Armenia’s startup ecosystem ranked 15th in Eastern Europe in 2023, and 51st globally (StartupBlink rankings) and it’s so promising to see Armenian startups succeed internationally. In recent years, Armenian technology has seen a significant rise despite the challenges. Every year, it’s been growing steadily by around 20%. And there are more and more tech companies and professionals joining in. The 2024 year has just started, but the Armenian startup ecosystem has already marked several significant milestones on the international stage, which will be covered in this article and more.  

Growing Armenian New Startups with a Huge Potential 

Since the early 2010s, the Armenian IT sector has seen a significant increase in startups and venture funding. Over the last ten years, the Armenian IT ecosystem has grown at a 23% yearly average. Thanks to a growing number of tech-savvy entrepreneurs and a favorable economic environment, Armenia has become known as a promising spot for both startups and investors. Global corporations are increasingly establishing offices in Armenia and tapping into the Armenian workforce. Companies such as NVIDIA, Adobe, Cisco, Epam, and SADA have already made their mark here. Moreover, in recent years, many others have contributed to this trend by relocating their offices, including Miro, Semrush, Tinkoff, Avito, and more.

10WEB 

10Web has been one of the leading AI website builders since 2020. They aim to help everyone establish an online presence and allow businesses to focus development and creativity over time-consuming manual tasks. Recently, Forbes published an article stating that this startup beats the competition with the market leader Shopify. 

According to Arto Minasyan, the founder of 10Web, in the Forbes article, it has constantly upset him to see many innovative minds abandoning their ideas owing to the financial constraints associated with developing online businesses, which come from industry giants such as Shopify.

The company uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate online store construction, optimization, and maintenance, which is 10 times quicker than top market players. Creating an AI-powered eCommerce builder gives young innovators and entrepreneurs the agility they need to compete in the highly saturated digital industry.

QLess

While this is a relatively new name in the Armenian startup ecosystem, it is worth giving some credit to.

QLess is a comprehensive platform for waitlist and queue management, appointment scheduling, and actionable analytics. It offers a user-friendly solution where visitors can easily book, track, and rate their visits. Employees benefit from efficient visit management capabilities, including tracking the activity log and leaving comments for improved communication. 

Additionally, it equips managers with detailed analytics, providing essential insights into team productivity, operational efficiency, and visitor satisfaction. QLess’s mission is to eliminate physical lines worldwide and instead help save time for the things that matter in life. 

In 2021, they opened an office in Armenia, marking the beginning of their path. They were willing to create an exceptional product with Armenian engineers, product managers, and designers joining the journey of transforming the country into a regional tech hub.

Although the product is not available in the Armenian market, Qless’s engineering and product team are based in Armenia, working diligently to apply best practices in delivering the product to international markets.

Podcastle

Podcastle began as a popular browser extension and has grown into a full suite of AI-powered tools that considerably ease audio and video creation. It allows creators and teams to quickly produce, edit, and distribute audio and video content in a single platform. 

Recently, they announced a $13.5 million investment in Series A funding. This funding will help advance its goal of making multimedia storytelling more accessible and collaborative. Series A financing is an investment in a privately owned startup firm that has made progress in developing its business strategy and demonstrated the ability to grow and produce income. It frequently refers to the first round of venture capital that a company gets after seed and angel investors.

Since its Seed investment round in 2021, Podcastle’s user base has grown from 150,000 to over 1 million creators. With this latest investment round, Podcastle intends to improve its AI-powered solutions and streamline content development. 

EasyDMARC

EasyDMARC, an Armenian company, is one of the world’s leading Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) suppliers, according to independent experts’ analysis of its Software Market.

It is an all-in-one email security solution that protects an organization’s domain and email infrastructure. They develop solutions for safeguarding the organization’s domain and email infrastructure, reducing the risk of data leakage and financial damage for organizations by combating email fraud. 

One day, the co-founder had a wake-up call when a phishing attack hit a partner company hard. It was clear existing email security tools weren’t cutting it. So, he teamed up with a colleague to build their solution. By late 2017, they had EasyDMARC, a practical tool that simplified email security setup and tackled industry frustrations head-on.

The story of how EasyDMarc was founded is one of the most exciting and motivational stories that shows how sometimes the most complex challenges can come to life to make something exciting happen.  

SuperAnnotate

SuperAnnotate is a rapidly expanding machine learning firm in Silicon Valley with a significant presence in Armenia. The ML-powered end-to-end platform for computer vision engineers and labeler groups enables teams to design, annotate, manage, and automate even the most complex computer vision projects, resulting in more accurate training data and higher-performing ML models.

Tigran and Vahan Petrosyan duo stands behind SuperAnnotate, a big name in international machine learning. Their story is one of perseverance, innovation, and seizing opportunities.

It all began in 2018 when Vahan’s algorithm proposed changing data labeling for machine learning. Their journey took them to Armenia’s Sevan Startup Summit, where they determined success and caught the attention of Granatus Ventures. With Granatus’s support, they founded SuperAnnotate, making their idea a whole company. Leaving their Ph.D. programs behind, they dove headfirst into the startup world, facing challenges and uncertainties decisively. Today, they lead the charge in data annotation, empowering countless companies with innovative solutions.

SuperAnnotate’s story is a real case to inspire entrepreneurs everywhere, especially in Armenia, to make people believe that they can achieve anything with the power of knowledge and goals.  

Startup Trends and Innovations in 2024

The year 2024 is likely to be a pivotal and exciting one for startups and investors. The current startup trends that will shape the ecosystem in the coming years are:

1. Climatech

In response to rising worries about climate change, companies are inventing new solutions to promote sustainability and decrease environmental impact. Climatech companies are leading the way toward a greener, more sustainable future, with solutions ranging from renewable energy to smart grid technology and vertical farming. 

Interesting to know; what do you think when this trend will come to Armenia?

2. Fintech

In finance and technology (Fintech), new companies are leading the way in making banking easier online, creating automated investment advisors (robo-advisors), and using blockchain for finance. In 2024, we expect these startups to keep shaking things up by changing how people and businesses handle their money. This will likely make financial services easier to use and more efficient for everyone.

3. Edtech

This trend was here for a while. Edtech businesses are restructuring the educational environment by making learning more accessible, individualized, and engaging. In 2024, we expect more advancements in online learning platforms, adaptive learning technologies, and data-driven insights that will enable people of all ages to pursue ongoing education and skill development. 

4. Tech for Minds

In the future years, there is an increasing expectation that mental health will take center stage, garnering more attention and money. This trend is expected to be driven by several causes, including increased mental health awareness, shifting cultural views, and technological advancements. With these advances, healthcare startups are expected to play an important role in developing new digital tools and platforms that are expressly designed to address mental health issues. 

5. Agritech

With an emphasis on sustainability, efficiency, and productivity, these firms use cutting-edge technologies like precision agriculture, drone technology, IoT sensors, and data analytics to change farming methods. From soil health monitoring to crop management systems and supply chain optimization, agritech businesses give farmers the tools to make educated decisions, increase yields, and reduce environmental impact.

The year would be exciting to watch the startup landscape and see innovation across various sectors, from education and climate sustainability to agriculture. Keeping a pulse on this helps us to be better prepared for the coming opportunities and grab them when they arrive in Armenia. 

Exciting things are just around the corner

To cut it short, we have all the reasons to feel proud about our technology sphere, as every other new day, another great startup arrives, offering solutions to problems we never thought fixable. Forbes, the global media company, labeled Armenia a Tech Powerhouse for good reason. The new emerging names and stories inspire us to believe that in the near future, we will become home to tech giants and minds.