EVN Disrupt

Narek Amirkhanyan joins us to discuss the success of his podcast, reArrange. We explored why podcasting is a unique medium and how it fundamentally differs from traditional audio formats like interviews and radio shows. Narek shared the story behind starting reArrange and how podcasts have increasingly become part of Armenia's culture over the past five years. Finally, we discussed the responsibil...

Hrant Khachatrian, founder and director of YerevaNN, a machine learning research lab, joins us to discuss the lab’s various research directions and their strategic importance for Armenia. Currently, YerevaNN focuses on machine learning applications in chemistry and robotics. Hrant explained how each of these areas fits within the global AI research landscape and why Armenia has the potential to be...

Sassine Ghazi, President and CEO of Synopsys, joins us to discuss the company’s 20th anniversary in Armenia. Synopsys, an electronic design automation (EDA) company, expanded its operations to Armenia in 2004 after acquiring local companies in the field. Sassine shares how the Armenian branch has grown to over 1,200 employees and become integral to the company's global operations through continuou...

Chinar Movsisyan, founder and CEO of Feedback Intelligence (formerly known as Manot), joins us to discuss how to build more reliable large language model (LLM) applications. She shared her four-year journey as a founder and the decision to pivot her company from computer vision to LLMs. Feedback Intelligence helps LLM application developers identify scenarios where their models may fail during use...

Sargis Karapetyan, the CEO of the Union of Advanced Technologies (UATE) joins us to discuss the various components of the organization, including education, outreach, policymaking, and the DigiTec Expo. Sargis also spoke about the importance of expanding the scope of DigiTec to include greater participation from the international tech community. The post Sargis Karapetyan: UATE and Its Vision appe...

Tigran Atoyan, the founder and CEO of Haibrid, joins us to discuss how his company helps academics, writers and anyone doing research online curate and manage sources and information more efficiently. We discussed the product’s workflow and the planned AI integrations, as well as the bigger vision for the company which involves data protection and privacy for browsing history. Lastly, Tigran share...

Zareh Zurabyan, head of the Americas division at eLabNext, joins us to discuss how the company has integrated generative AI workflows into their digital notebook solution for scientists. He addressed some of the main challenges hindering wider AI adoption in biotech, particularly privacy concerns related to data handling. We also explored Zareh’s journey to becoming an investor and the trends he’s...

Hayk Karapetyan, executive director of the organizing committee for the World Conference on Innovation and Technology 2024 (WCIT), joins the podcast to discuss this premier tech event coming to Yerevan this October. Hayk shared insights on the impact that hosting WCIT in 2019 had on Armenia's tech ecosystem and outlined this year's agenda. With the global tech community set to be focused on Yereva...

Perouz Taslakian, a research scientist at Service Now, and Erik Arakelyan, a Ph. D. student at the University of Copenhagen, discuss the recently held “Summer School on Large Language Models (LLMs)”. The program brought together researchers from around the world in the field of AI to Yerevan to teach a week-long summer school on the most recent advancements in LLMs. Perouz and Erik talk about the...

Khachatur Gharibyan, the co-founder and CTO of NolanAI, joins us to discuss how their AI platform assists screenwriters, producers, and directors in the pre-production phase of filmmaking. We discussed how their product utilizes AI to assist in the creative process of writing screenplays. Additionally, it generates images of scenes based on the script to aid in visualizing the story even before fi...

Hayk Margaryan, a digital transformation consultant, joins us to discuss how Armenian businesses are adopting digital tools to increase productivity. Hayk shared with us why digital transformation, through the adoption of tools such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems help boost business productivity, which leads to economic growth. Lastly, Hayk...

Hovhannes Kuloghlyan, the co-founder and CEO of Groksmith, a software design and development company, joins us to discuss opportunities in AI product development and how no-code platforms are disrupting SaaS businesses. Hovhannes shared his thoughts on what the pillars of a strong start-up idea are, and why focusing on building more specialized, niche solutions may become the norm in the coming ye...

