Our mission is to open up the frontier of creativity through the production of artwork, and contribute to building a society where more people can work, learn and live more creatively by developing AI tools for artists, companies and individuals.
Why is art necessary for technology development and business?
We believe that as digital technology, especially AI technology, is becoming more prevalent, solutions are becoming commodities.
The more you strive for optimization, the narrower the range of answers that are considered suitable. Everybody gets the same answer if everybody seeks the optimum.
The value lies in differences. Commoditized optimal solutions are sure to bring price competition. In this society and business world, it is not the optimal solution that has value, but novel perspectives that help to find a unique problem.
We create art and advertisement upon request
We support clients develop and integrate AI into services and products
License for use our unique ready-for-production algorithms
The works we have created to date have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art(MoMA) in New York, Barbican Centre in London, and other venues. We got invited to perform at the keynote of Google I/O in 2019. In the academic field, we have co-organized a workshop on AI and creativity at NeurIPS, one of the most prominent international conferences on AI. Based on these achievements, we have been working with leading Japanese and foreign companies.
We see things differently from the artists' point of view.
We develop novel methods based on the expertise of researchers.
We execute with advanced skills of programmers and designers.
We are Qosmo.
Awards
and more.
Qosmo is collaborating with the following universities and research institutes on various research and development projects.
Get in touch with us here!
CONTACT
Do not pursue profit without contributing the social/cultural goodness.
From local to global. Art to the cutting-edge technology. We value diversity, flexibility and broad perspectives.
Think deeply beyond the bounds of common sense.
Just striving for the best solution is not enough. We always strive for the most significant impact.
Qosmo is a group of artists, researchers, designers, and programmers.
01
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.
02
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.
03
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.
04
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.
05
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.
06
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.
07
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).
08
Naoki Ise
Senior 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.
09
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.
10
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.
Company
Qosmo, Inc.
Foundation
April 1, 2009
Address
REVE Nakameguro 2F, 1-13-14 Kamimeguro Meguro, Tokyo, JAPAN （c/o Dentsu Craft Tokyo）
Executive
CEO : Nao Tokui
External Board Member : Alexander Reeder (Art and Program, Inc.)
Business Outline