Meet the 5th Annual Glendale Tech Week Pitchfest & Awards Winners!
Now in its fifth year, the Glendale Tech Week annual Pitchfest competition was held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, where nine finalists competed for a $150,000 grand prize package. The nine finalists were selected from a pool of over 30 applicants this year. Each finalist had the opportunity to pitch in front of a virtual and live audience of over 100 people, including investors and a panel of judges.
The finalists included:
Albert Manukyan, ANIV — Glendale, CA
Ashot Mashuryan, HELTUN — Los Altos, CA
Courtney Young, MyoGene Bio — Los Angeles, CA
Grace Mase, BEYREP — Montrose, CA
Hov Marukyan Zirekyants, Savely — Glendale, CA
Hrant Davtyan, Pinsight — Wilmington, DE
Mirianas Chachisvilis, Veriskin — San Diego, CA
Mushegh Gevorgyan, Dowork.ai — Yerevan, Armenia
Ruben Hakopian, Kubevious — Fremont, CA
The Pitchfest grand prize winner was announced that evening during the Closing Awards Party, along with the winners of five awards recognizing a variety of standout companies and individuals. The evening’s winners were:
Pitchfest 2021 $150,000 Grand Prize Winner
Mirianas Chachisvilis for Veriskin
Mirianas Chachisvilis is a goal-oriented scientist and entrepreneur with an exemplary record of research accomplishments (award for the best doctoral thesis in the country) and has demonstrated the ability to perform both in industrial and academic environments. Chachisvilis has published over 51 peer-reviewed publications and holds over ten issued and pending patents. Chachisvilis is the Founder of Veriskin, Inc. Veriskin is a medical device company dedicated to facilitating and improving the accuracy of skin cancer screening.
Pictured: Team Phonexa, recipient of the Best Culture Award, and Ultimate Sponsor for Glendale Tech Week 2021.
Best Culture Award — The Best Culture Award celebrates a company that instills a culture of service, community and innovation. This award recognizes a company that challenges employees to take their career to the next level, foster innovation, and encourage giving back to the community. This year’s two recipients are:
Phonexa — Culture, diversity, inclusion, community, and an assembly of the top talent in tech have made Phonexa a "Great Place to Work" honoree in back-to-back years. Phonexa's award-winning leaders are dedicated to shaping their staff, the City of Glendale, and its software alike to continually reach new heights.
dot818 — With a commitment to being honest, consistent, and fair, dot818’s core values embrace their phenomenal company culture. Dot818 promises to continue aiming higher and fostering innovation within their company and in the Glendale technology sector.
Cutting Edge Technology Award — Beyond Limits
The Cutting Edge Technology Award recognizes businesses and individuals from all tech fields developing innovative/first-of-its-kind technology. This year, the winner of this category is Beyond Limits. Beyond Limits is an industry leader at the forefront of artificial intelligence, driving innovation forward with Cognitive AI solutions in the world’s most essential industries, including energy, healthcare, and financial services. Beyond Limits’ AI-driven solutions accelerate digital innovation for companies by optimizing operations, boosting efficiency, and improving decision-making at enterprise scale. 2020 and 2021 have been a year full of accomplishments for Beyond Limits:
Won Frost & Sullivan’s Global Company of the Year 2021
Won Forbes America’s Best Start-up Employers 2021
In 2020 they closed our Series C funding for $133M and extended presence with Beyond Limits Asia-Pacific, headquarters in Singaore.
In 2021 Beyond Limits extended its presence with Beyond Limits Middle East, headquarters in Dubai.
Their global partners include BP, Microsoft, Nvidia, Jordan Design & Development Bureau, Mitsui, Infosys Compaz, and Kaplan.
Break Through Award — Age of Learning
The Break Through Award is awarded to a tech startup that has successfully pivoted during the pandemic by developing solutions and seeking opportunities in the face of adversity. This year, the winner of this award is Age of Learning. In March 2020, to help the millions of children whose schools abruptly closed due to the coronavirus, Age of Learning provided free home access to its leading digital education programs, ABCmouse, Adventure Academy, and ReadingIQ. This initiative – which continued through August of this year – Age of Learning supported more than 1.2 million students!
Glendale Young Entrepreneur — Armen Karaoghlanian
The Glendale Young Entrepreneur Award honors a young professional, under the age of 40, with an exceptional up-and-coming, technology project and/or start-up. This award recognizes someone who’s Glendale-based business is less than 5 years old, and is disrupting their field. Armen Karaoghlanian is the founder of Armenian Film Society, a non-profit organization based in Glendale dedicated to shining a spotlight on Armenians in film. Armen is also the CMO of Phonexa, a longtime sponsor of Glendale Tech Week.
Rising Star — Aleen Soghomonian
The Rising Star Award honors a student currently in high school through college, with an exceptional technology project and/or start-up. The winner of this category, Aleen Soghomonian, is a student at Glendale Community College who recently won the college's Pitchfest competition. Aleen's technology project, DRFT (Drive Rentals for Teens), is an app concept where teen drivers sign up for short-term leases for used cars. This app aims to minimize the expenses early drivers face, given teenagers do not have a driving record developed and may not have an established credit line. The app is not yet developed and is still in its early research phases.
