Every year, Women in Sensors & Electronics (WISE) holds a place at the heart of Sensors Converge. Again this year, WISE members and supporters will be a part of the 2025 Sensors Converge event in an open panel, “Empowering innovation through investment in women-led startups.” Panel moderator Azita Arvani notes in the following Q/A with Fierce: This session is “not just for women” and is indeed designed for a broad range of founders, investors, technologists, and corporate leaders.
Arvani brings experience as an industry veteran with strong technical and management credentials, including a MS in computer science from USC and and MS in management from Stanford University. She is currently managing director of Arvani Group, which advises companies large and small in AI-led transformation.
Fierce: How would you best describe the upcoming WISE panel session?
Arvani: Sensors and electronics form the critical infrastructure, the eyes, ears, and senses, that bring AI to life in the physical world. My panel will explore innovations in sensor-driven hardware for smarter environments, examining macro investment trends shaping the startup ecosystem, and sharing practical founder strategies, while highlighting opportunities and challenges facing women-led ventures.
Fierce: What should attendees expect to learn?
Arvani: To build a truly AI-powered future, we must unlock innovation from every corner. We can’t make it harder for half the population. On top of that, women-led startups consistently outperform yet remain underfunded. Research from Boston Consulting Group shows women-founded startups generate 78 cents per dollar invested, compared to just 31 cents for male-founded counterparts. Investing in these ventures isn’t merely equitable; it’s essential for driving superior innovation and economic returns.
Fierce: Why does this topic matter so much to you?
Arvani: Throughout my career in emerging technology fields, I've witnessed the massive transformations brought by the internet and mobile revolutions. AI will surpass them both in scale, speed, and impact. To get it right, diversity isn't optional, it's foundational. Recently, I saw an AI-generated image illustrating developers concerned about AI agents trained on open-source code, depicting them exclusively as white men. This underscores the urgency: If our future intelligence reflects only a narrow subset of humanity, innovation will suffer, and biases will persist. The stakes are too high to exclude diverse voices.
Fierce: Other thoughts for those considering attending?
Arvani: This session is not just for women; it is designed for all founders, investors, technologists, and corporate leaders will benefit from it. Attendees will gain a clear view of today's investment climate, understand common pitfalls startups face, and explore emerging industry trends that influence growth opportunities. Additionally, we'll address the unique hurdles women entrepreneurs and investors navigate daily. You won't just hear about challenges; you'll leave energized with practical advice from seasoned leaders on how to capitalize on industry shifts, and who remain fiercely mission-focused even amid market turbulence.
The WISE panel with Arvani as moderator convenes at 12:40 p.m. PT on Wednesday June 25 on the main stage at Sensors Converge 2025 in Santa Clara, CA. Expo Hall admission is free by registering with the code HAMBLEN.
This story originally appeared June 3.