Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) has launched InVent 2.0, the second round of its Innovation Ventures program, targeting individuals who are interested to partake in startups focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The foundation has noted it is an educational and development opportunity for people who like pushing the limits of their comfort zone.

The program brings together people from diverse backgrounds to team up with AI specialists and work on challenges that FAST generates through a proprietary methodology.

Those challenges are shaped into business concepts in the first phase of the program, and teams work with coaches to develop startups and pitch for prototype funding in later stages.

Ameriabank has also joined the program as a partner and will be providing market-driven challenges for teams to work on.

“In the InVent 1.0, our startups received USD 5,000 prototype funding, registered new companies and now are in the process of developing and testing the prototype. We are continuously tracking their progress to design better iterations of InVent. The second round, InVent 2.0, has program and curriculum changes that aim to increase the chances of our winning teams to enter the acceleration stage,” said Anna Khachatryan, Innovation Analyst at FAST.

This 15-week program is open both for individual and team applications. In both cases, the participants will be working on ideas provided by FAST. InVent 2.0, sessions are planned twice a week, in the evening hours, so that participants can combine the program with their routine engagements.

FAST is looking for a strong commitment towards the program by applicants, considering the program a career-changing opportunity. Applications are open until April 7, 2021.

“Over its first 3 years our Foundation has engaged more than 4,600 beneficiaries through its programs, including students, researchers, entrepreneurs, startups, and policy makers. We have implemented various programs for researchers, through which we provided funding to 43 researchers, supported 21 international research collaboration projects, and hosted nearly 100 foreign researchers in Armenia. As a result of several programs, 25 visits to international labs have been conducted and around 70 scientific papers produced, of which 50 have already been published in international journals,” FAST said in the press statement.