Armine Galstyan is the principal of SmartGateVC, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage artificial intelligence companies. It runs an accelerator program called Hero House in Glendale, which Galstyan serves as the managing director of.
1: Galstyan has been interested in AI for a long time. She says she learned about the sector while in college at the American University of Armenia. Her interest in AI is what brought her to SmartGate VC. “I thought it would be great to work with a firm working with AI companies and explore opportunities there. Back then the firm was just getting started,” she says.
2: Her work with the firm is what brought her to L.A. She says she now “loves L.A.,” adding that it is a “nice place to be, especially if you are investing in early stage tech companies.”
3: Galstyan is a runner. “I am looking to run a half marathon sometime soon,” she says, adding that she only got interested in running in 2022. “It started out just as a way to get out of the office…and I figured out that one of the best workouts for me is running. I don’t really like any other type of cardio so running is my gym.”
4: She is involved with a number of nonprofits. She does a lot of work with the Armenian General Benevolent Union, a nonprofit founded in 1906, and serves on the board of the AGBU Innovation Studio which works with high school students to develop technical skills and work on innovative projects.
5: She recently aided SmartGate VC in closing its second fund at $10 million. Galstyan says she is “looking to deploy it into tech companies in Southern California” and looks for “technology that is not easy to replicate.”
