Microsoft in Atlanta
Microsoft has been in Atlanta since 2007, working with civic, nonprofit and academic organizations and institutions across the region. With top-ranked universities, global industry partners and robust technical talent, we are excited to play a role in empowering and innovating with Atlanta. Our goal is to ensure we generate a sustainable, positive impact while supporting regional innovation.
Customers
Many of our customers and market sectors are headquartered on the East Coast. Through Microsoft’s presence here, we aim to strengthen collaboration—building and improving our technology based on their evolving needs. Our innovation hub at Atlantic Yards features one-of-a-kind spaces for customers to engage with Microsoft employees to help shape the future of our solutions across industries. We’re also investing to advance local infrastructure in response to regional demand and support customers’ digital transformation with data residency benefit
Culture
Atlanta is a magnet for opportunity—offering a diverse blend of perspectives and experiences thanks to the city’s vibrant academic and entrepreneurial spirit. With a vast talent pool at hand, Microsoft is developing a broad portfolio of businesses in Atlanta spanning cloud, experiences, devices, business, finance, and more. We’re creating a campus culture that thrives on learning and acts as a real beacon of community engagement.
Community
Our priority is to generate positive, local impact. We are working closely with leaders from government and civic communities in Atlanta to ensure we understand and respond to local needs as we plan for jobs, programs, and community spaces. Microsoft Atlanta has partnered with a wide range of organizations—from HBCUs, K-12 school systems, nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and more—in several capacities, from volunteering to sponsorships.
Our progress to date
Through education and skilling programs, philanthropy, talent acquisition and development initiatives, and community outreach, Microsoft is committed to creating a positive impact in the region. Our current programs and commitments include:
Upskilling for the future
- Accelerate Atlanta: In July 2021, we launched a program that brings together civic, learning, and corporate partners to provide skills across the spectrum of digital proficiency to underserved communities, as well as re-skilling to the many Americans impacted by the pandemic. So far, we’ve established a coalition of more than 20 public and private partners to enable workforce development, resulting in more than 5,500 people skilled.
- TEALS: Microsoft’s Atlanta Technology Education and Learning Support (TEALS) program has been serving schools in the region since 2016, originally with five schools. Since then, TEALS Atlanta has reached approximately 2,150 students and supported over 60 teachers in 136 classrooms and 45 schools. At the start of the 2022-2023 school year, TEALS was present in seven (7) APS high schools, 26 Atlanta metropolitan area schools, and 29 schools total in Georgia.
- Community skills grantees: As part of the company’s commitment to racial equity and access to digital skills, Microsoft launched the community skills grant program, a $15 million investment over three years (from 2020) for Black- and African American-led nonprofits working to increase skills development and economic opportunities. Atlanta-based organizations Gaming Cxmmunity Co and TechBridge were among the 50 grantees.
- Cybersecurity skills initiative: In October 2021, we launched a national campaign with US community colleges to help skill and recruit into the cybersecurity workforce 250,000 people by 2025, representing half the country’s workforce shortage. We provided a grant to the Atlanta Technical College to support its cybersecurity program
- Leap Apprenticeship Program: Microsoft continues its Leap Apprenticeship Program in Atlanta to recruit, develop, and upskill
unconventional talent for employability in the technology industry worldwide. The program offers an immersive 16-week apprenticeship for those who have a base foundation of technical training, combining in-classroom learning with hands-on engineering projects, working on real teams and real products, such as Azure, Xbox, Bing, and Office 365. - Digital skills program: Microsoft provided $225,000 in grants to Westside Works, the Grove Park Foundation, TechBridge, InspireEdu, and the City of Refuge to deliver digital skills and entrepreneurship training to residents in Grove Park and the greater Westside neighborhoods. The program aims to offer skilling programs in underserved communities, and we expanded our employer network to include remote opportunities to lessen the barriers to career pathways.
Microsoft’s new Atlantic Yards facility in West Midtown opened to employees in spring 2022.
Education and STEM opportunities
- Partnerships with local universities: By supporting faculty research, curriculum development, and scholarships at Atlanta HBCUs and universities—including Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Tech, Morehouse College, and Spelman College—Microsoft is helping drive technical opportunity, digital fluency, and economic development in the region.
- Reinvesting incentives: Through a partnership with the University System of Georgia, we’re giving back $6 million in grants to develop technology courses and other educational offerings that nurture the region’s talent pipeline.
- Hackathon: Microsoft was a sponsor of the Kennesaw State University Hackathon event, which challenges students to develop solutions to real-world problems. Representatives from the company worked with Hackathon teams as they worked to implement a deep learning search engine and fully functional AI solution.
- STEM opportunities: With our partnerships, including Atlanta Dream, Atlanta Track Club, and College Football Hall of Fame, Microsoft is integrating STEM activities and clinics pairing interests in sports, music, and arts with technology education across Atlanta. Through these programs, kids are learning skills that tie science and math concepts to fun learning activities, like how to code a running-themed video game. Additionally, Microsoft partnered with Temple Lester, a 16-year-old STEM advocate and entrepreneur, to create youth activations to demystify technology. Creating sustained societal impact.
Creating sustained societal impact
- Broadband access: Atlanta is included in the Airband Initiative’s expansion to eight cities in the United States that face some of the largest broadband gaps among Black, African American, Latinx, and Hispanic communities. The expansion is part of Microsoft’s Racial Equity Initiative, which aims to address racial inequity, injustice, and digital inclusion for Black and African American communities in the US.
- ChangeX Community Challenge: Microsoft supported the launch of the ChangeX Atlanta Community Challenge, where community members can apply to and receive $50,000 of funding to develop community projects, such as community gardens, river cleanup initiatives, Open Orchards, and more.
- Nonprofit support: Microsoft supports several organizations empowering the community broadly to achieve more, including many minority-led nonprofits. Organizations we partner with include Better Block, The Conservation Fund, Atlanta Community Food Bank, HYPE, UMI Feeds, M.E.N.S. Wear, Swem Kids, Atlanta Women’s Foundation, Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation, Council for Quality Growth, and others. Additionally, local nonprofits benefit from the generosity of our passionate employee population, each of whom can donate up to $15,000 a year to nonprofits of their choice and gain a one-for-one match from Microsoft.
- Local and diverse suppliers: In Atlanta, we are intentionally supporting diverse local suppliers in our ongoing facilities management. By sourcing locally whenever possible, we’ll support Atlanta’s business for years to come.
- Datacenters: We are investing in a new datacenter region with a presence in Douglas and Fulton counties. Datacenters are a critical part of today’s infrastructure—providing reliable and scalable computer power for online transactions, conference calls, virtual classrooms, internet searches, and more.
Contact information
Media: For press questions about Microsoft’s vision to grow with and in Atlanta, please email [email protected].
Careers: Individuals interested in pursuing a career with Microsoft may apply online at ms/AtlantaCareers.