A Venture Studio Built on Purpose – Why Every VIVY TECH Product Must Carry Social Value and Open Doors for New Innovators

Like other venture studios, VIVY TECH carefully considers the value potential of the startups in which it invests. But unlike other studios, its focus is not primarily on financial value. The startups VIVY TECH is quick to support are those built on innovative ideas that carry social value.

“We want to promote innovation that is good for humanity,” says VIVY TECH founder Pedro Rojas. “Our open-door program welcomes any idea that has social value. If a project takes a humanity-first approach to improving quality of life, we'll make it happen. We’ll find the business model later because we know it is very easy to monetize if you create something that puts humanity first.”

Rojas launched VIVY TECH with the goal of transforming the tech landscape by developing purposeful and impactful solutions. Advancing AI research in a way that inspires a new era of digital solutions “for the people” is central to the company’s mission.

“AI has brought unprecedented capabilities to the tech space, but few companies are using it to develop solutions that are both unique and useful,” Rojas laments. “Most companies are satisfied with developing another version of GPT and putting a fresh wrapper on it. They are chasing market share without solving problems in a way that can really make a difference. We want more at VIVY TECH. We want social upside and not just financial upside.”

VIVY TECH: A studio founded on humanitarian ideals

VIVY TECH’s unique approach to startup development was inspired by its founder’s unique background. Rojas spent his formative years working for social justice in his home country of Venezuela. He worked for the Embassy of the United Kingdom, receiving Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee recognition, and participated in the Model United Nations program, ultimately holding its highest position. As a teen, he spoke out publicly in support of democracy, triggering political persecution that forced him and his family into exile.

When Rojas started his entrepreneurial journey, he carried the same humanity-first values into his business endeavors. Rather than adopting a revenue-first approach, he decided he would leverage business as a tool for reshaping cultures marked by poverty and inequality.

“We not only have the capability but also the responsibility to take action that addresses the problems in our society,” Rojas says. “Rather than waiting for the state to fix the problems in education, healthcare, and other critical industries, businesses can lead the way. VIVY TECH exists to encourage and support innovators who share that vision.”

Rojas’s experience since launching VIVY TECH in 2023 has shown him that there are plenty of tech startups that share his vision. To date, he has engaged with innovators in 20 industries, supported 10 ventures, and invested $450,000.

VIVY TECH: A studio designed to be flexible and efficient

As an entrepreneur pursuing success for his own startup, Rojas learned the hard way how valuable it can be to have experienced mentors guiding you. He embraced the standard approach to startup development — moving from idea to minimum viable product to scaling — and ended up with a financial disaster.

“I invested $100,000 in my idea, but got only empty code in return,” Rojas shares. “It was a costly lesson, but one that inspired me to organize VIVY TECH in a way that helps other founders avoid that kind of pain.”

VIVY TECH takes a centralized approach to development, which maximizes efficiency while minimizing risk. By providing a central pool of experts with the skills and experience needed to effectively launch humanity-first projects, VIVY TECH enables a personalized approach that is also efficient. And because its experts work on several projects at once, it avoids the risks that come from committing too many resources too early in the startup process.

The VIVY TECH approach empowers the creation of initiatives like its CLAU Project, which is driving positive social impact in the banking sector. The three-part CLAU platform includes fintech, finlit, and edtech components.

“Our goal with CLAU is promoting financial stability, inclusion, and literacy past borders,” Rojas explains. “It’s a tool powered by AI that can heal the generational damage that exists in countries where the masses aren’t educated on life-changing financial skills.”

CLAU’s fintech component is a B2B platform that provides banking intelligence to improve efficiency and decision-making. It is currently undergoing testing by public companies in the US. CLAU’s finlit component leverages an AI-powered platform to help young adults in the US increase their financial literacy and improve their savings and holistic investing.

The third component of the CLAU platform, which is called Argentum AI, is specifically aimed at helping Latin American users increase their financial literacy. VIVY TECH hopes it will improve economic inclusion in Latin America and drive social change through financial empowerment.

“Our humanity-first approach has been criticized by some for not focusing on maximizing revenue,” Rojas says. “But founders who are successful, those whose ventures are making them billionaires, typically applaud what we are doing. They see the value in our humanity-first approach and applaud our commitment to using business as a tool for uplifting people.”