As 2023 draws to a close, we are filled with excitement and gratitude for the journey this year has been. In 2023, we joyfully welcomed four more companies to our portfolio: announcements coming in 2024! The progress and up-rounds achieved by our portfolio companies have created substantial value for our investors, as evident in
Britive
's $20.5M Series B and
Arnata
's $6.5M Seed; more to be revealed in 2024. Our Hero House Angels community grew to over 80 investors. We hosted AI and startup events year-round; the highlights include Glendale Tech Week 2023 and the grand launch of our partner
eLabNext
, part of
Eppendorf
, in the SoCal region.
As we enter 2024, we would like to extend our appreciation and warm wishes to all who have journeyed with us, sharing in our growth and placing your trust in our vision. May the coming year bring you joy, prosperity, and continued success.
-
Crunchbase
featured Armenia's startup landscape with a thorough coverage of the key highlights, ecosystem players, and booming dynamics. Armenia is a huge source of untapped entrepreneurial and R&D potential. The absolute majority of SmartGateVC portfolio companies successfully leverage Armenia for their R&D. Explore the article for deeper insights into how Armenian entrepreneurs adopt a global mindset from the outset, capitalizing on California resources to fuel their growth.
- Hero House Glendale was recently covered by
EVN Report
for making the bridge between Armenia and Southern California and
Los Angeles Business Journal
featuring the accelerator program for early-stage tech startups.
-
Ashot Arzumanyan
joined the 2023
APRI Armenia
Forum in Yerevan, and
Armenians in Finance (AIF)
2023 in London, emphasizing the importance of AI for economic growth and national security.
-
Liana Karapetyan
met with students at
CMU Silicon Valley
and shared insights on early-stage company building and the transition from university to industry.
DECEMBER AT HERO HOUSE GLENDALE
On Dec 14, we hosted a panel discussion with VCs from
Type One Ventures
,
NextWave Partners
,
InVitro Capital
, and
Triple S Ventures
moderated by
Hayk Mamajanyan
, Partner at Rimon PC. On the following day, we celebrated the start of the holiday season with
Armenian Engineers & Scientists Association
in a holiday-themed tech and science mixer.?A week later, we welcomed Vach Hovsepyan from CurbWaste at Hero House Yerevan for an insightful talk on his entrepreneurial story.
Q4?HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR PORTFOLIO
- Modicus Prime CEO Taylor Chartier joined
The Harry Glorikian Show
and shared insights on pharma quality control and her company journey.
- Krisp started?a new partnership with Intel Corporation, contributing to the new era of AI PCs, and expanded the existing integration with Discord. After introducing their AI Meeting Assistant, they have reached 10 million transcribed calls and 1 million AI-generated meeting summaries.
- Manot introduced GenAI capabilities, launched on Product Hunt and was among the leading 5.
- Robin the Robot by Expper Technologies was highlighted in an article by UMass Memorial Medical Center for the positive impact the companion robot brings to pediatric patients, and announced several deployments at Mission Pediatrics!
- Activeloop started a collaboration with Intel Corporation and ZERO Systems.
- AimStack introduced AimOS: open-source modular observability for AI systems.
- Dowork Technologies was featured by Intel Software for leveraging Intel GPU hardware to fine-tune Open Source Large Language Models, realizing their ambitious AI vision.
- TheraB Medical announced about Dr. David K. Stevenson, a renowned neonatologist from Stanford University, joining their Advisory Board.
As we move into the new year, we remain committed to our mission of identifying and investing in the strongest and brightest entrepreneurs. Thanks for staying with us throughout 2023, and let’s stay connected on LinkedIn and Twitter. Reach out to explore investment, mentorship, and partnering opportunities in 2024.
Cheers to a safer, healthier, and happier 2024!
