The City of Atlanta is making ongoing efforts to engage young people in tech careers as officials explore how to grow the industry in Atlanta. 

Donnie Beamer, Atlanta’s senior technology advisor, says an e-sports gaming tournament coming to MomoCon this year is part of that initiative. 

“What we want to do is not just have the young people come in and game, but we also want to give them a behind-the-scenes tour, connect them with operators in the industry so they can look at the careers if they want to be a developer, a designer. And there are a lot of dev shops and houses in the state of Georgia,” said Beamer.

Atlanta tech report

The Atlanta Tech Hub officially released the full 2025 Impact Report this week. Some of the key findings include securing $1.2 billion in venture capital and creating 1,155 new tech jobs in 2025.

Since being appointed by Mayor Andre Dickens, Beamer has had one goal: to raise the city’s profile to a top-five tech hub in the country.

“We are building an ecosystem of jobs where folks growing up in Atlanta can aspire to get these roles and have a truly substantial life by getting on the pathway to technology,” said Dickens in an April press release. “The biggest win of Atlanta Tech Hub’s progress in 2025 is that the people on the other side of this, our community residents, the people starting small businesses, and our youth, can actually see and feel the benefits of our city’s growth.”

Beamer says there are educational, networking and skill development opportunities opening up soon.

• Avant South, an event that brings together schools like Georgia State, Emory, Spelman and Morehouse, will take place Oct. 12-13.

“We’ve been encouraging students to explore entrepreneurship and trying to enable them to take risks, you know, create a safe space. For them to take risks and to either experience building a company or participating in an internship at a startup by subsidizing the cost of that talent,” said Beamer.

Growing new tech talent

The report also highlights how the tech hub works with Atlanta’s HBCUs to sustain a steady source of highly skilled tech talent. The City of Atlanta plans to continue building up the local talent pool here, as preparing residents of all ages, especially the youth, for future jobs remains a priority.

“We did a survey across the companies that we support. 92% of them are hiring or intend to hire in the next 12 months. So I think that there is a great opportunity,” said Beamer. “I think there are about 19,000 tech companies in the Atlanta Metro. And so there are many more that are not just startups that are still hiring. And I think this is a place where the jobs that are going to become available, we just don’t know they exist yet,” said Beamer.

He says that in cities experiencing such rapid growth, legacy residents are often left out of the benefits and ultimately gentrified out.

“That’s one of the things that we don’t want to have happen here. And so it’s almost better that we’re not going to say we’re late to the party, but we have all these assets, and we can approach this in a much more thoughtful way,” said Beamer.

Beamer says that while supporting Atlanta as a tech hub is important, we do not want to lose what makes the city special, the people. That is why he is making intentional efforts to increase the representation of Black tech entrepreneurs, so that many can stay here rather than leave for other tech hubs.

“Doing things like going to Thomasville or ensuring that the work that’s going to be enabled through this neighborhood reinvestment initiative, which there’s a lot of focus around, will ensure that West Hollowell and Castleberry Hills, all the neighborhoods that have been longstanding and have great history in Atlanta, don’t suddenly just get gentrified out,” said Beamer.

Another key finding from the report shows that the city’s Tech Hub engaged more than 16,000 Atlantans in STEAM, entrepreneurship, and tech in 2025.