EVN Disrupt

Arman Atoyan, founder and CEO of ARLOOPA, joins us to discuss all things augmented and virtual reality. We discussed how his company enables anyone to build augmented reality (AR) experiences and content using the ARLOOPA platform. Arman also shared with us the history of AR, how it’s developed over the last decade, and what capabilities can be expected in upcoming releases from the major players in AR.

Adam Bittlingmayer, co-founder and CEO of ModelFront, discusses how machine translation has evolved and improved over the last 15 years. Adam explained how his company aids human translators by identifying sections of machine-translated text in need of human review, enabling them to concentrate on specific areas rather than the whole text. Finally, we delved into the ongoing debates within the AI community regarding the acceleration versus deceleration of AI development, and explored Adam’s perspectives on the future direction of the AI ecosystem.

Anna Shahinyan, co-founder and CEO of Fivebrane, leads a platform designed to streamline the development of AI models in healthcare. Fivebrane provides tools that enable data scientists and healthcare professionals to collaborate while working with the data critical to developing their models. It also provides analytical tools to evaluate the quality of their data. Anna shared with us how AI is used in medical imaging and healthcare today, and the potential it has to help doctors drive better treatment outcomes.

Christian Posse, the Vice President of Data and AI at ServiceTitan, joins us to discuss his long career in the world of data science, and how data practices inform decisions and influence product development at the world’s largest companies. We also spoke about how start-ups should best utilize the generative AI technologies that have been released over the last few years, and how ServiceTitan has been building them into their products.

Mushegh Gevorgyan, the co-founder and CEO of Dowork.ai and Rumors Monitoring, discusses his entrepreneurial journey and the work he and his teams are doing at his two companies. Mushegh began by sharing his path with Rumors Monitoring, a platform that provides insights into how companies are perceived across the media sphere and his most recent venture, Dowork.ai, an AI agent for customer service applications. Mushegh also spoke about pivoting ideas and building defensible businesses on top of LLM layers such as GPT.

Gevorg Poghosyan, the founder and CEO of reArmenia, joins us to discuss how their platform has facilitated collaboration between Armenians globally over the last two years. Through reArmenia, projects can raise funds or find collaborators who can serve as advisors for projects. Gevorg spoke about reArmenia’s curated “Expert Community'', a group of professionals worldwide who are matched with projects on reArmenia that they can contribute their expertise to. Lastly, Gevorg shared what he has learned throughout his career about what the tech industry can actually contribute to Armenia’s development.

Adrine Naslyan, the General Manager of QaylTech, joins us to discuss how her company enables remote rehabilitation using virtual reality. QaylTech’s devices, such as MetaGait, allow people with disabilities to imitate gait (a person’s manner of walking) while being immersed in a virtual environment using VR headsets. Adrine shared how QaylTech’s idea emerged after the April 2016 war, and how their products have helped wounded soldiers, and other people with disabilities in continuing their rehabilitation process.

Irina Ghazaryan, Co-founder and CEO of Doctor Yan, joined us to talk about how her startup simplifies the process of scheduling and managing appointments for doctors and patients in Armenia. Ghazaryan also spoke about Doctor Yan's additional initiatives, such as educating the public about specific treatment protocols and offering guidance on the recommended frequency of medical check-ups. Lastly, we discussed creating venture-backed startups for the Armenian market, and the potential for expanding these products to international markets in the future.

Sargis Karapetyan, the interim CEO of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE), joins us to discuss the tech community’s role in building a prosperous and secure future for Armenia. Karapetyan explained his vision for UATE and the role it needs to play in talent building, fostering connections in the industry and advocating for a regulatory framework under which companies in Armenia can solve hard tech problems. We also spoke about Digitec 2023’s reboot, and its emphasis on building for the local market. Lastly, Karapetyan spoke about the innovation center that UATE launched in Ijevan earlier this year, and plans for building similar innovation centers across the country.

Avetik Grigoryan, the CEO and Co-Founder of Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory, and Masis Kumrigyan, the Technical Director of Space Programs at the Center for Scientific Innovation and Education (CSIE), join us to discuss the upcoming launch of Hayasat-1. Developed in a partnership between Bazoomq and CSIE, Hayasat-1 is a CubeSat. Grigoryan and Kumrigyan explain what CubeSats are, their uses, and the current trends in satellite technologies. We also talk about the development process of Hayasat-1 and its potential implications for the future of Armenia's space industry. Finally, we discuss the importance of popularizing science and space in Armenia and explore why this is significant.