The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a science and business incubator

Business incubator

Business incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts...

 in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. It is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Institute of Technology

The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

, and is headquartered in Technology Square

Technology Square

Technology Square, commonly called Tech Square, is a mixed-use district on the block of Fifth Street between the Downtown Connector and Spring Street in Atlanta, Georgia. Announced in 2000 and opened in 2003, the district was built over previously vacant surface parking lots and has contributed to...

. ATDC was formed in 1980 to stimulate growth in Georgia's technology business base, and admitted its first member company in 1981. It now has locations in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 and Savannah

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

. In 2011, ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab

VentureLab

VentureLab is a technology commercialization project launched at Georgia Tech in 2001. It has since been adopted by the Georgia Research Alliance for other research universities in the state of Georgia...

 and with the Georgia SBIR Assistance Program. ATDC has opened its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies.

More than 120 companies started there, including firms such as MindSpring

MindSpring

MindSpring Enterprise was a major Internet service provider headquartered in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Mindspring merged with EarthLink on February 4, 2000, with the company retaining the EarthLink name...

 (now part of EarthLink

EarthLink

EarthLink , is an Internet service provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It claims 1.94 million subscribers.- Business :EarthLink provides a variety of Internet connection types, including dial-up, DSL, satellite, and cable. Both dial-up and high speed Internet access are available...

) and TransNexus

TransNexus

TransNexus, founded in 1997, is a commercial company providing software products for managing peering among VoIP networks. VoIP Peering is a concept that has grown from the practice of peering IP data networks.Evolution of VoIP Peering...

. Sponsored companies have created almost 51,000 man-years of employment, generated over $12.7 billion revenue, generated over $100 million in profit to Georgia, and raised over $1 billion in venture capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

 since 1999. ATDC has been recognized by Inc. Magazine

Inc. (magazine)

Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...

 and Business Week

BusinessWeek

Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

as one of the nation's top incubators, and won several other awards.