It is that time of year again.
As we wind down for the holidays, we all take a collective moment to pause and reflect on the year.
And what a year it was for those in the tech scene.
The AI race. Conflicting tariff realities. A shifting capital landscape. The sluggish exit market. Through it all, founders kept building, investors kept betting, and communities across the Southeast showed just how resilient — and resourceful — this ecosystem can be.
At Hypepotamus, we wrote 350 individual stories, digging into the people, companies, and trends driving the local tech ecosystem.
Here’s a month-by-month look back at our most-read stories of the year.
January
Behind the Acquisition: How Construction Tech Startup Ladder Scaled to Success
TL;DR: Atlanta founder Alex Stewart built construction tech startup Ladder, a platform helping electricians and engineers find jobs and validate skills. After going through Y Combinator, Stewart built the company to over 100,000 users and 200 company customers. After five years of scaling, Ladder was acquired by BuildForce, a Texas-based construction staffing marketplace, as part of its Southeast expansion. Following the acquisition, Stewart is joining BuildForce in a senior role while both platforms work toward integration.
February
Early Atlanta B2B AI Startup Gets Acquired
TL;DR: Atlanta’s AI startup Voiceworx.ai, known for helping enterprises build AI-powered digital assistants, has been acquired by Fortune 500 business services leader Concentrix, marking a milestone for the local AI ecosystem. The founders and engineering team are joining Concentrix to scale their technology globally, with key leadership roles in AI and product.
March
TL;DR: Atlanta’s unicorn safety intelligence tech company Flock Safety just closed a $275M funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz, lifting its valuation to $7.5 billion. The round brought back major backers and positions Flock to accelerate product innovation, expand manufacturing in Georgia, and scale its suite of crime-fighting tools used by thousands of agencies and businesses nationwide.
April
A New “SHIP” Is Now In Savannah, Georgia
TL;DR: Savannah just launched the Savannah Harbor Innovation Partnership (SHIP) — a public-private initiative building on the Savannah Logistics Innovation Center to grow the region’s innovation ecosystem and support startups ready to pilot and scale. SHIP aims to bring together corporate partners, investors, and founders to drive growth in logistics, supply chain, and other high-impact sectors while filling critical support gaps for emerging tech and venture companies.
May
SalesTech Startup Zinnia Taps Local Industry Pro For New CTO Role
TL;DR: Atlanta-area SalesTech startup Zinnia has named veteran sales engineer Marco Dell’Olio as its new CTO and co-founder. He brings deep product leadership from roles at Salesloft, Calendly, and already has a successful startup exit under his belt.
June
Your Guide To Atlanta Tech Week 2025
TL;DR: Atlanta Tech Week 2025 brings founders, investors, builders, and startup enthusiasts together across Metro Atlanta for a week of panels, workshops, pitch events, and community-led networking that showcase the city’s booming tech ecosystem. Highlights include startup-focused sessions, AI workshops, happy hours, and citywide activations designed to spark collaboration and connections.
July
Forget Remote-First. This SaaS Startup Defines Its Hiring Strategy as Metro Atlanta-First
TL;DR: Even though this story is from 2024, it obviously still resonated with our audience this year! Atlanta-based SaaS startup Saleo is bucking the remote-first trend with an “Atlanta-first” hiring strategy, doubling down on in-person collaboration by recruiting talent across Metro Atlanta and anchoring it all with a marquee office at Alpharetta’s Avalon. The local talent focus has helped Saleo stay on track to double ARR and headcount, while strengthening culture and hiring outcomes through face-to-face interviews and community presence.
August
Why OneTrust Is Continuing To Build In Atlanta
TL;DR: Atlanta-born unicorn OneTrust is doubling down on its hometown roots with a new 73,000 sq ft headquarters along the Atlanta Beltline, creating a modern central hub for about 450 local team members and visitors. The move from Sandy Springs to Intown underscores the company’s confidence in Atlanta’s talent, accessibility, and growing tech scene while positioning OneTrust at the edge of community and innovation. We take you on a tour of the new OneTrust hub.
September
BREAKING: Meet The 86 Companies Selected For Venture Atlanta 2025
TL;DR: Venture Atlanta announced 86 standout startups selected to pitch at its 18th annual conference — the Southeast’s premier investor showcase — drawing more than 1,600 attendees and 450 investors to Atlanta in October.
October
Seattle Company Acquires Charleston Startup Sprockets to Build “End-To-End AI Hiring Solution”
TL;DR: Seattle-based AI hiring platform Humanly acquired Charleston-based Sprockets along with Qualifi and HourWork to build a comprehensive end-to-end AI hiring solution that spans sourcing, screening, interviewing, and retention.
November
Meet the CEO Who Turned His Health Journey Into a Platform Helping Over 90,000 People Lose Weight
TL;DR: Atlanta-based healthtech startup OrderlyMeds, led by CEO Chris Spears, has rapidly scaled since its 2023 launch. It grew from just 17 customers at launch in early 2024 to over 90,000 users on its personalized weight-loss telemedicine platform by late 2025, helping customers lose more than 2 million pounds.
December
TL;DR: At the age of just 17, Georgia high schooler Michael Wang launched PropTech startup Esto to streamline property management with AI-powered automation after seeing pain points firsthand from his family’s property business. In its beta launched in November 2025, the platform already manages $60 million in properties and helps automate listings, tenant communication, maintenance, and rent collection.
We thank you all so much for being readers of Hypepotamus this year! We are excited for more headlines to come in 2026.
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Featured photo generated by AI