Exploring the Smart Cities and Mobility Space with Brandon Branham

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by on pay. Atlanta’s New standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:25] Lee Kantor here another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Brandon Branham with Curiosity Lab. Welcome.

Brandon Branham: [00:00:44] Thanks, Lee, for having me today.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] So excited to get caught up with what you’re up to. For those who don’t know, tell us a little bit about Curiosity Lab, how you serving folks.

Brandon Branham: [00:00:53] Yeah. So Curiosity Lab here in Peachtree Corners. So just north of Atlanta, we created and developed a living lab. So taking use of public infrastructure to help support big companies in the startup ecosystem to test, develop, deploy, demonstrate emerging technologies in the Iot, Smart cities, mobility space.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:15] Now, Curiosity Labs have been around for a minute. Can you share a little bit about how it’s evolved and how you stay kind of current with the trends and what the market is demanding?

Brandon Branham: [00:01:25] Yeah. I’ve been so opened in 2019 and as we continue to work with the companies and the startups, we continue to evolve our infrastructure that supports the needs that they have, continue to expand our partnerships both locally and internationally to help these companies come into an operational standpoint where they can scale their product or business model through the support and infrastructure that we have here at the lab. So I feel like I’m always doing construction. It’s an ever evolving process as we just continue to say yes to companies and to find ways to help support them.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:05] Now, can you talk about your role specifically in this as the assistant city manager of the city and also the executive director at Curiosity Lab? How do you kind of balance the two?

Brandon Branham: [00:02:18] Yeah, it’s a unique position, I think, and it also offers the flexibility that we need to move quickly and the work that we’re doing because the city is the main funder of the operations infrastructure that is in place. And then Curiosity Labs, the nonprofit supporting that startup ecosystem and the day to day operations. So having the close tie between both places allows us to move very quickly so that we can get companies onboarded and testing, you know, within days, not months. And then being closely knit on both organizations helps when I go back to our elected body and our residential citizens and explain the work that’s going on and how it’s benefiting, you know, the quality of life for the city and then how it’s benefiting the startup ecosystem and business cooperation that we’re seeing now.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:10] When it started, it’s always been kind of focusing on the smart cities and creating that kind of a blueprint for others in other parts of the country and Peachtree Corners, obviously. But that term smart City is kind of broadened and it gets broader and broader by the minute as new technologies develop and the definition of smart kind of expands. Just like at one point there were technology firms and now every firm is a technology firm because every firm uses technology. Are you seeing the same type of evolution and broadening of the term smart City?

Brandon Branham: [00:03:45] Yeah, absolutely. And you could ask 100 people, what is a smart city and you are probably going to get 100 different answers because it is so uniquely tied to each individual community and the challenges and the services that they’re providing. And then how do you use the smart city technology to enhance that service or find new data that you didn’t have before that increases traffic flow or helps you manage trash service? So it continues to adapt based on the needs of the community.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:19] Now, has there been anything that you’ve uncovered in the, what, the five, almost five years now that you guys have been doing it, that has made Peachtree Corners smarter?

Brandon Branham: [00:04:30] Yeah, a couple folds. Projects that have really, I think, changed the operational impact. Right? We live in metro Atlanta. Traffic is a nightmare. So how do we start to solve for those challenges? And two things that have really shown that we’ve led in the space is the use of LIDAR to manage traffic corridors and using that data that you learn, you know, in real time from the edge and then implementing that into the operational efficiencies of the traffic systems. And then two is around connected vehicle applications. So starting to put in devices on the infrastructure and the cars and then now onto the vulnerable road users like our E-scooters, our e-bikes, our cyclists motorcycles. And now those devices can start to talk to one another. So we’re increasing the safety of the roadway because now I can tell a car that’s 200 yards away that there’s a pedestrian in that crosswalk using this type of technology. And then you can send out the messaging from the traffic signal to let that car know, hey, you’re not going to make the light, it’s going to turn red. So go ahead and start slowing down. Or if you maintain this speed, you will clear the light. So just that efficiency and traffic, but also keeping the safety component to another level.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:53] Now, does that type of technology accelerate maybe autonomous vehicles?

Brandon Branham: [00:05:59] It does. And we were actually able to do the preemption of a traffic signal. So we turned the light green for an autonomous shuttle here in the lab. So as you think of the connectedness that the an awareness of these vehicles, as they continue to adapt their systems, the more information you feed that system, the better it is it operates. And so now that you have those supporting infrastructure pieces so they know the traffic signal timing, they know the environment before they get into it, those are all helping those systems continue to advance.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:35] Now, has the momentum that you’ve generated in kind of building out this infrastructure helped you attract the startups at the quantity and quality you anticipated?

Brandon Branham: [00:06:48] Yeah, we have. We’ve been very pleased. Right opening in 2019, September 2019. A lot of this has been through the pandemic, but because of the unique environment that we have provided, we’ve seen a pretty big uptick in the last year and a half in our startup community. So currently in our startup programs, we have 52 startups from both locally across the country and internationally. So we’re very happy with that. And the work that is coming from these startups is unbelievable to see.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:21] Now, when a startup is considering partnering with Curiosity Lab, what kind of arrangement is that? Is it an incubator? Is there an equity stake taken? How does it work?

