Nao Tokui

CEO of Qosmo / Associate Professor at Keio University / Dentsu Craft Tokyo, Head of Technology

Born in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan in 1976. Nao received his Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo for his research on Human-Computer Interaction using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance human creativity. After pursuing his research and creative interest at several research institutes in Japan and Europe, Nao founded Qosmo in 2009. With the motto, "Computational Creativity and Beyond," Qosmo became a unique creative studio focusing on the application of AI in the creative field. Nao, himself, has been exploring the potential expansion of creativity through the symbiosis between AI and humans. His recent works include a music video of a song by Brian Eno, using AI. In addition, Nao has continued to present live performances titled AI DJ Project in Japan and overseas. These performances feature an AI DJ playing alongside a human DJ (Nao), taking turns selecting and playing one song at a time. In April 2019, he started his professorship at Keio University and founded the Computational Creativity Lab to advance his practices in both research and educational environments.

• naotokui.net
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Akira Shibata

COO

Entrepreneur, Data Scientist & PhD in Particle Physics. Akira specializes in business value creation using data and AI technologies. Chief Data Scientist from 2015 and Japan CEO from 2020 at DataRobot, Inc., leading hundreds of global companies to succeed with data and AI. Prior experiences include building statistical modes for Higgs Boson discovery at LHC particle accelerator, Consultant at Boston Consulting Group, Co-Founder & CEO at Shiroyagi Corporation developing AI news curation technology.

• ashibata.com
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Shoya Dozono

Computational Designer / Programmer

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1988. After graduating from the Faculty of Design at Tokyo Zokei University, Shoya completed his Master’s degree at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences in Gifu. He joined Qosmo in 2016. Shoya conducts research and production across fields such as graphics, video, and the web using computational design techniques. Among other projects, Shoya has worked as a visual programmer for Hiroaki Umeda’s dance and installation pieces. He has also created visualizations in collaboration with Professor Koji Hashimoto of Osaka University. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Prix Ars Electronica Honorary Mention and a Japan Media Arts Festival Jury Selection.

• shoyadozono.com
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Robin Jungers

Programmer

Born in Nantes, France in 1994. After a preparatory course in physics and mathematics, Robin studied software engineering at the University of Paris-Est, specialized in multimedia and visual creation. He spent a semester at the Future University of Hakodate as an exchange student, where he worked on natural approaches to synthesize generative visuals, being mainly interested in raw and simple aesthetics. Robin joined Qosmo that same year as an intern, before completing his course in 2017.

• robinjungers.com

Ryosuke Nakajima

Programmer

Born in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan in 1995. Ryosuke received his master's degree from Keio University SFC Graduate School of Media and Governance (X-Design program). He is interested in generative visual generation and philosophical studies, and working on varied projects from creation to research. One of his strong fields is real-time computer graphics, and working on visual expression using data visualization and deep learning. He initially joined Qosmo as an intern, and officially joined full-time in 2020.

• rystylee.com
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Bogdan Teleaga

AI Engineer

Born in Romania in 1993, Bogdan received his BEng in Computer Science from the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, and his MSc in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Amsterdam. He worked at Cloudbase Solutions developing cloud computing solutions in collaboration with enterprise cloud platform company Canonical. He interned for a summer at CERN, implementing AI techniques for use at the LHCb detector and for a year at Japanese AI start-up company working on Natural Language Understanding. Bogdan joined Qosmo in 2020. He is interested in music composition using AI and also plays several instruments by himself.

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Max Frenzel

Researcher

Born in Germany, Max moved to London after high school. He began his academic career focusing on Quantum Information Theory, first as a PhD student at Imperial College London, and later as a postdoctoral research fellow at Tokyo University. After leaving academia and gathering some entrepreneurial experience, Max got interested in AI and its practical business applications. More recently, he again shifted his focus to the applications of AI and deep learning in creativity, design, and art, joining Qosmo as Principal Researcher. Max also produces music under the name Taktile and is an active writer, currently working on his first book "Time Off" (www.timeoffbook.com).

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Naoki Ise

Graphic Designer

Born in Aomori Prefecture in 1986. Naoki completed his Master’s degree at the Information Design Department of Tama Art University Graduate School. After he studied at the studio “schtücco” led by Shin Akiyama, he joined the YCAM InterLab and led visual designs for media art exhibitions. He joined Qosmo in 2020, focusing on computational algorithm’s ability to express form, typography and physical phenomena of graphic design.

• naokiise.com/
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Sakiko Yasue

Project Manager

Sakiko is in charge of production and management of various projects, such as mobile application & system development, installations and theater performances. Prior to Qosmo, she worked at a film & video production company and an event & sales promotion production company.

Yumi Takahashi

Project Manager

Born in Thailand in 1992. Yumi worked at a multinational organisation headquartered in Australia, supporting up to 30 companies in various types of business fields. She decided to focus on AI technology and moved to a start-up company in Tokyo, where she built the data management team and helped to bridge the communication gap between DevOps and business stakeholders. Yumi joined Qosmo in 2019 as project management.

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