Tarek Besold, Sony AI: “We came to Barcelona because it is a city of creativity and inspiration”

Barcelona was recently announced as the newest hub for Sony AI. Catalonia Trade & Investment interviewed Tarek Besold, who is responsible for this venture in Catalonia’s capital.

Could you elaborate on the specific activities Sony AI will undertake in Barcelona and why Catalonia was chosen for the new location?

In Barcelona, Sony AI is continuing its mission to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence, research and development solutions. We particularly came to Barcelona because Barcelona, to us, is a city of creativity and inspiration, and this is also visible in the projects we do here.

Our local teams currently focus on artificial intelligence for scientific discovery, meaning AI systems that support scientists in their work, and we explore the space of gastronomy. So, trying to use AI from a scientific angle to augment gastronomic experiences and to play with flavour, smells, etc. For which Barcelona is world famous!

Could you provide more details about these projects and their potential impact?

In our work where we try to develop artificial intelligence systems to assist scientists, we basically take the creative focused approach for which Sony is famous. So, if you think about scientists, they are very creative.

They have to come up with hypotheses and experiments to test those. In our work, we try to develop systems that help scientists go through the more mechanical steps. So, think of literature. There is a lot of literature being published. Scientists would have to keep track of all of this. We develop systems that support them in deriving new ideas and new hypotheses out of large volumes of literature.

“Sony AI is committed to becoming a core part of the Catalan tech ecosystem”

Tarek Besold, Senior Research Scientist, Sony AI Barcelona

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What are the key strengths of Barcelona and Catalonia that make them attractive for doing business, particularly in the AI sector?

Barcelona and Catalonia are attractive for the type of work we do and the kind of industry we're in because of several factors. So, Catalonia and Barcelona have always been a hub of trade where people meet, where ideas meet. You're really well-connected both digitally as well as physically. And it's one of the things which is important to us because we want to work with diverse talent. We want to work with diverse partners. So, the connectivity is a key factor.

Additionally, Barcelona has established itself as Spain's startup hub, particularly in the tech industry. It's important to have this ecosystem, talent, and infrastructure. You notice it in the details. You notice it, for instance, also in the support that's available from ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment.

Everyone is aware of the need to nurture a high-tech, research-oriented ecosystem. So, connectivity, the ecosystem, the talent, the people- all of these make Barcelona and Catalonia super attractive to us.

Do you plan to collaborate with a network of universities, innovation agents, startups and other entities in Barcelona and Catalonia? And what do you think about the innovation ecosystem here?

Barcelona offers us great opportunities to collaborate. If you think about it, there are several world-leading institutions here. Universities, but also national infrastructure, like the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, infrastructure like the IIIA at CSIC, National Research Institute for AI. All of these are people and institutions with whom we can talk and exchange ideas.

Similarly, there is the startup ecosystem. Other big tech players are here. It's important to us to have peers, to have people who speak our language, who have the same needs as we do. So, of course, we collaborate, both concretely on projects and in an attempt to make Barcelona a place where it is possible and welcome to work on cutting-edge technology with diverse teams.

Governmental agencies also provide great support. First and foremost, there is ACCIÓ- Catalonia Trade & Investment, which very much welcomed us and is supporting us. There is the regional government. So, it feels as if the entire city and the region are committed to driving innovation. And, of course, that makes it very easy and pleasant for us to be here.

How does the Barcelona Hub fit into Sony AI's global strategy?

At Sony AI, we try to be where diverse cultures meet. And Barcelona brings all of this. So, Barcelona, by itself, has a lot of diversity in the city. There's a lot of foreigners, but there's also a lot of local people. It is a melting pot. And this is what also gives Barcelona this very creative vibe. If you just walk around the city, there is something to it which is stimulating.

So, as an organization, having an office here allows us to attract these people and offer them a place where they can be who they are. It also allows some of our people from other locations to come here for a few days or for a longer stay.

How would you assess the access to talent in Catalonia, especially regarding AI expertise?

Catalonia is attractive because a lot of talent is already on the ground. Catalonia itself produces a lot of highly qualified computer science, artificial intelligence, and engineering talent due to the university ecosystem and the overall educational background. Still, one of the things we also see is that offering someone the opportunity to work in Barcelona with all the perks, like starting from the weather, going through the food, but also close to the beach, close to the mountains, it also just is an incredibly high quality of life.

People now very much take this into account when they compare job offers. It's not only about what company it is. It also is about what it offers me for my life, for my setup. And there, Barcelona is a real asset to be able to offer.

What are Sony AI's plans for growth and expansion in Catalonia over the next few years?

At the moment, we are very young in Catalonia. Still, Sony AI is committed to really taking root here. We arrived recently, but we already feel very welcome and at home. Our plans for the coming years are to build on this young foundation. We see that this environment allows us to grow. And what we want to do is possibly not the fastest but the most sustainable growth.

We really want to be around and become a core part of Barcelona and the Catalan tech ecosystem.

What is your opinion on the support provided by Catalonia Trade and Investment? And how has it facilitated your establishment in Barcelona?

One of the things that really helped us establish this office in Barcelona is the support we received, and we continue to receive, from Catalonia Trade and Investment.

They offer a broad spectrum of support, which we also appreciate. It starts with having someone to ask about, for instance, how work permits operate. The Catalonia Trade and Investment team is very open and approachable and shows initiative.

They also give us an opportunity to exchange our experiences with other companies and with people who've been here longer. This makes us feel welcome and allows us to take root and grow into becoming a core part of the system.

Looking ahead, what future trends in AI do you think will have the most significant impact on the industry and society?

What I believe will have the biggest impact on industry and society from what we currently are seeing in AI is the opportunity to automatize nitty-gritty mechanic tasks. If you think it through, what that means is you liberate people to do what people are great at. If you don't have to spend time on type-checking something, you actually could think, you actually could be creative, you could cultivate people-to-people relationships.

And if we manage to do that, give time back to people to do what humans are great at, I'm convinced that this will majorly improve everyone's well-being, everyone's quality of life, and it probably will trigger entirely new dimensions of creativity and entirely new developments on the human side of things.