Deal Flow
When innovation, AI, and immigration collide in developing venture startups
Formally, a $25,000 winner of the top venture prize at Brown, is back as a judge of the 2025 Brown Venture competition
Image courtesy of Jonathan M. Nelson for Entrepreneurship website/File Photo
The entrepreneurial team for Formally won the first prize of $25,000 at the Brown Venture Prize Pitch Night on March 6, 2019.
By Richard Asinof
Posted 3/17/25
The return of Amelie-Sophie Vavrovsky to serve as a judge for the 2025 Venture Prize competition, showcases the capabilities of venture competitions to jumpstart new ideas in thd marketplace.
How important is failure as an integral part of the innovation process of new startup ventures? When will Rhode Island create its own data warehouse of metrics to showcase the state’s innovation economy? Is there a way to separate the growth of the commercial real estate market versus the growth of the research and innovation economy in Rhode Island, particularly given the new Trump administration’s intent to slash federal funding for scientific research? What is the appropriate response by state leaders to make investments in new technologies and companies based in Rhode Island?
One of the outgrowths of ConvergenceRI’s coverage of the Brown Venture Competition in 2019 was the role that it may have played in jumpstarting two careers in journalism — one in Kansas City, another in Tampa — both of whom have created a sense of good storytelling and reporting.
At a time when the entire health care delivery system in Rhode Island is disrupted and in crisis, how are the stories of public health in the post-pandemic world going to be told? Who will be shaping the narrative? The CEOs, or the health care workers? How does the venture equation from the lab bench to the patient’s bed work in 2025? How do health care workers become full participants in the conversations? Stay tuned.
At a time when the entire health care delivery system in Rhode Island is disrupted and in crisis, how are the stories of public health in the post-pandemic world going to be told? Who will be shaping the narrative? The CEOs, or the health care workers? How does the venture equation from the lab bench to the patient’s bed work in 2025? How do health care workers become full participants in the conversations? Stay tuned.
PROVIDENCE — Six years ago, on a snowy March evening in 2019, Amelie-Sophie Vavrovsky and her team won top honors at the Brown Venture Prize competition, winning $25,000 in an intuitive and innovative approach to solving the increasingly complex chronic immigration problems afflicting the United States. (See link below to ConvergenceRI story, “Brown Venture Prize Pitch Night draws an overflow crowd)
This year, Amelie-Sophie Vavrovsky was invited back to Brown to serve as a judge for the venture prize contest.
Here is a brief interview with Amelie conducted via email, capturing the ways that her company has grown in the last six years— a venture prize awarded to jumpstart a startup in a pre-pandemic world where the problems about immigration have grown more complex, in a world where artificial intelligence has changed the dynamics of the legal definitions of borders and boundaries and asylum.
ConvergenceRI: How has Formally grown as a venture given the disrupted nature of immigration to the U.S. in the past few years?
VAVROVSKY: Formally truly took shape after I won the Brown Venture Prize; that victory gave me the confidence and resources to tackle immigration challenges head-on.
I then pursued graduate studies at Stanford, focusing on ethical AI, cybersecurity, and legal technology. During one cybersecurity class, our professor—Alex Stamos, former CISO at Facebook and Yahoo—jokingly told us we were now “officially dangerous.”
It was a lighthearted yet serious reminder that cutting-edge technology also brings serious responsibilities. That moment pushed me to build Formally with privacy, security, and ethics at the core.
Since then, I’ve raised venture funding and set up our office in the heart of San Francisco to stay at the epicenter of AI innovation.
Even with all the complexities in U.S. immigration policy, our commitment to human-centered design and responsible AI has enabled Formally to partner with leading AmLaw 100 firms and grow our revenue by over 500 percent in the last year. We’re making legal processes more accessible during a time when people need trusted support the most.
ConvergenceRI: As a judge at Brown Venture Prize night, what will you be looking for in the latest round of potential ventures?
VAVROVSKY: Having been a Brown Venture Prize winner myself, I know firsthand how impactful that support can be. I’ll be looking for teams that pair genuine passion with a clear path to execution — ventures that blend big ideas with tangible, realistic plans. Show me a strong sense of purpose, coupled with an understanding that technology and ethics go hand in hand.
ConvergenceRI: Are you optimistic about finding new ways to configure the legal quagmire around seeking asylum when entering the U.S.?
VAVROVSKY: Absolutely. I believe ethical AI can fundamentally change the way legal services are delivered, especially when it comes to asylum applications.
At Formally, we combine a strong human-in-the-loop approach with privacy-first technology to ensure asylum seekers have both clarity and control over their data. This balance—between cutting-edge AI and hands-on legal guidance—makes the process more navigable.
Our collaboration with organizations like Human Rights First on an AI-powered asylum assistant is a testament to how technology, used carefully and ethically, can bring about real, positive change in a complex legal landscape.
VAVROVSKY: Having been a Brown Venture Prize winner myself, I know firsthand how impactful that support can be. I’ll be looking for teams that pair genuine passion with a clear path to execution — ventures that blend big ideas with tangible, realistic plans. Show me a strong sense of purpose, coupled with an understanding that technology and ethics go hand in hand.
I also value resilience; entrepreneurship is full of challenges, and the teams that learn and adapt quickly are usually the ones that make a lasting impact.
ConvergenceRI: Have you read the recent book, “Exit Wounds,” by Ieva Jusionyte, a Brown professor at the Watson Institute?
VAVROVSKY: Not yet, but it’s definitely on my reading list!
Professor Jusionyte’s focus resonates strongly with the work we’re doing at Formally—striving to make the complexities of immigration law more transparent and humane. I’m excited to dive into her research and see how it can inspire our ongoing commitment to ethical innovation and access to justice.
