Sony AI Opens New Office in Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain — June 11, 2024 — Sony AI today announced the opening of its newest office for artificial intelligence (AI) research and development in Europe. Considered one of the continent’s most creative, innovative, and scientific regions, the selection of Barcelona, Spain as Sony AI’s fourth location highlights the organization’s commitment to enhancing human imagination and creativity through AI.

“Barcelona has a storied history of scientific, artistic, and culinary experimentation, as well as connections to some of the world’s most renowned trailblazers, including Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. The region is also home to many research universities with established AI programs and key technology and science organizations,” said Michael Spranger, President of Sony AI. “We are proud to extend our work in support of creators into this open-minded and innovative environment, and learn from and work with the community.”

The new Sony AI office, located close to Plaça Catalunya, will serve as a hub for Sony AI in the region. One of the focus areas for this global location will be the organization’s newest Flagship Project, Scientific Discovery, led by Senior Research Scientist Tarek Besold.

Under the leadership of Besold, whose expertise lies in the intersection of AI and cognitive science, Sony AI’s Scientific Discovery Flagship Project will tackle new Grand Challenges in AI that center around AI tools and systems that support the work of scientists worldwide. This work seeks to enhance the knowledge and creativity of scientists during the ideation phase of the scientific process, enabling them to create new hypotheses. Additionally, the office will serve as a hub for some of Sony AI’s gastronomy-related explorations, such as research applying AI to increase our understanding of flavors and smells, and how these can contribute to multisensory entertainment experiences.

“Barcelona is a city where boundaries are pushed and ideas flourish. As we grow our body of research in Scientific Discovery, I am eager to witness how the region's mindset serves as a catalyst for inspiration within our organization,” stated Besold. “We look forward to collaborating with the local AI research community, working with the talented scientists and engineers in the region, and contributing to and raising awareness of its thriving technology ecosystem.”

“We celebrate that a leading multinational organization like Sony has chosen Barcelona as its first AI development hub in southern Europe. This strategic investment shows that Catalonia is one of the most developed ecosystems in Europe from a technological and scientific point of view,” said Roger Torrent i Ramió, Minister of Business and Labour of the Catalan Government. “We look forward to building bridges for collaboration between Sony and the local ecosystem of universities, research centers, startups, and companies to contribute to the development of artificial intelligence in Barcelona, as this technology will define business competitiveness in the coming years.”

Sony AI frequently seeks new talent to join its organization. Positions for researchers and engineers in Barcelona are currently open. Visit Sony AI’s careers page for more information.

About Sony AI

Sony AI, a division of Sony Research, was founded as a subsidiary of Sony Group on April 1, 2020, with the mission to "unleash human imagination and creativity with AI." Sony AI aims to combine cutting-edge research and development of artificial intelligence with Sony Group's imaging and sensing technology, robotics technology, and entertainment assets such as movies, music, and games to accelerate Sony’s transformation into an AI-powered company and to create new business opportunities. To achieve this, Sony AI is working across six Flagship Projects that are aimed at the evolution and application of AI technology in the areas of AI for Creators, Gaming and Interactive Agents, Ethics, Scientific Discovery, Imaging and Sensing, and Robotics and Sensing. For more information visit https://ai.sony.com.

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Rebecca Garcia
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