ATLANTA, Aug. 7, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Atlanta CEO Council is partnering with the Georgia Institute of Technology's Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) and VentureLab to present the second annual "Georgia Tech Innovation Experience" during the 2007 ION Venture Forum.
The ION Venture Forum, the CEO Council's annual investor showcase, will take place September 25-26 at the Buckhead Ritz Carlton in Atlanta.
"We started The Georgia Tech Innovation Experience last year to help participating investors meet with representatives of the exciting companies being created and incubated at Georgia Tech," said Ashish Mistry, president of the Atlanta CEO Council. "We were excited with the outcome in 2006 and expect the 2007 event to be even more successful."
On Tuesday, September 25, registered investors will participate in an accelerated matching program with some of the most promising companies in development at the ATDC. During the session, investors will be paired with 12 to15 companies. Companies and investors will then be allowed to participate in open dialogue.
"Last year's event was a fun and innovative way to provide investors a quick snapshot of the deal flow at ATDC and Georgia Tech," said Tony Antoniades, general manager of ATDC. "Since then, we've accepted eight new and exciting member companies into the ATDC community and celebrated $1 billion in venture capital that our companies have raised since 1999. This event will update investors on the latest opportunities at ATDC."
The event will also give visitors an opportunity to see Georgia Tech's innovative process for building new companies from technology produced by the Institute's $400 million-per-year research program.
"Companies based on technology developed at Georgia Tech are playing an increasingly important role in Atlanta's startup community," said Stephen Fleming, Georgia Tech's chief commercialization officer. "Four of Georgia's top 25 venture capital deals of 2006 involved companies based on Georgia Tech intellectual property, and there are 40 promising new companies in the pipeline."
The Georgia Tech Innovation Experience will take place September 25 at the ATDC headquarters located in Technology Square on the Georgia Tech campus in Midtown Atlanta.
Registration is now open for investors. If you are interested in attending, please visit us online at www.ionventureforum.com.
To learn more about the Atlanta CEO Council, please visit www.atlantaceo.org.
About the Atlanta CEO Council
The Atlanta CEO Council is an exclusive organization for C-Level and senior executives that has been serving the community since 1999. The Council membership is comprised of more than 1,000 CEOs and senior executives (CIOs, CFOs, COOs, CTOs, etc.) from leading technology and related companies from across the Southeast. The Atlanta CEO Council focuses on the strategic development and support of the technology community in the metro Atlanta area. Members of the Atlanta CEO Council represent companies that employ more than 50,000 people in the Atlanta region and generate over $10 billion in direct annual revenue for the local economy.
About ATDC
Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center is a nationally recognized science and technology incubator that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. ATDC provides strategic business advice and connects its member companies to the people and resources they need to succeed.
More than 110 companies have emerged from the ATDC, including publicly-traded firms such as MindSpring Enterprises -- now part of EarthLink. Headquartered at Technology Square on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, ATDC has been recognized by both Inc. and BusinessWeek magazines as among the nation's top nonprofit incubators. Since 1999, ATDC companies have attracted more than $1 billion in venture capital funding.
ATDC was formed in 1980 to stimulate growth in Georgia's technology business base and now has locations in Atlanta, Savannah and Warner Robins. ATDC is part of the Entrepreneur Services Division of Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute. For more information, please visit (www.atdc.org).
About VentureLab
Georgia Tech VentureLab provides comprehensive assistance to Georgia Tech faculty members, research staff members and graduate students who want to form startup companies to commercialize the technology innovations they have developed. VentureLab specialists help transform innovations into early-stage companies by assisting in business plan development, connecting the innovators with experienced entrepreneurs, locating sources of early-stage financing, and preparing the new companies for the business world. Graduates of the Georgia Tech VentureLab program may choose to apply for admission to the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). For more information, please visit (innovate.gatech.edu/venturelab/).