July 2021, Woodstock, Maryland – The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) National Artificial Intelligence Institute (NAII) concluded their 2020-2021 AI Tech Sprint and awarded SoKat 2nd Place in the competition, overall, and a 1st Place win in the Patient Experience category. The Tech Sprint began in November 2020, with applications submitted from 60 companies, of all sizes, from industry and academia across the U.S.; only 44 were chosen. The VA’s official press release can be found here.

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SoKat’s award-winning Artificial Intelligence technology solution is a cutting-edge, sophisticated Machine Learning chatbot with mobile capability to enhance Veteran patient comprehension of their healthcare. In addition to the ML engine, the chatbot leverages Natural Language Processing,Sentiment Analysis technology and features mobile phone application. As a result of SoKat’s success from the rigorous 12-week Tech Sprint competition and the opportunity to collaborate with supportive VA SMEs and mentors, SoKat is presently working to continue to develop innovative technology solutions in service of our veterans.

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“’Mentoring and participating in the AI Tech Sprint was very exciting,’ said Janet Chrosniak, from the VA’s Office of Health Informatics. ‘It was rewarding to witness first-hand the ‘Art of Possibilities’ with AI and how [efforts] through the VA NAII can bring to bear technologies to support the Veteran and provider healthcare experience.”

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SoKat is especially proud to be the only woman-owned small business to be an award recipient in this year’s AI Tech Sprint, an achievement that was supported by their two female high school interns, who will be studying Computer Science at Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University. SoKat’s CEO, Susan An, explains how her company’s tremendous win aligns with their long-term goals for social impact: “A vital tenet of SoKat’s mission is to educate the next generation of AI leaders, particularly females and underrepresented minorities, who are still participating at disproportionately low levels in the technology economy We are, therefore, especially excited that we can support passionate, driven individuals, like our interns, to apply their talents to serving our deeply valued veterans. SoKat intends to make its mark on the world, not solely by building the most innovative AI tools, but more importantly, by creating opportunities for everyone to engage with AI in a meaningful and ethical way.”