SmartGateVC strengthens its Venture Partner network welcoming Alex Pepe

SmartGateVC is proud to announce that Alex Pepe has joined our team as a Venture Partner, further strengthening our ability to support portfolio companies at every stage of their growth.

"We are excited to welcome Alex to our team," said Ashot Arzumanyan, Co-founder and Partner at SmartGateVC. "AI is transforming the future, and his expertise will be crucial as we continue building and embracing the future through companies that will redefine industries."

Areg Alimian, Partner at SmartGateVC, added, "Alex has built and scaled businesses from the ground up. His expertise in driving growth and executing strategic initiatives will be a transformative force for our portfolio."

Alex Pepe is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience in leading global operations and driving strategic growth. As COO of Ixia, he played a critical role in the company's $1.6B acquisition by Keysight Technologies, where he was responsible for operational scaling and M&A integration. He joined Ixia through the acquisition of Anue Systems, where he was the CEO, driving Anue to be a leader in the network monitoring space. Prior to Anue Systems, Alex held senior leadership roles at Freescale and Motorola, leading major operational transformations as the head of the 32-bit microcontroller business unit. Later, as the head of global operations, he was instrumental in Freescale’s public market debut as it spun out of Motorola and was part of the executive team that later took the company private through a deal led by Blackstone. He holds four U.S. patents in semiconductor design and process technologies. Alex shares a long history of collaboration with Areg Alimian, working together at Ixia, where they successfully scaled operations and drove strategic growth. This shared experience further reinforces the value Alex brings to SmartGateVC's leadership.

"AI expanding into the physical world presents one of the most exciting frontiers of innovation today," said Alex Pepe. "I’m eager to bring my operational scaling experience and M&A background to help founders who are not just building companies but redefining entire industries."

Alex joins a strong team of partners, including Ashot Arzumanyan, Areg Alimian, and Jack Topdjian, further strengthening SmartGateVC’s expertise across connected hardware, AI, cybersecurity, and healthcare/life sciences.

SmartGateVC continues to focus on supporting startups from pre-seed through growth stages, with a focus on transformative technologies shaping the future of AI, life sciences, and the physical world.

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