22 Apr Futurus selected as a member of the Atlanta MEC cohort 2020

ATLANTA – (February 2020) Futurus has been selected to join the 2020 Atlanta Metro Export Challenge cohort. The Atlanta MEC is a regional program, powered by the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and provides grant support to help local companies build international operations plans and help grow the global business community. This year’s cohort represents companies in technology, advanced manufacturing, bioscience and healthcare, sports and entertainment and education and is one-fourth women-owned.  

“We’ve only scratched the surface in international opportunities for Futurus. This grant will help us continue our efforts in expanding our services globally,” said Futurus CEO Annie Eaton.

Futurus specializes in virtual and augmented reality software development, as well as technology consulting to help enterprise organizations integrate emerging tech into their workflow. The company’s augmented reality solutions include brand engagement experiences, on-site assistance applications, and first-person annotative video chat. Virtual reality offerings consist of product visualization tools, virtual training applications, and educational experiences.

The company’s flagship product, Anchor, is an augmented reality enabled interactive tool that can be used in any job function to help workers perform more safely and efficiently. The tool is compatible with mobile devices and smart glasses and can be used to assist workers with processes or tasks. Augmented reality features provide an overlay of technical information onto real world machinery. The tool includes documentation, image capture, tagging, and export. 

An independent panel of judges selected this year’s MEC cohort from an applicant pool of nearly 70 companies ranging from startups to middle-market companies. These companies were chosen because of their sustainable domestic business, the strong potential of their product in foreign markets, and clear export strategies that the Atlanta MEC can help elevate, aiding in job growth for the region.

Since launching in 2016, more than 100 companies have been awarded over $500,000 and have successfully grown their international sales through the attendance of trade shows, customer meetings and other initiatives increasing their exposure to international customers.

Four previous grant recipients have been acquired by larger companies and added additional jobs to the metro Atlanta economy (Triatek by Johnson Controls, NexDefense by Dragos, Car360 by Carvana, Predikto by United Technologies Corporation).

“Metro Atlanta is home to an ever-growing international business community. The real value of a program like the Metro Export Challenge is in supporting these diverse, innovative companies doing work at a global scale,” said Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Hala Moddelmog. “Their success abroad leads to job creation here in our region, and they serve as ambassadors for Atlanta around the world. I would like to congratulate the 2020 cohort and thank our partners in the region for their continuous support. Their commitment to the program is a testament to collaboration toward a greater goal.”

Once selected, recipients are awarded a $5,000 reimbursable grant to increase their export capacity. Recipients also receive one-on-one education training on a variety of topics including identifying target markets, finding international buyers and partners, maximizing international trade show effectiveness, export compliance, website globalization and international finance strategy. Training is provided by the U.S. Commercial Service and District Export Council.

The 2020 program is sponsored by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Partnership Gwinnett, Delta Air Lines, City of Atlanta’s Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, Select Cobb, Decide DeKalb, Forward Forsyth and the District Export Council.

Each of the 12 grant recipients will have the chance to compete for additional funding in the 2020 Atlanta MEC Pitch Day, which will take place later in the fall. For more information about the program, please click here.

To see the full list of the cohort, click here.  

About Futurus

Futurus is an Atlanta-based future technologies company, specializing in emerging technology consulting, road mapping, virtual reality (VR) simulations, augmented reality (AR) development, micro-location enabled experiences and machine learning. The company works with brands to produce long-term plans and create immersive experiences for storytelling, marketing, training, and testing use cases. In addition to development services, the team provides consulting and technology discovery for companies with an interest in integrating innovative technology.  

About the Metro Atlanta Chamber
The Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) serves as a catalyst for a more prosperous and vibrant region. To advance economic growth and improve metro Atlanta’s quality of place, MAC is focused on starting, growing and recruiting companies to the 29-county metro Atlanta region. The Chamber is also focused on growing the region’s innovation economy by promoting and strengthening connections to drive Atlanta’s innovation and entrepreneurial culture. MAC is committed to being an active voice for the business community, serving as an advocate for a competitive business climate and telling Atlanta’s story. For more information, visit www.metroatlantachamber.com.

About the Atlanta Metro Export Challenge

The Atlanta MEC started in 2016 as a key component of the Atlanta Metro Export Plan (Atlanta MEP), an initiative created to increase regional economic and job growth by engaging more metro Atlanta companies, particularly small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), women-owned, veteran-owned, and minority-owned businesses to grow and strengthen through exports. The Atlanta MEC and Atlanta MEP were both part of a larger Global Cities Initiative, a joint project between the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase to build awareness of the importance of international markets. The Global Cities Initiative was created to help leaders of major metro areas to strengthen their regional economies by becoming connected to the global marketplace.