Engage

Are you an Entrepreneur building the Future of the Enterprise? We are here to connect you with some of the most innovative companies in the world who are ready to ENGAGE with startups like yours. Engage is a first-of-its-kind, exclusive business network, corporate venture fund, enterprise startup accelerator, and corporate innovation platform. Our mission is to build the future of the enterprise. Every six months, we invite 6-10 startups to join the Engage network. Each new cohort of startups participates in our multi-month Engage Launch program, co-led by executives from our corporate partners. We facilitate 100s of unique 1:1 collaborations between corporate leaders and startups founders to explore industry-specific use-cases and commercial partnership opportunities. In addition to these meetings, we also put together unforgettable networking experiences for our startups and corporate executives like our event at the New York Stock Exchange in November! As of 2024, more than 160 agreements have been signed between our startups and corporate partners. And we are ready to ENGAGE with the next generation of visionary Entrepreneurs looking to change the way business is done. Come find out if we are a fit for you: https://engage.vc/rfs/

Facilities, energy, and real estate leaders from Engage’s Corporate Partners and startups convened on Georgia Tech’s campus to attend the Engage Innovator Summit on Smarter Buildings and Energy. The event had over 70 attendees from more than 15 of Atlanta’s leading organizations like The Coca-Cola Company, Cox Enterprises, The Home Depot, UPS, the City of Atlanta, and faculty from Georgia Institute of Technology. This esteemed group discussed topics ranging from the way projects are financed through future visions for Sustainable Buildings. The setting matched the theme as the The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech (“the world’s greenest classroom”) served as the backdrop for engaging fireside chats and presentations from Invesco Ltd., Georgia Power Company, VECKTA, and many more – sharing their ambitions for sustainability alongside experts from the Engage Corporate Network to deliver the future of Sustainable Buildings. Thank you again to our amazing corporate partners for leaning in and sharing their points of view with our other partners, the City, and our portfolio startups!

?? Introducing the Spring 2025 class of interns!??? Engage and Tech Square Ventures are honored to be working with this exceptional set of students from the Emory University & Georgia Institute of Technology. Our mission with our internship program is to bring educational opportunities in the startup and corporate innovation ecosystem to students in Atlanta. Over the spring, these interns will work in our design, insights, investments, corporate innovation, and operations tracks across our team and have the opportunity to learn from top entrepreneurs and corporate executives in the Engage community. Join us in welcoming these interns, new and returning, into the Engage family! Alexis Frith, Jennifer Lee, Oumaima Bassit, Rahul Mantri, Paul Beidel Jr., Savreet Sandhu, Vinay Govindaraju, Tom Kunampuram, Christopher Hur, Jeremy Thomas, Zachary Thomas, & Vikas Muralidharan

At Engage, we champion bold visions that drive impactful change. That's why we’re thrilled to support Manik Suri and his team at GlacierGrid, a company on a mission to revolutionize cooling — refrigeration and air conditioning — with smart, sustainable technology. GlacierGrid began with a powerful insight: the traditional cooling sector is outdated and inefficient, leading to significant food and energy waste — two major contributors to climate change and cost. From that realization, they developed an innovative IoT-powered solution that transforms how restaurants and food service operators manage refrigeration and air conditioning. Using real-time data and advanced analytics, GlacierGrid helps businesses prevent spoilage, reduce equipment failure, and save on energy costs. Manik’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis is evident in every facet of GlacierGrid’s mission. By retrofitting commercial cooling with cutting-edge technology, they’re enabling restaurants — from small local eateries to global brands like McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Burger King — to reduce their carbon footprint while also saving money. Fun facts about Manik: - Manik helped co-found the Governance Lab at NYU and served on the White House National Economic Council ??? - Manik’s entrepreneurial travels have taken him from Boston to the central valley of California and overseas to Asia before locating GlacierGrid in San Francisco ?? - Before becoming a tech entrepreneur, he explored ways to enhance public policy and governance through technology. ?? We’re excited to be part of GlacierGrid's journey to make cooling smarter, cleaner and greener! #Sustainability #FoodTech #ClimateChange #Innovation #Engage #StartupSuccess #TechLeadership #InvestInImpact #FutureOfFood #ClimateTech #EnergyEfficiency

Muriel Siebert, the first woman who was named a permanent member of the trading floor of the NYSE, once said, “Giving back is more than an obligation, it’s a privilege.” We are still in awe of the opportunity to share time on the New York Stock Exchange with our corporate partners, our AlumniRise startups, and amazing founders from our portfolio. Our team was on the floor of the Exchange during the closing bell with our corporate partners, AlumniRise founders, and a number of our portfolio companies. This was a bucket list item for our team and hopefully a peek into the future for our amazing portfolio companies. Again, we extend our thanks to the team at ICE and our amazing AlumniRise founders, Damola Ogundipe, Brian Platz, Penny Queller, Gorkem Sevinc, Christopher Smith & Manik Suri. We put together a little retrospective highlight reel of our time at Engage. To our friends and partners at the event, comment below if you spot yourself!

