Officials with Digital Ignition, a business incubator and co-working facility in south Forsyth, are celebrating an expansion.
In a news release on Wednesday, officials with Ballantyne Strong Inc. announced Digital Ignition would soon occupy over 10 acres and more than 43,000 square feet on the company’s south Forsyth campus, a project that “is more than doubling the size” of the space.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship have been cornerstones of our success since inception. We launched Digital Ignition in 2019 and have seen it grow to be a successful tech incubator in the Atlanta region,” said Ballantyne Strong CEO Mark Roberson. “Not only does it generate recurring revenue, but it is also providing us with a first look at many early-stage companies.”
Digital Ignition was first launched in 2016 as part of digital display company Convergent Media Systems as a co-working space, but, in recent years, officials have expanded the offerings beyond mere space to work to include attorney, accounting and other incubation services.
Per the release, “the expanded facility space became available with Ballantyne Strong’s recent successful turnaround and sale of Convergent Media Systems, and the subsequent relocation of those operations.” Roberson said technology developed at Digital Ignition has already moved to large technology companies.
“Inside the walls of Digital Ignition as one example, our team of technologists conceived the technology, incubated the business and eventually sold Strong Digital Media to Firefly Systems, the mobile digital advertising network in which we now have a $13 million investment alongside prominent venture funds including Google Ventures and NFX,” he said.
“We look forward to supporting the greater Atlanta entrepreneurial community as we expand Digital Ignition to meet demand from member companies over the next six to 12 months,” Roberson said. Joanne Sanders, president of EWISE Communications and general manager of Digital Ignition, said the expansion will not just impact the size of the space but also what can be done there.
“We are excited for the opportunity to expand our co-working and business incubator launch pad,” Sanders said. “We will more than double the space available for member companies, and we plan to expand not only our footprint, but also our initiatives to host pitch presentations, connect members with potential funding groups, and collaborate with area companies to reach new levels of success.”
Digital Ignition serves companies in the health care, education, information technology, robotics automation, cybersecurity, transportation, blockchain, artificial intelligence and internet industries.
In 2019, the space was host to “Talking Traffic Lights,” a software challenge using data to help solve traffic problems and giving the winner a contract with the Georgia Department of Transportation. GDOT partnered with Digital Ignition and the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce as 36 participants used data gathered by GDOT to come up with traffic solutions.
Per the release, Digital Ignition has served “as a business launching pad for 40 rapidly growing companies in the region.”
To learn more about Ballantyne Strong, please follow this story on Globe Newswire.
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