Ashot Arzumanyan on the TEDx stage

Partner, SmartGateVC · Los Angeles & Yerevan

Ashot
Arzumanyan

Venture capital investor and co-founder of SmartGateVC. Backing science-driven founders at the pre-seed and seed stage.

About

I am a venture capital investor, co-founder and partner at SmartGateVC, where we back founders building at the frontier of deep tech. First check in 40+ science-driven companies since 2018, with portfolio companies attracting capital from NVIDIA, Bessemer, and YC.

My edge is connecting U.S. venture-scale opportunities with Armenia-based technical talent, while activating a global Armenian network of top executives, scientists, founders, and operators around building massive, impactful technology companies.

Based in Los Angeles, California and Yerevan, Armenia. Married with three children. I am passionate about companies that drive massive breakthroughs by solving problems from first principles - where invention, not iteration, is the foundation.

Investment Thesis

Pre-seed and seed in deep tech. I back founders who see possibilities others miss and have the tenacity to make them real.

  • Physical AI - Robotics, automation, and AI bridging digital and physical
  • Secure Edge - Distributed computing infrastructure and security
  • Neurotech / BCI - Brain-computer interfaces and human augmentation
  • Early engagement - In from day one, growing with founders through their journey

Media

Writing, interviews
& appearances

Articles & Op-eds
11
Press & Interviews
6
Podcasts & Video
5

Armenia

The Armenian Edge

A meaningful part of my investing edge comes from the global Armenian network - executives, scientists, founders, operators, and investors in top positions worldwide - and from access to Armenia-based engineering and scientific talent.

SmartGateVC's model connects U.S. venture-scale opportunities with deeply technical teams in Armenia. The U.S. provides market formation, customers, capital, and category expertise; Armenia provides deep technical talent; the global Armenian network adds expertise, trust, access, and operating leverage.

Selected Armenia-related media

11 items

    Contact

    Get in touch

    I am always interested in meeting exceptional founders building at the frontier of technology. If you are working on something in Physical AI, Secure Edge, or Neurotech, I would love to hear from you.

    LinkedIn

    Connect with me

    For investment inquiries, please include a brief description of your company, stage, and what you are building. I read every message but may not be able to respond to all.