At just a glance, Amirali Rezaei’s resume makes one thing clear: he’s not afraid of a challenge. Originally from Iran, the first-year Case Western Reserve University student was the first in his family to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor, attend high school in the United Kingdom, and come to the United States to seek further opportunities.
Now he’s landed another “first,” becoming an unprecedented triple winner in Cleveland Leadership Center’s (CLC) Accelerate: Citizens Make Change civic pitch competition last month. The competition supports the organization’s mission to build a continuum of engaged, civic leaders who are committed to Cleveland’s excellence.
Competing against 23 other presenters in the technovation, education and college categories, Rezaei earned $8,000 in support for his initiative AISA (Artificial Intelligence Sign Language Assistance) Solutions, a suite of technology platforms designed to bridge the communications gap with people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The group offers two main products: AISA Platform, which uses AI to translate sign language via image processing, and AISA School, which employs AI as a personal tutor to teach sign language to beginners.
“Amirali is already making a mark on Cleveland, both through pitches like this and as part of The Weatherhead Fund student organization,” said Joan Palumbo, chief advancement officer for the CLC. “This recognition highlights CWRU students’ role in driving social innovation and tech solutions for real-world challenges. By providing a platform for innovative ideas like this to flourish, CLC empowers local entrepreneurs and visionaries to make a tangible impact. Amirali is the perfect example of why we host this event.”
Finding inspiration
For Rezaei, the journey to his success in pitch competitions began four years ago when, at age 16 in an Iranian cafe, he and his co-founder, Reza Sadeghi, made a surprising realization: neither of them had ever met a person with hearing loss.
“We began to research, and learned there are half a billion people impacted, which seemed like a shocking statistic for us to have not encountered,” Rezaei explained. “We realized accessibility issues mean many deaf people can’t take part in social settings, which can lead to anxiety and depression.”
The pair resolved to take action. They began identifying specific problems and assessing how AI and machine learning could drive solutions, working closely with the Deaf community in Iran to test products and hold events. In the years since, they’ve grown to a team of eight college students from around the world—China, Norway, Iran and beyond—who continue driving digital solutions that help bridge gaps.
Driving solutions
Of his team, Rezaei is the only member located in the U.S., a decision he made while a student at United World College. There, he befriended the son of well-known Weatherhead School of Management Professor Michael Goldberg. After hearing about Case Western Reserve University from Goldberg, Rezaei was sold.
“I really wanted to do something with business and entrepreneurship while pursuing my passion in computer science,” explained, who is part of the Davis United World College Scholars Program. “CWRU offered the best of both worlds—an entrepreneurship club, Sears think[box], just so many opportunities to grow both my business and myself as a person.”
Between majoring in computer science and business management, participating in extracurriculars such as Weatherhead’s business fraternity and investment banking club, and navigating the general culture shock of a new country, Rezaei leads a busy schedule—but he’s never too busy to work on AISA Solutions.
“We meet every Friday and have the company culture of being a family,” Rezaei said. “We’re pitching in many places, including recently at Web Summit Qatar, and we’ve been nominated for WSA (World Summit Awards) Young Inventors.”
Rezaei—who aspires to grow his business as a successful entrepreneur and perhaps earn an MBA—shows no signs of slowing down as a participant himself. He’ll present next as a finalist in the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship’s Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition on April 8.