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Entrepreneurs of the Year (Youth) – Connor Wong and Ian Kim Inspire through Innovation, Leadership, and Philanthropy, Guiding Future Leaders and Pioneering Education Technology

By Tom White, Special to California Business Journal

Connor Wong and Ian Kim, seniors at Sage Hill School, were awarded first place in the Aterion Innovation Challenge with their project, Pallas.ai, building on their successful Top 30 placement in the Blue Ocean Competition. Their innovative solution addresses a core challenge in education today by integrating artificial intelligence, data analytics, and learning algorithms to create a personalized learning experience that evolves with each student.

The vision behind Pallas.ai emerged from the duos’ firsthand experiences with the limitations of conventional schooling, observing that students often felt disconnected and unmotivated, struggling to engage with a curriculum focused more on memorization than critical thinking.

“We live in a world where memorization is no longer the primary gateway to knowledge. What matters now is how well we can analyze, contextualize, and apply information in real-life scenarios,” Kim explains. “Pallas.ai is designed to address these needs, accelerating intellectual growth by transforming passive learning into an immersive, interactive process.”

Connor Wong, a nationally recognized youth leader and entrepreneur, is also the founder of Zolvs Marketplace and Incubator, the Atlas Podcast, and Sandbox Synergy, blending innovation as an entrepreneur with community-driven initiatives. With his distinction as USA Today’s Top Youth Leader of 2024 and other awards, he now turns to education technology, hoping to bring unprecedented insight into student performance.

Pallas.ai operates as a “dynamic learning ecosystem,” leveraging advanced machine learning models that Wong studied during his time under a lead software engineer at Meta. Its architecture continuously analyzes interactions to create customized learning pathways that adjust in real time. This technology includes neural networks optimized for rapid feedback loops, with LSTMs and GRUs for tracking learning patterns, BERT for nuanced language understanding, GPT frameworks for predictive recommendations, and reinforcement learning algorithms.

Under Eviant Technologies, Connor Wong (SHS ‘25) and co-founder Asrith Sampath (RRHS ‘26) hope to expand on this concept beyond competitions, driven by a mission to create an inspiring, connected learning experience. This collaborative focus enhances the social aspects of learning, where students gain insights and motivation from peers. Through these features, they hope to build a community of young learners who empower one another, transforming education into a journey that is both personal and impactful.