Announcing the winners of VentureBeat’s 5th Annual Women in AI awards

VentureBeat introduced the winners of the fifth annual Women in AI Awards right now at VB Transform. 

The awards acknowledge and honor the ladies leaders and changemakers within the subject of AI. The nominees have been submitted by the general public and winners chosen by a VentureBeat committee. Winners have been chosen based mostly on their dedication to the business, their work to extend inclusivity within the subject and their constructive affect locally. 

The winners have been introduced with the awards by VentureBeat’s Sharon Goldman, senior AI author, and Gina Joseph, chief technique officer.

Joseph emphasised the significance of the awards and the Ladies in AI breakfast. “For this reason we do it. I imply, you heard it immediately from the ladies leaders. They’re making an impression, they’re making a distinction and we have to assist assist one another and as organizations, as leaders, as influencers we have to put a highlight on girls in tech, girls leaders, girls in AI.”

AI Entrepreneur: Bringing AI out of the lab and into the actual world

This award honors a girl who has began corporations which can be displaying nice promise in AI. Consideration was given to issues like enterprise traction, the know-how resolution, and impression within the AI house.

Our winner is Could Wang, CTO of IoT safety at Palo Alto Networks. Wang has been pioneering work in AI-based safety. She is main the trouble to leverage AI to revolutionize cybersecurity as an entire. Wang has co-founded Zingbox, an IoT cybersecurity firm, the primary AI-based cybersecurity resolution for IoT.

Throughout her acceptance speech at VentureBeat Remodel right now, she recalled assembly with a feminine investor whereas making an attempt to get enterprise capital funding for Zingbox. “She mentioned to me, ‘I’ve been investing in cybersecurity for greater than 10 years. You’re the primary feminine funder sitting on this boardroom,’” Wang recalled. “Final 12 months, women-funded corporations solely raised 1.9% of all VC funds. Now we have a protracted solution to go for each AI and feminine engineers. Let’s work collectively and assist one another.”

AI Analysis: Fueling the following wave of transformative AI

This award honors a girl who has made a major impression in an space of analysis in AI, serving to speed up progress both inside her group, as a part of tutorial analysis, or impacting AI typically.

Our winner is Karen Myers, lab director on the synthetic intelligence middle at SRI International. Myers obtained the highest honor for SRI technical workers and was named an SRI Fellow in 2016; she grew to become director of the AI middle the next 12 months. She is the creator of greater than 100 publications and 7 issued patents. Her analysis has impacted each the business and authorities sectors, with transitions in areas spanning natural language processing, workflow automation, robotics and clever help.

Throughout her acceptance speech right now, she recalled her early years working in AI and being the one lady in most rooms she was in. She urged everybody in attendance and watching just about to encourage the younger women of their lives to review pc science. She mentioned solely 25% of pc engineering levels have been earned by girls. “We have to get extra girls within the subject as a result of it’s good for everyone if we’ve got extra variety within the subject, so go dwelling and do your half.

“So thanks a lot for shining the sunshine on all the nice issues that girls in AI are doing, and I’d simply ask all people, please encourage your daughters, your nieces, your neighbors to get into pc science. We nonetheless have an issue within the subject that proper now solely 25% of the pc engineering levels are for girls. And we have to repair this drawback.”

AI Mentorship: Build up the following era of ladies in AI

This award honors a girl chief who has helped mentor different girls within the subject of AI, offering steering and assist and/or encouraging extra girls to enter the sphere.

Our winner is Chenxi Wang, founder and basic companion at Rain Capital, a cybersecurity-focused enterprise capital agency that’s 100% woman-managed. Wang lately based the Forte Group, a women-in-tech advocacy group. Her profession started as a college member at Carnegie Mellon College. She has a Ph.D. in pc science from the College of Virginia.

Throughout her acceptance speech at VB Remodel, Wang recalled how she was instructed at quite a few factors throughout her tutorial and company profession that she couldn’t obtain her desires and targets. “Then I began my very own enterprise fund, and sure, it’s attainable,” she mentioned.

Duty & Ethics of AI: Thoughtfully constructing AI that results in a greater and extra equitable world

This award honors a girl who demonstrates exemplary management and progress within the rising sizzling matter of responsible AI.

Our winner, Diya Wynn, is senior apply supervisor for accountable AI at AWS. She has a ardour for creating present and rising leaders; selling STEM to the underrepresented; and driving variety, fairness and inclusion (DEI). Wynn mentors younger college students and visitor lectures at universities the world over.

Throughout her acceptance speech at VB Remodel, Wynn mentioned it was an honor to be acknowledged for her work. She hopes that “women [in general] and Black women will see me for example of one thing that’s attainable for them.” Wynn mentioned it was an honor to know that the work she initiated helps prospects construct responsibly and operationalize responsibly, “advancing the science round accountable AI and the investments we’re making and constructing into the following era. These are the appropriate issues for us to do to construct a greater future. A future the place constructing responsibly and inclusively is simply the way in which that everyone knows.”

Rising Star: Honoring girls within the early levels of their profession who display that ‘one thing particular’

This award honors a girl within the early stage of her AI profession who has demonstrated exemplary management traits.

Our winner is Mahsa Ghafarianzadeh, engineering supervisor of habits prediction at Zoox. Ghafarianzadeh was born and raised in Iran, and got here to the U.S. to pursue her ardour for robotics. She has a Ph.D. in pc science. Ghafarianzadeh began at Zoox as a analysis intern working in deep studying and pc imaginative and prescient. She went on to turn out to be a analysis engineer after which engineering supervisor on the software program prediction workforce. Ghafarianzadeh is on 28 patents globally from eight patent households.

Throughout her acceptance speech Ghafarianzadeh thanked her mentors and her mom for supporting and guiding her. She additionally devoted her award to the ladies in Iran “who’ve been combating for his or her freedom up to now 12 months.”

We’d prefer to congratulate all the girls who have been nominated to obtain a Ladies in AI Award. Because of everybody for his or her nominations and for contributing to the rising consciousness of ladies who’re making a major distinction in AI.

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