Microsoft Expansion Bolsters Georgia’s ‘Technology Capital’ Aspirations

Microsoft became the latest tech company to announce an expansion in Georgia as it unveiled plans last week for a major hub in metro Atlanta.

The Microsoft announcement came almost one year to the day after Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan called together the first meeting of the Georgia Innovates Task Force, which is co-chaired by retired U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson and former Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson. The goal of the task force, starting with the original press release from Duncan’s office, is to make Georgia the “Technology Capital of the East Coast.”

But not long after that first task force meeting in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Duncan says the need for remote learning and working, and telehealth made their work even more pressing.