We are beyond proud and honored to see our Managing Partner,?Blake Patton,?receive the prestigious?Technology Executives Roundtable (TER)?John Imlay Leadership Award!???

Congrats to both Catalyst by Wellstar and VECKTA!! ?? Thrilled to announce this amazing partnership.

It’s Autumn in New York ?? and we are still buzzing about our AlumniRise event at the NYSE! New York State of Mind: We welcomed 70+ corporate partners, portfolio startup founders, and Engage team members for a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to tour the New York Stock Exchange which included a presentation from the lead archivist, a tour of the facilities, and the culminating event being on the floor of the Exchange to view the closing bell ringing! ?? New York City Serenade: This event is not only the culmination of the incredible work from our 6 AlumniRise founders, but also a testament to the incredible work of our corporate partners who continue to be our shining beacon for our program for the last 7 years as well as our amazing portfolio companies who continue to be a cornerstone of our value proposition. We were so excited to celebrate all of you with this once in a lifetime event. Start Spreading the News…I’m Leaving Today: As we reflect on this trip we could not have done it without the support of our amazing ICE corporate partners. As well as our amazing AlumniRise CEOs Brian Platz, Damola Ogundipe, Penny Queller, Gorkem Sevinc, Christopher Smith, Manik Suri and our amazing friends of the program who made the trip Chick-fil-A Corporate Support Center, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, Georgia Power Company,Goldman Sachs, The Home Depot, ICE, Invesco Ltd., RaceTrac, Tech Square Ventures, Unum, UPS, Wellstar Health System, Cloud Range, Coginiti, Glass, Instant, Macondo Vision, Inc, Misapplied Sciences, Inc., Moth+Flame, Onwards HR, Paccurate, Pitstop, Pryon, Quasar AI, Sounding Board, VECKTA, Verusen AI, Vyv, 2ULaundry

?? Exciting News from Our Portfolio! ??? We're thrilled to introduce Brian Platz, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Fluree, PBC, a North Carolina-based Public Benefit Corporation that's redefining how enterprises handle data.? Brian joins us through our AlumniRise program as Fluree is back with Engage! Brian is no stranger to innovation—he's been at the forefront of tech since the early days of the internet, co-founding the A List Apart web development community and multiple successful SaaS startups. Before Fluree, he co-founded SilkRoad Technology, which expanded to over 2,000 customers and 500 employees across 12 global offices.? Fluree is a game-changer in the data landscape with a unique knowledge-based graph database, along with AI agents that automatically convert application data and documents into linked knowledge. Fluree empowers organizations to break down data silos, securely share information, and create powerful data ecosystems. Three fun facts about Brian: - Brian loves the open road – he even worked as a truck driver for a year! ?? - Brian knows how to grow, he’s taken products from scratch to $60M ARR and multiple other successes in his 25-year career. - Brian is a coder at heart, you’ll usually find him up at 5AM getting some coding in before the roosters crow. ???? Whether you’re looking to securely connect GenAI to corporate knowledge, enhance data transparency, or gather new insights, Fluree is leading the way in data-driven transformation.? Join us in supporting Brian and the Fluree team on their journey to reshape the future of enterprise data! ??? #DataInnovation #Blockchain #Leadership #AI #DataSecurity #DataEcosystems #StartupSuccess #TechLeadership #AlumniRise #DataAnalytics

?? Spotlight on Innovation: Slip Robotics and Christopher Smith ?? ?? We are thrilled to welcome Slip Robotics back to the Engage program through AlumniRise! Led by the visionary CEO and Founder, Christopher Smith. Slip Robotics has recently been honored with the Best New Innovation in the Supply Chain award from MHI, named an RBR50 Robotics Innovation winner, and is a member of the FreightTech 100.?These accolades highlight the groundbreaking capabilities of the SlipBot ALR—the first and only solution capable of autonomously loading & unloading any truck in 5 minutes. Chris and his team have truly transformed dock operations, boosting throughput by 300% and slashing idle time and labor costs significantly. With major clients like John Deere, GE Appliances, and Nissan leveraging SlipBots, the impact is both profound and widespread.? Chris worked in inbound supply chain management at Cummins, moved on to lead factory simulation and analytics at Tesla, and then decided to start Slip to build the loading/unloading solution he wished he had. Join us in celebrating these remarkable achievements and looking forward to the continued success of Slip Robotics in revolutionizing logistics and supply chain operations!? #Innovation #Robotics #SupplyChain #Logistics #Tech #Automation #StartupSuccess #SlipRobotics #InvestInTech #AlumniRise