Arevik Hambardzumyan, co-founder and CTO of TACTUN, joins us to discuss their product; a hardware controller and no code software platform which helps automate manufacturing processes. Arevik also shared her thoughts on the challenges involved with importing electronic parts to Armenia, and the need for legislative reforms around procurement. The post Arevik Hambardzumyan: No Code Platform for Man...

Babken DerGrigorian, co-founder and CEO of Kartes Analytica, joins us to discuss the role geospatial data plays in national defense applications. Babken breaks down the data that is collected through satellites, and how it needs to be processed to provide insights for better decision making. We also spoke about the current regulatory environment around space tech in the country, and how Kartes bec...

Emmanuel Ghandilyan, co-founder and CEO of Foldink, joins us to discuss the world of bioprinting and how bioinks, the source material used to 3D print biological materials, will fuel innovation in regenerative medicine, cell cultured foods, and personalized medicine. Emmanuel shared with us his company’s approach to producing bioinks, and the promise the technology holds for the future of medicine...

Luiza Avetisyan, the co-founder of Staff.am and Hirebee, joins us to discuss her journey as a serial entrepreneur in the HR tech space. Luiza spoke about the impact Staff.am has had on raising employer brand awareness in Armenia’s labor market, and how Hirebee is helping companies recruit global teams more effectively. We also spoke about trends in Armenia’s labor market, such as the influx of Rus...

Seda Papoyan, founder of FemInno, a female innovation conference and platform, joins us to discuss her efforts in advocating for greater engagement from women in STEM fields. Seda shared the fundamental barriers girls face in entering STEM fields in Armenia. We also spoke about how FemInno has grown into an international initiative, with events taking place in San Francisco and Sydney, in addition...

Hrant Davtyan, founder and CEO of Metric and Pinsight, joins us to discuss how his company is building open source LLMs that are able to conduct analytics and extract insights from documents. Pinsight’s product, Anania, allows users to speak directly with their data – asking questions such as how much revenue the company generated last month, or when was the last time a certain customer placed an...

Lilit Margaryan, the operations manager of Gituzh, joins us to discuss what the initiative has managed to achieve over the last three years. We also dive into the concept of national research and innovation systems, and discuss the prioritization of strategic scientific directions. Lastly, Lilit shares with us their upcoming initiative called Science Week, a week-long series of events that aims to...

Vahe Nigoghosian, the founder of EngineerX, joins us to discuss their efforts in building a mechanical engineering ecosystem in Armenia. Vahe shared their recent achievement of becoming an official partner of engineering software provider SolidWorks in Armenia, and the importance of building up a talent pool with expertise in using the system. We also spoke about Vahe’s experience doing business i...

Martin Mirakyan, founder and CEO of Profound Academy, joins us to discuss how their educational platform helps institutions deliver personalized computer science education for their students. Martin explains how Profound Academy utilizes an interactive approach to education, including their use of AI to provide personalized help to students when they’re struggling to understand difficult concepts...

Karine Martirosyan, the founder and CEO of Wearify, joins us to discuss her start-up’s vision for helping online consumers try on clothes virtually before buying them. Karine shares how Wearify builds 3D avatars of their users so that they can see how clothes look on them while shopping online, just as they would in a real store. We also spoke about the role that 3D avatars will take on in the com...

Mikayel Khachatryan, the cofounder and CEO of Wirestock joins us to discuss their company’s increased focus on generative AI for stock content. Mikayel shared the trends he has seen in generated images becoming more common in stock marketplaces, and the products Wirestock is building to enable creators to make money in the age of generative AI. Lastly, he spoke about the capabilities of image and...

Tigran Nazaryan, co-founder of 10Web, joins us to discuss how their platform allows users to build websites using AI. Tigran shared with us the founding story of the company, and how their product’s popularity has grown over the last few years. Lastly, Tigran spoke about how AI-built websites will evolve as the capabilities of large AI models continue to develop. The post Tigran Nazaryan: AI-Built...

Samson Avetian, the founder and CEO of Eqwefy, joins us to speak about how the platform they’re building is helping enable non-traditional investors to invest in Armenian start-ups. Samson also shared his thoughts on the importance of educating society on personal finance, and encouraging more investing throughout society. The post Samson Avetian: Democratizing Start-up Investing in Armenia appear...