Glendale Tech Week Elevates City's Role as a Business Destination for Tech Industry | News – City of Glendale, CA (.gov)
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Soua Vang
Deputy Director of Community Development/Economic Development
svang@glendaleca.gov
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Glendale Tech Week Elevates City’s Role as a Business Destination for Tech Industry
Event Announces 2022 Pitchfest Winner and Annual Tech Awards Recipients
Many of the greater LA area’s major tech players came together during Glendale’s Tech Week celebration. The week-long collection of events attracted more than 800 local and regional attendees. It demonstrated how Glendale is emerging as a community for tech and innovation, including artificial intelligence and its applications in healthcare, biotech, and the Internet of Things.
Standout events included Meet the Funders featuring seven high-level executives from venture capital firms, angel investors, and entrepreneurial hubs representing hundreds of millions in investment, especially in the healthcare sector. The panel opened with a keynote address by Karen Khachikyan, founder of Expper Technologies and creator of Robin the Robot, named Time Magazine’s Best Invention of 2021.
Glendale Tech Week also featured job fairs, educational panels, and its signature PitchFest which provided a lucrative platform for early-stage startups from Glendale and the greater LA area to pitch their innovations to a panel of venture capital investors. The 2022 Pitchfest winner was Arthur Young of InvVaxx; a firm focused on developing the next generation of vaccines.
The Tech Awards Closing Ceremony wrapped the week and recognized leading individuals and organizations making a difference. Notable awardees included the Rising Star Award for Andre Nurmamade, the Cutting Edge Technology Award for Limbix, and the Glendale Young Entrepreneur Award for Karen Khachikyan of Robin the Robot by Expper Technologies.
“Glendale is investing in the future. We hold this event each year to further position our city for the innovators and entrepreneurs seeking the right place to grow their businesses. Our city is ripe for growth in tech and proves it by putting in place programs that help businesses to launch and thrive,” said Glendale Director of Community Development Bradley Calvert.
SmartGate Venture Capital Principal Armine Galstyan concurs. “We had numerous people flying in from all over the U.S. to join us for our Tech Week because it’s a major step to position Glendale as a tech destination. We are perfectly situated in the center of some of the most advanced talent and innovation coming from Caltech, USC, UCLA, and other institutions, so Glendale Tech Week was a successful step toward leveraging the benefits of this location to the common prosperity of the SoCal area.”
Galstyan is also Managing Director of Hero House, an entrepreneurship hub in Glendale that combines the scientific potential of local, leading universities with the expertise and network of business leaders in entertainment, aerospace, bioscience, and advanced transportation. Hero House, and CHLA KidsX, an accelerator program that supports early-stage pediatric innovators, helped implement many Glendale Tech Week events, such as Meet the Funders.
Galstyan notes, “Community is the key to any well-functioning tech ecosystem. Events are the best and most efficient way to engage the tech community of Glendale and the bigger LA area.”
Phonexa CEO, panelist on Tech Week’s Shaping the Next Generation of Women Leaders, and Glendale Tech Week sponsor, Lilit Davtyan, shared, “Glendale is an integral part of Phonexa’s story, and I’m proud of our company’s ongoing commitment to building tech within the city.”
Davtyan added, “With Glendale continuing to grow as a hub for tech companies and startups, there’s no shortage of opportunities for business leaders and innovators looking to enter the space.” Phonexa is a global tech company that provides performance marketing software and various marketing automation solutions.
“Today, Glendale is home to more than 1,500 tech firms that employ more than 20,000 people. We’re ready to grow those numbers! We want Glendale to continue to be the place that innovators and entrepreneurs call home,” said Glendale Deputy Director of Economic Development Soua Vang.
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About Glendale: Glendale is one of the largest cities in Los Angeles County, with a population of 201,000. Glendale is a thriving cosmopolitan city that is rich in history, culturally diverse, and a bustling downtown that is home to a number of corporate headquarters and tech giants, two first-class regional shopping malls, and a walkable Arts & Entertainment District with endless fine dining opportunities. Visit ChooseGlendaleCA.com for more information about Economic Development in Glendale, or connect on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @ChooseGlendale.
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