 kicks off with robotics & deep tech

Turning big ideas into a growing business. Venture Atlanta kicks off today, and they're connecting startups with investors with a focus on robotics, drones, and other advanced technology. We sent our Chris Rosenthal out to get us all the details. Hey, Chris. Yeah, hey, Tyler. You know, this is the 19th year they've done Venture Atlanta, and it is bigger than ever. You know, they estimate over the years they've been able to raise about $8.8 billion dollars for some of these businesses that are coming here to meet with investors and find some revenue sources. Of course, if you want to start a business or grow a business, you need capital. So this is a place that these businesses come to. Here at the Woodruff Arts Center this year, I'm just going to show you around just how packed this place is. About 1,700 or so people here today. And that isn't only just part of it. And there's also folks inside the auditorium here actually doing investor pitches. So it was these startup companies getting to pitch their ideas. They had a big application process for that and whittled down about 100 people or 100 businesses or so getting to do that. So I actually spoke with one of the companies about that. They're getting to pitch here in a little bit. I spoke with him just a little bit about this event and what this business is. Let's take a listen. Yeah, so we're a defense company. We focus on fluid management components for the disposable drone and missile world. A lot of demand for those systems, and there's quite a bottleneck that exists in the supply chain. So we focus on those components that make all these systems work. And why is it important to come to an event like this? How does something like this help you in your business? We've been around now for six years. We're raising capital, and so it helps us from a capital raise standpoint. It also allows us to connect with other founders, allows us to connect with service providers that may help our business. And it's just great. It's great energy in general to be around this type of an ecosystem. You walk around here, and there's just lots of people sitting down, having meetings, having conversations, having discussions. and do what they can to network and raise some money and hopefully get their businesses all up and up and running and all good here. So really a big event here. This goes on for two days. We'll continue into tomorrow. And so, Chris, you've talked to several different companies who are there and who've been there. Have they seen a lot of benefits of going to an event like this, of being able to continue on with their endeavors? Yeah, you know, I mean, I talked a little earlier today with Scott LaPano, who's the chairman here of Venture Atlanta, and he says, you know, they've been able to raise their estimates about $8.8 billion raised through these events over the past 19 years or so that they've had them. So there's some big numbers and a lot of money for these companies here that really make a big difference. And was that million or billion? Billion. Billion. I mean, so this is like about connecting these businesses with the people that they need to be able to continue growing, especially advanced technologies. I mean, some of them are probably newer type of technologies that haven't really become mainstream yet, right? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you heard from folks in ZuluPod who I interviewed. I mean, they work in propulsion and small engines that are used in various aerospace industries. There's also a lot of AI focus here as well. So, yeah, we have lots of new technologies and new ideas here. Well, Chris Rosenthal, I appreciate you showing us around and telling us about this, and we'll check in with you a little bit later on during the 2 and 3 o'clock hours.