Atlanta has been named the seventh and newest host city for a French government-backed accelerator program that sends startups to the U.S. to develop and deepen high-tech partnerships.
The city will welcome French startup VorteX.io for an “immersion week” next spring as part of the Deeptech North America – NETVA (New Technology Venture Accelerator) Program. Based in the Atlanta sister city of Toulouse, Vortex.io installs compact altimeters on bridges to help manage water levels and evaluate drought risk.
The move the latest sign of healthy growth in Atlanta’s tech ties with France. The city was designated a La French Tech hub in April, just after the Consulate General of France in Atlanta began setting up a network of scientists, professors and researchers to better share opportunities for cross-border collaboration.
NETVA, operated by the French Embassy’s Office for Science and Technology, based in Boston, offers personalized support for French innovators looking into the U.S. market. More than 130 companies have participated, and winners have raised 250 million euros in private funding since the program started in 2010.
This year’s participant firms are to join a training seminar in Paris in June on approaching North America and then an intensive program with input from French and American business leaders in the fall. Next spring they will fan out to tech hubs around the U.S. including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.
The companies are chosen by 14 judges in France and seven-member selection committees in each U.S. tech ecosystem.
See the full list of companies and their corresponding tech hubs here.
Contact the Atlanta consulate’s representative of the science and technology office here.
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