30th News

AUA Signs Collaborative Research Agreement with ServiceTitan

Ashot Tonoyan, Managing Director of ServiceTitan Armenia with Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian, AUA Interim President

The relationship between the American University of Armenia (AUA) and ServiceTitan was recently strengthened through a new collaborative engineering research agreement signed between the two organizations.

The goal of the research will be to develop novel algorithms based on machine learning and artificial intelligence to solve problems relevant to the industry. The AUA students involved in the project currently include Hermine Grigoryan (MEIESM ‘23), Celine Hovanessian (MSCIS ‘23), and Gagik Khalafyan (MSCIS ‘23).

ServiceTitan’s involvement with AUA is not new, as the company founders have been supporting the University for the past few years. President and Co-Founder of ServiceTitan Vahe Kuzoyan and his wife Ruzan are among the 200 AUA Changemakers. Together with CEO and Co-Founder Ara Mahdessian, the company established the ServiceTitan Endowed Scholarship Fund at AUA to support the “Yes, Armenian Women Can” campaign, which currently has two scholarship recipients. The Kuzoyans are also supporters of the “Build a Better Future with AUA” capital campaign, and so are Ara Mahdessian and his wife Katherine.

Speaking to the recent engineering research partnership, Kuzoyan comments, “We at ServiceTitan are thrilled to collaborate with AUA, a prestigious institution that fosters innovation and talent. This engineering research partnership highlights our commitment to advance technology in Armenia and is also geared to derive added value from bridging academia and industry. Together, we will drive groundbreaking research, nurture the next generation of tech leaders, and contribute to Armenia's thriving digital ecosystem, ultimately shaping a brighter future for all."

Vahe & Ruzan Kuzoyan

In his turn, Mahdessian elaborates, “I have always believed that Armenia is uniquely positioned to become one of the biggest technology and startup hubs in the world. To date, ServiceTitan has significantly benefited from our Armenia-based operations, hence I view this new collaboration as a model for other U.S.-based and global tech companies to adopt to effectively draw on the significant untapped engineering talent here in Armenia. This new partnership with AUA will also give students the real-world experiences they need to stand out when looking for jobs after graduation.”

Ara & Katherine Mahdessian

The students affiliated with ServiceTitan were grateful for the opportunity to get involved in cutting-edge research with one of the leading companies in the world. Gagik Khalafyan (MSCIS ‘23) says, “Throughout this journey, I hope to deepen my knowledge in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) in particular, which will be a great boost for my career. Working in a team of professionals will be yet another great opportunity to learn new skills and network.” Hermine Grigoryan (MEIESM ‘23) adds, “I am excited to work with a talented team of researchers and data scientists to develop innovative solutions that outperform the current state-of-the-art models and deliver real value to ServiceTitan customers.”

For students, their association with ServiceTitan is sure to lead to diverse employment opportunities in the future. The company was launched in 2012 and now has over 2,000 employees working across seven locations throughout the globe. The Yerevan office opened in 2019 and currently employs over 200 people, with 18% of its workforce in Armenia comprising AUA students and alumni.

The University looks forward to a continued partnership with ServiceTitan.