ARPA Institute Panel Discussion
AI in Armenia: Impact, Opportunities, and the Role of the Armenian Diaspora
Panelists: Chinar Movsisyan, David Baghdasaryan, and Joseph Simonian.
Moderator: Samvel Shoukourian.
HELD ON SUNDAY, March 23, 2025, at 11:00 AM PDT
Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming industries and economies worldwide, and Armenia is no exception. As the country positions itself into a growing tech hub, AI presents both challenges and opportunities for economic growth, innovation, and societal development. This panel will explore the impact of AI in Armenia, examining its role in sectors such as industry, healthcare, and finance, as well as the education and infrastructure needed to support its advancement.
A key focus will be the role of the Armenian Diaspora in shaping this transformation. From investments in AI-driven startups to knowledge transfer and strategic partnerships, the Diaspora has played a crucial role in fostering Armenia’s AI ecosystem. The discussion will highlight success stories, ongoing initiatives, and the potential for deeper collaboration to ensure Armenia remains competitive in the global AI landscape. Bringing together experts from academia and industry, this panel will provide insights into how AI can drive Armenia’s future and how the global Armenian network can contribute to this emerging ecosystem.
Chinar Movsisyan is the founder and CEO of Feedback Intelligence (formerly Manot), an LLMOps company based in San Francisco that enables enterprises to make sure that Large Language Model-based products are reliable and that the output is aligned with end-user expectations and needs. Chinar has extensive experience in building AI solutions from 0 to 1 in different mission-critical applications including drones, satellites, and healthcare. She has led engineering and research initiatives at different venture-backed startups (Amaros, Vineti) and research labs (LCIS Lab at Grenoble University). Her PhD is in Machine Language in healthcare supervised by Sos Agaian in CUNY. Feedback Intelligence, a UC Berkeley SkyDeck alum, is expanding across industries. The company has secured $1.2M in pre-seed funding from Hustle Fund, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, Argonautic Ventures, and SmartGateVC.
Davit Baghdasaryan is a co-founder and the CEO of Krisp AI, an advance Artificial Intelligence company that has recently acquired $19 million investment. Krisp builds Voice AI Technologies and products. He has an MS degree from the Yerevan State University in Computer Science and has co-founded DeepSat, is a co-founder of and one of the three Partners of BigStory VC. BigStory has invested in 25 startups with Armenian co-founders around the world. Davit is also a Board Member of Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory and has been the Head of Product Security at Twilio Inc. Mr. Baghdasaryan is a highly motivated and solution oriented, creative engineer with excellent professional skills and architectural and inventive thinking.
Joseph Simonian, Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is the Head of Equity Portfolio Design and Analytics at CalPERS. He is an investor and researcher who has conducted research in quantitative finance, machine learning, factor investing, and portfolio construction. Joseph has held senior portfolio management and research positions at several leading investment firms. He is the founder of Autonomous Investment Technologies, a contributor to finance journals and speaker at investment events worldwide. He is the co-editor of The Journal of Financial Data Science, on the editorial board of The Journal of Portfolio Management, and the chairman of the Financial Data Professional Institute. Dr. Simonian has authored over 40 publications and is co-author of the books Quantitative Global Bond Portfolio Management and of Computational Global Macro. Joseph has experience teaching in both academia and industry.
Samvel Shoukourian has received a Doctor of Science in Physics and Mathematics and a rank of a Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering from the Supreme Certification Board in Moscow. Dr. Shoukourian was elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia in 1996 and is a Scientific Leader of IT Educational and Research Center at YSU since 2007. He is also a Professor Emeritus at YSU. Simultaneously he has served as Chief Scientific Advisor and Development Director in multinational companies, at Synopsys since 2010. Dr. Shoukourian is the recipient of the National Medal of Science of Armenia, has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, and holds 1 Russian and 12 U.S. patents. His research interests include testing and repairing electronic devices and systems, formal models and efficient algorithms for distributed systems, information technologies, and architectures for multimedia virtual environments.
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