Hype Newsletter: Is Atlanta Still Building MarTechs

A lot to cover today as slide into the busy month of October (which, hopefully for Braves fans, is a month that also includes a deep postseason run).

What we’re talking about in this newsletter:

Keep on scrolling to see who is hiring, who is on the move, and where events are happening next.

This edition of Hypepotamus is brought to you by Live Oak Bank.

The Big Headline: Mailchimp sold to Intuit. Pardot went to Salesforce. Salesloft sold to private equity. Atlanta helped build some of the biggest names in marketing and sales software.

What will it take to build the next generation of MarTechs? We talked with David Cummings, Lance Weatherby, and Marc Ginsberg about the city’s history, where Atlanta still has an advantage, and how AI is changing the startup math around B2B companies. More on Atlanta’s place in the MarTech world here.

Startup To Watch: What if opening a bank branch meant installing a kiosk? Atlanta hardware startup Loto Punto is building around that idea, with plans for 200 banking kiosks across Georgia over the next ten months. Its yellow machines let customers pay bills, transfer money, and top up accounts.

The company started with lottery machines in Colombia. Now, its US pitch is “Branch-as-a-Service,” giving banks and credit unions a physical presence without the cost of a full branch. It’s a hardware approach to reaching customers that digital banking still leaves underserved. More here.

City News: More than 100 million passengers pass through Atlanta’s airport each year. Getting them to put their coffee cups in the right bin is a challenge with major consequences for recycling. Now, Hartsfield-Jackson is turning to AI for help. Tech from Vancouver-based Intuitive AI recognizes waste items and guides travelers to the correct bin. About 2.5 million people have utilized the bins, giving airport leaders data that could shape signage and concessionaire policies.

Can better guidance at the trash can help solve a problem that previous sorting efforts couldn’t? More on the ATL airport’s latest sustainability efforts here.

Live Oak Bank’s (NYSE: LOB) Venture Banking team provides non-dilutive growth financing that complements equity, along with tailored banking solutions, for venture-backed B2B software and healthcare companies at every stage of their financing journey. We understand entrepreneurs because we are entrepreneurs. Member FDIC.