YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenian startups once again stood out on the regional stage at the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Innovates South Caucasus 2025 program, with Qualia Therapeutics winning second place and SoftGuardian receiving the GIST Spirit Award. Since 2019, the Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) at the American University of Armenia (AUA) has been part of the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative as an official Innovation Hub (I-Hub), a network of leading entrepreneurship centers around the world that connect researchers, innovators, and mentors through science-based startup programs.
Organized by VentureWell and the U.S. Department of State, the program supports science- and technology-based innovators from the South Caucasus in turning their ideas into sustainable startups. As an I-Hub, EPIC represents Armenia within this international community, helping early-stage innovators access global resources, training, and mentorship. This is the second year Armenia has participated in one of GIST’s flagship activities, GIST Innovates South Caucasus, under EPIC’s coordination, further strengthening ties between regional and international innovation ecosystems.
“It’s a great experience for Armenian teams, especially those at the very early stages, to step outside our local ecosystem and realize the scale of opportunities beyond the Armenian market,” said Anahit Hovelyan, EPIC communications coordinator and program mentor. “Even when founders already know this in theory, engaging with peers from neighboring countries who are tackling similar challenges makes it real. It becomes a genuine opportunity for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and seeing how ideas can grow in new contexts.”
The 2025 program brought together innovators from across the South Caucasus for several weeks of intensive training and mentorship, culminating in a regional Demo Day where participants presented their ventures to international mentors, investors, and ecosystem leaders in Tbilisi, Georgia. EPIC served as the national partner in Armenia, recruiting and preparing 12 high-potential Armenian teams for the innovation challenge.
“Our partnership with AUA EPIC ensured a top-notch pool of applicants applying to the program for a second year in a row. During the program, Armenian participants were engaged in the process, networked with their peers from the region, and connected with investors, with two Armenian teams walking away with non-dilutive funding. Several Armenian teams were selected for follow-on mentoring and international conference grants that will help them showcase their startups at conferences in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East,” said Kelly Bedeian, GIST program officer.
The GIST Innovates South Caucasus 2025 Demo Day was a rewarding finale for the Armenian teams. Second place went to Qualia Therapeutics, co-founded by Nerses Khachatryan, which is developing a closed-loop neurostimulation system that learns from the brain in real time to aid recovery after stroke and depression. Following GIST, the team reached the Global Top 250 of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC), marking another step in its increasingly international journey.
“Our goal is to build tools that help restore and enhance brain health,” said Khachatryan. “The GIST program gave us a structured way to test our assumptions with mentors from outside Armenia and refine both the technical and business aspects of our project.”
Another highlight was SoftGuardian, an EPIC Incubation Program alumna, which received the GIST Spirit Award for its dedication and teamwork throughout the program. The startup applies artificial intelligence-powered analytics to support early detection and monitoring of epileptic activity through non-invasive tools. Earlier this year, SoftGuardian also earned recognition at the Sevan Startup Summit 2025.
“Programs like GIST help us see how our solution fits beyond the Armenian context,” the team shared. “The feedback and mentorship we received have already shaped our product roadmap and future international collaborations.”
GIST Innovates South Caucasus, implemented by VentureWell and funded by the U.S. Department of State, supports science and technology-based entrepreneurs from the South Caucasus in developing viable and investment-ready ventures. The program offers training in customer discovery, business model development, and investor readiness, connecting participants with regional and international mentors.
The Entrepreneurship and Product Innovation Center (EPIC) is a platform of the American University of Armenia (AUA) for promoting entrepreneurial education, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and startup venture incubation. EPIC provides an ecosystem for emerging entrepreneurs consisting of first-class facilities and collaborative workspace, programs and events, and a network of mentors, advisors, and investors. EPIC fosters the understanding and application of entrepreneurship in students and faculty at AUA to craft high-impact multidisciplinary ventures.
