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

VentureBeat introduced the winners of the fifth annual Women in AI Awards as we speak at VB Transform. 

The awards acknowledge and honor the girls leaders and changemakers in the area of AI. The nominees have been submitted by the public and winners chosen by a VentureBeat committee. Winners have been chosen based mostly on their dedication to the trade, their work to extend inclusivity in the area and their constructive affect in the neighborhood. 

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 Women in AI breakfast. “This is why we do it. I mean, you heard it directly from the women leaders. They are making an impact, they are making a difference and need to help support each other and as organizations, as leaders, as influencers we need to put a spotlight on women in tech, women leaders, women in AI.”

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

This award honors a girl who has began firms which are displaying nice promise in AI. Consideration was given to issues like enterprise traction, the expertise answer, and impression in the AI house.

Our winner is May Wang, CTO of IoT safety at Palo Alto Networks. Wang has been pioneering work in AI-based safety. She is main the effort to leverage AI to revolutionize cybersecurity as a complete. Wang has co-founded Zingbox, an IoT cybersecurity firm, the first AI-based cybersecurity answer for IoT.

During her acceptance speech at VentureBeat Transform as we speak, she recalled assembly with a feminine investor whereas attempting to get enterprise capital funding for Zingbox. “She said to me, ‘I’ve been investing in cybersecurity for more than 10 years. You’re the first female funder sitting in this boardroom,’” Wang recalled. “Last year, women-funded companies only raised 1.9% of all VC funds. We have a long way to go for both AI and female engineers. Let’s work together and support each other.”

AI Research: Fueling the subsequent wave of transformative AI

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

Our winner is Karen Myers, lab director at the synthetic intelligence heart at SRI International. Myers acquired the high honor for SRI technical employees and was named an SRI Fellow in 2016; she grew to become director of the AI heart the following 12 months. She is the writer of greater than 100 publications and 7 issued patents. Her analysis has impacted each the industrial and authorities sectors, with transitions in areas spanning pure language processing, workflow automation, robotics and clever help.

During her acceptance speech as we speak, she recalled her early years working in AI and being the solely lady in most rooms she was in. She urged everybody in attendance and watching nearly to encourage the younger ladies in their lives to check laptop science. She mentioned solely 25% of laptop engineering levels have been earned by girls. “We have to get extra girls in the area as a result of it’s good for everyone if we’ve extra range in the area, so go residence and do your half.

“So thank you so much for shining the light on all the great things that women in AI are doing, and I would just ask everybody, please encourage your daughters, your nieces, your neighbors to get into computer science. We still have a problem in the field that right now only 25% of the computer engineering degrees are for women. And we need to fix this problem.”

AI Mentorship: Building up the subsequent era of girls in AI

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

Our winner is Chenxi Wang, founder and normal 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 school member at Carnegie Mellon University. She has a Ph.D. in laptop science from the University of Virginia.

During her acceptance speech at VB Transform, Wang recalled how she was advised at quite a few factors throughout her tutorial and company profession that she couldn’t obtain her goals and objectives. “Then I started my own venture fund, and yes, it’s possible,” she mentioned.

Responsibility & 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 in the rising sizzling matter of accountable AI.

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

During her acceptance speech at VB Transform, Wynn mentioned it was an honor to be acknowledged for her work. She hopes that “girls [in general] and Black girls will see me as an example of something that is possible 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 around responsible AI and the investments we’re making and building into the next generation. Those are the right things for us to do to build a better future. A future where building responsibly and inclusively is just the way that we all know.”

Rising Star: Honoring girls in the early levels of their profession who reveal that ‘something special’

This award honors a girl in 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 laptop science. Ghafarianzadeh began at Zoox as a analysis intern working in deep studying and laptop imaginative and prescient. She went on to change into a analysis engineer after which engineering supervisor on the software program prediction group. Ghafarianzadeh is on 28 patents globally from eight patent households.

During her acceptance speech Ghafarianzadeh thanked her mentors and her mom for supporting and guiding her. She additionally devoted her award to the girls in Iran “who have been fighting for their freedom in the past year.”

We’d wish to congratulate all of the girls who have been nominated to obtain a Women in AI Award. Thanks to everybody for his or her nominations and for contributing to the rising consciousness of girls who’re making a big distinction in AI.

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