Connor Wong and Asrith Sampath: Future Inc. 5000 Honorees

Meet the entrepreneurial leaders Connor Wong and Asrith Sampath, recently named USA Today’s Top Youth Leaders of 2024, striving to reshape personalized education with their premier platform, Pallas.ai within Eviant Technologies. Recognized for their impact in youth leadership, community development, and innovation, Connor Wong, a student at Sage Hill School, and Asrith Sampath, a student at Round Rock High School, are now official Future Inc. 5000 Honorees for their dedication to education and entrepreneurship.

Eviant Technologies plans to use proven AI techniques, including reinforcement learning and sequential data analysis, critical for tracking student progress. A recent McKinsey & Company report highlights that AI-driven personalized education could enhance learning facilitation for teachers by 20-40% within a year, showing the potential of Pallas.ai for student engagement and success.

Inspired by his time at Pretend City Children’s Museum, Connor Wong hopes to challenge the outdated education model by creating a digital ecosystem that learns and grows with the student, with interactive elements. It was first place concept in the Aterion Innovation Challenge, thus earning Connor Wong the distinction of Entrepreneur of the Year by the California Business Journal.

Empowering Youth through Sandbox Synergy

As an advocate for accessible opportunities, Connor Wong co-founded Sandbox Synergy, a nonprofit focused on connecting young leaders with community resources and supporting skill development. Alongside Wilson Song, Connor Wong organizes Teen Entrepreneur Fairs that enable under-resourced youth to explore business, creativity, and leadership through a no-cost, inclusive platform. Founded because of their stationery business, Umbrella Stationery and Goods, they wanted to create opportunities and a platform for youth entrepreneurs to gain practical experience, selling goods and connecting with their communities in a supportive environment. The vendor requirements were simple but firm: vendors applying for a booth must create their own services or products. “Our mission is to create an inclusive platform where young entrepreneurs showcase their talents and products without barriers,” explains Connor Wong. “We truly hope that our platform is a place for children to collaborate and strengthen our community. We have musicians, artists, and innovators joining together to inspire in this celebration of small business and youth.”

Pretend City recognized Wilson and Connor in their September 2023 Donor Spotlight for their ongoing support, and successfully nominated them as National Philanthropy Day’s Outstanding Honorees. They have received generous support for their mission from sponsors, including Disney, Berkshire Hathaway, State Farm, School of Rock (Santa Ana), Swardstrom Group, and I-5 Self Storage (Tustin, CA).

The Atlas Podcast Inspires Innovation, Leadership, and Philanthropy

Connor Wong also co-hosts the Atlas Podcast, awarded LA’s #1 Self-Help Podcast, where he shares insights on business, learning, and self-help. Since its launch, Atlas Podcast, hosted by Ian Kim and Connor Wong, has amassed over a million plays and built a dedicated monthly audience of forty thousand. With over 40,000 monthly listeners, Wong uses Atlas Podcast to connect with young innovators, inspiring them to pursue their goals and foster personal growth. Participants can acquire valuable skills and impact the communities through participating in these friendly competitions. In addition, Connor Wong brings experience from his involvement with Uber, PwC, and as a research intern at Meta. He has conducted research with a notable scholar, contributing to a U.S. patented approach to ketogenic diet recommendations, showcasing his interest in both wellness and innovation.

A senior at Sage Hill High School, Wong combines his background at Meta, PwC, and Uber with his knowledge of neural networks and data analytics in hopes of developing an adaptable, student-centered platform that prioritizes critical thinking and real-world application. Its dynamic, personalized approach gives students room to grow, pioneering education technology and fostering a community of continuous learning. Pallas.ai employs LSTM and GRU neural networks to analyze student progress, adapting in real-time based on each learner’s strengths and needs. Advanced models like BERT and GPT offer personalized, language-based recommendations, making Pallas.ai a responsive, supportive system for guiding future leaders.

Founders of Zolvs Marketplace & Incubator, (Angelist LLC)

Asrith Sampath, co-founder and a junior at Round Rock High School, emphasizes the platform’s community-building aspect: “Pallas.ai is designed to be more than a tool; it’s a community where students can connect, share, and grow.” Their combined expertise in entrepreneurship, technology, and business strategy as founders of Zolvs Marketplace & Incubator has enabled them to not only meet the needs of startups but also provide a living, breathing incubator for early-stage projects and businesses. With a $23M+ valuation across 300 vetted listings, Zolvs provides an active platform for early-stage startups, soon featuring 150 free webinars, and 20+ partners. This incubator is not only a resource hub but also a launchpad for innovative projects, enabling young entrepreneurs to gain traction and access to a supportive community.

Thus, Pallas.ai integrates peer-to-peer engagement, enabling students to collaborate on entrepreneurial and educational journeys, similar to the collaborative atmosphere at Sandbox Synergy’s Teen Entrepreneur Fairs and the community-incubator that characterizes Zolvs Marketplace. “Through group learning modules and discussion forums, students actively connect with each other, enriching the learning process with real-world interaction,” Sampath explains.

Achievements in The Blue Ocean Competition and Aterion Innovation Challenge

With Connor Wong’s recent awards as a Sage Hill High School student, including first place in the Aterion Innovation Challenge and Top 30 in the Blue Ocean Competition, the two are committed to scaling Pallas.ai within Eviant Technologies. At the forefront of AI-driven learning, Pallas.ai embodies the spirit of the Sandbox Synergy community youth entrepreneur fairs—adapting to each student’s needs, providing accessible pathways for growth, and fostering a supportive environment that meets learners where they are.