Avant South returns to Tech Square on Oct. 12 and 13 for a two-day “AI in Action” showcase that will convene founders, researchers, policymakers and students and highlight a 400-petaflop supercomputer demonstration, a student innovation challenge judged by NVIDIA executive Howard Wright, and a lunch keynote pairing Mayor Andre Dickens with Grammy-winning producer Dallas Austin.
The conference will take place at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center and the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center. Sessions are scheduled as panel discussions, keynotes and fireside chats, and the program will include AI activations, simulations and a student founder pitch competition.
Avant South’s Supercomputer and Student Challenge
One marquee attraction is the Nexus AI Supercomputer, now running at Georgia Tech with 400 petaflops of AI-focused computing power. The $20 million system, funded by the National Science Foundation, is described in the schedule as opening up to researchers across the country.
Students will compete in the Atlanta Innovation Cup, an eight-day interdisciplinary challenge that culminates in a live showcase at Avant South. The event’s celebrity guest judge is Howard Wright, NVIDIA’s vice president of startup ecosystem.
City Ambitions and Programming
Donnie Beamer Jr., the city’s first senior technology advisor who also leads the Office of Technology and Innovation and oversees Avant South, said technology should provide new ways to solve old problems. He discussed the conference and the city’s broader tech ambitions in a recent interview, and said Atlanta aims to become one of the nation’s top five tech hubs.
Organizers frame Avant South around the idea that AI is changing work faster than traditional education and workforce systems can adapt. That tension—AI already making decisions, creating content, interacting with consumers and reshaping business operations—is expected to run through panels, keynotes and fireside chats across the two days.
Data Centers, Investment and Talent
The city is preparing a white paper on data centers and their role in communities as it seeks a balanced approach amid the rapid growth of AI and data-center construction. Regional growth in the data-center business is noted as the fastest in metro Atlanta, alongside ongoing concerns about where facilities are sited and their water and energy use.
Atlanta’s Office of Technology and Innovation has invested more than $37 million in the local tech ecosystem, and companies supported by the office have produced 1,155 organic new hires. The city has attracted roughly $12 billion in venture capital over a five-year period.
A separate account found that the Atlanta Tech Hub supported 146 companies in 2025, adding 1,155 new hires and generating nearly $70 million in salaries, with 92% of those companies predicting they would hire more over the following 12 months. The city has also formalized university ties through the Atlanta Collegiate Entrepreneurship Syndicate, with Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College identified as initial participants.
Panels at Avant South will address workforce and education challenges as officials, investors, creators and students weigh how to align talent, capital and customers with the city’s push to grow its technology sector.