Brandon Branham: [00:07:34] Yeah, great question. Um, we do not take equity stake in any of the companies. We don’t require IP from any of the companies. So our job is to help them grow. So they just have very cheap rent within our innovation center and that gets them into the mentorship programs that we have in place to help them start. So we see a lot of early stage Pre-series A startups are really getting them from prototype to scale.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:02] And are you finding by being in such close quarters and having all the toys there that you’re able to kind of create that serendipity in those mash ups where maybe somebody, somebody’s startup didn’t work out, but they were able to jump onto another one and create that kind of density you need in order to create a thriving ecosystem.

Brandon Branham: [00:08:22] Yeah, that’s probably the funnest thing to see happen in the space is to see these companies come together and say, Hey, I’m struggling with that, or, Hey, I found a way to fix that, or even see some of our larger partners come alongside and say, Actually, I need some research. I need help in this area. Why don’t you come alongside me and help me figure out this solution for our broader customer base? And we’ve seen that happen a couple times with some just random collisions inside the space and ended up getting funding one of their projects, Delta funded one of the research projects here because of that incidental, you know, serendipitous collision in the break room. So those are probably the most fascinating things to watch happen.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:06] Are you getting the type of enterprise level support you need from the larger companies that are around town?

Brandon Branham: [00:09:14] Yeah, that’s been you know, I think the big shift we’ve seen is the private sector in these large organizations coming alongside. You know, traditionally it was that buy sell mentality. Now it’s that collaboration mentality. So T-Mobile is here and brings a lot of support both for us as a city, but a lot for the startup ecosystem. You know, as we look at the future of 5G and the applications that are possible, they’re here on site working side by side. Bosch has made a big investment here as Cisco continues to be involved. So we’re seeing all of these companies come together that are big ones working, you know, in the sandbox with the smaller startups.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:58] Now, do you have any advice for other maybe people that are in kind of city government in creating these types of partnerships and collaborations where you have this public private kind of collaboration and you really are this is economic development, even though there is some risk involved to this. But it seems like this is a must have in communities nowadays to create these types of thriving ecosystems that have the blessing of the government and also the blessing of the large corporations that are there as well.

Brandon Branham: [00:10:31] Yeah, that statement couldn’t be made even clearer just because of the opportunity that’s there. So my recommendation always to them is ask a lot of times we don’t get outside of the bubble and we don’t make the ask. So we’re seeing that the private sector is really wanting to come alongside. There’s always been that weird division between government and private and but you come to the local level, it’s a different perspective in local government, but people just need to ask, so don’t be afraid to ask because you will find someone that will take that conversation and find a way to say yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:10] And and Curiosity Labs are great prototype for this.

Brandon Branham: [00:11:15] Yeah, absolutely. That’s I mean, that has been what has set us apart from other innovation labs. You can ask T-Mobile that. They will tell you why they’re here, why they’ve made the investment they have is because of that relationship with the city and our ability to use public infrastructure that only government can own and operate and regulate. But to do that in a manner that is collaborative, you know, is I think what really sets us apart and what can help other cities start to make that that move into the next generation of smart infrastructure.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:49] Now, do you have a partnership with any of the universities?

Brandon Branham: [00:11:54] We do. We’ve got several with Georgia Tech, so they are a partnership with their Atdc program, the Advanced Technology Development Center. They run a cohort accelerator around five G with us, and then they use our facility for research. So we’re tied in pretty tight with the research arms there. And they actually teach classes in our innovation center, which we’re one of only two locations out of main campus that Georgia Tech teaches classes, and that’s a coding and data analytics bootcamp 24 week class you can take inside the space. We work with Kennesaw State University in their Iot program and then all the way down to our local high schools. And we have a STEM school here that we work in the drone club in cybersecurity, and then our Norcross High School is here. We work with their entrepreneur program. They have a program where the students work all year to create a product. And then we have about 130 of them descending on the innovation center here in a couple of weeks to pitch their idea.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:56] So you mentioned earlier that you have some international startups. How did that come about? And is that part of kind of the roadmap is just to take startups anywhere that they come from?

Brandon Branham: [00:13:07] Yeah. Yeah. As you mentioned earlier, just that the economic development portion of this, right? So Peachtree Corners is 50,000 residents, but we’re 50,000 jobs. So we are a regional job hub for the area. And because of that, we have a zero millage rate. So we don’t charge a city property tax. So we have to keep that business environment very healthy. And as we looked into, especially in the smart cities, smart mobility, manufacturing, there’s an opportunity that most of these international companies are looking to enter the North American market. So how could we, through Curiosity lab, remove a lot of the barrier of entry for them? How do we get them that soft landing pad to really scale and grow in the North American market? So have established several relationships. We are the French tech host site, and that is a program that the French government set up to fund French startups injuries into North America. So we capture all of that here for the Southeast. Israel obviously startup nation do a lot of work with them in the startup systems. They’re partnered with startup terrorists in Taiwan, largest incubator in Taiwan there, and then in Canada. We actually have an event coming up on April 11th where we’ve partnered with our team up in Canada to bring the first Canadian built vehicle showcased here in Curiosity lab.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:31] So what do you need more of? How can we help?

Brandon Branham: [00:14:34] Yeah, yeah. It’s funny. We can go internationally and people know the name, but you know, here in the metro area, we’ve got a lot of great innovation centers. We’ve got a lot of great startup systems. So just letting people know we’re here, we’re aware and we’ve got these services here for them.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:52] So if somebody wants to connect with you or somebody on the team. What’s a website?

Brandon Branham: [00:14:56] Yeah. Website is curiosity lab.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:01] Good stuff. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work. We appreciate you.

Brandon Branham: [00:15:06] Thank you, Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:08] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.