Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) has helped launch Engage, an accelerator and venture capital fund that is also supported by Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed and 10 corporations headquartered in the state.
The companies are telecom firm AT&T, fast food chain Chick-fil-a, conglomerate Cox Enterprises, airline Delta Air Lines, pulp and paper group Georgia-Pacific, financial services firm Intercontinental Exchange, investment manager Invesco, home improvement retailer Home Depot, logistics provider UPS and utility Georgia Power’s philanthropic arm, Georgia Power Foundation.
The corporations have each committed $1.5m to the fund, for a total of $15m, while their respective chief executives will offer their expertise to participating startups. The fund will be managed by VC fund Tech Square Ventures.
The fund is based on a proposal first made by Reed when he visited Silicon Valley in 2013. He asked for the support of Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP), a coalition of university presidents and CEOs who support mayoral initiatives.
ACP’s involvement means startups joining Engage will benefit from increased access to more than 30 businesses that are members of the committee.
Georgia Tech, through its Advanced Technology Development Center incubator, will offer educational programs, mentoring and follow-on services to Engage’s cohorts.
The accelerator will accept applications from startups across the US. The initiative is set to begin in spring 2017 and is expected to welcome up to 48 teams in the first three years. It will particularly focus on mentoring and market access strategies.
-The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.