As we shift to attending and hosting a blend of live and virtual events, this dynamic continues to be a crucial element helping us to deliver on the Azafran Investment Thesis. As passionate entrepreneurs, every week our team covers the road less traveled, sometimes the only VCs in the room, attending pitch events, demo days, and industry conferences. Following is a sample of recent events attended by Team Azafran:
SXSW® Goes Hybrid
(Austin, TX + Digital) SXSW® 2022 regained its live form and swagger from years past with a huge addition as now most content is available digitally from the past few year's events. While nothing can replace the buzz and connections of being in Austin, the resulting format is rich and much improved. SXSW® also returned to its cultural roots as there was much business, venture and investment content and features but the cultural and educational aspects far outweighed other tracks.
Once again the Capital Factory hosted a wide array of tech investing programs over multiple days at the front of SXSW®. One highlight of the programming (above) was an informative panel providing corporate perspective on MedTech (central to Azafran's Thesis) market development and investment priorities.
HIMSS 2022 Conference Re-Imagines Health
(Orlando, FL + Digital) Hosting attendees from over 160 countries, the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition is the can’t-miss healthcare event of the year, where professionals throughout the global health ecosystem connect for the education, innovation and collaboration they need to reimagine health and wellness for everyone, everywhere.
This year there were many panels and product announcements key to Azafran's Thesis, including Philips unveiling its cloud imaging HealthSuite Interoperability and Enterprise Performance Analytics / Performance Bridge products to a myriad of panels touching on voice, acoustics, imagery and sensory in the context of AI and machine learning.
Microsoft also announced advancements in cloud technologies for healthcare and life sciences with the general availability of Azure Health Data Services and updates to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. Combined with the recent close of its acquisition of Nuance Communications, Microsoft is leveraging voice and AI to help innovate the future of healthcare.
Click here for an AI/Machine Learning wrap from HIMSS22.