Alex Smola

Alex Smola is the co-founder and CEO of Boson AI, a company focused on developing scalable models for machine learning. He has a deep background in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, having previously held several prominent positions. Before founding Boson AI in 2023, Smola was the VP and Distinguished Scientist at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he led efforts to make AI more accessible to developers. He contributed to the development of Amazon AI services like Amazon Lex, Polly, and Rekognition, and was involved with the Apache MXNet project.

Smola began his academic career by earning a Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Technology in Munich and later received a PhD in Computer Science from the Technische Universität Berlin. His early career included roles at the Fraunhofer Berlin (formerly GMD) and AT&T Research. From 2000 to 2008, he worked at the Australian National University and NICTA (National ICT Australia), where he served as Senior Principal Researcher and Program Leader.

Smola also held roles at Yahoo Research, where he was a Principal Research Scientist from 2008 to 2012, and Google, where he was a Visiting Scientist from 2012 to 2015. In 2015, he co-founded Marianas Labs, further advancing his focus on machine learning and data analysis. From 2013 to 2017, Smola was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, helping to grow its well-known machine learning department.

Throughout his career, Smola has authored over 250 academic papers and written or edited six books, including "Learning with Kernels" and "Dive into Deep Learning." His research spans deep learning, kernel methods, statistical modelling, and scalable algorithms. At AWS, he initiated a large internship program and frequently spoke about machine learning scalability. Outside of work, Smola enjoys coffee, playing the piano, and travelling for speaking engagements.

Alex Smola was born in 1972. He studied Physics at the University of Technology in Munich, completing his degree in 1995. Following this, he pursued his PhD in Computer Science at the Technische Universität Berlin, which he completed in 1998. During this period, he worked at AT&T Research in Holmdel, New Jersey, and later at the Institute of Software Engineering and Computer Architecture in Berlin.

After completing his PhD, Alex Smola became a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute (formerly GMD) in Berlin. From 2000 to 2008, he moved to Australia, where he worked at the Australian National University (ANU) and NICTA (National ICT Australia), a research institute focused on information and communications technology. At NICTA, Alex Smola served as a Senior Principal Researcher and Program Leader, leading work on machine learning and statistical data analysis. During this time, he developed models used in applications like document analysis, bioinformatics, and internet data.

In 2008, Alex Smola joined Yahoo Research in California as a Principal Research Scientist. His work there included large-scale machine learning, user profiling, statistical modelling, and distributed optimisation. He stayed at Yahoo until 2012, contributing significantly to the company's research output in machine learning and related areas.

In 2012, Alex Smola moved to Google, where he worked as a Visiting Scientist in Mountain View until 2015. His focus at Google was on distributed and large-scale data analysis, contributing to the development of scalable algorithms. During his time at Google, Alex Smola also served as an Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley, where he taught a course on scalable machine learning.

In 2015, Alex Smola co-founded Marianas Labs, a machine learning start-up focused on developing deep learning solutions. The company operated for about a year, after which Alex Smola continued his career in academia and industry. From 2013 to 2017, he was a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), helping to build one of the world's leading machine learning departments. During his tenure at CMU, Alex Smola supervised numerous PhD students and conducted research on deep learning, kernel methods, and scalable machine learning models.

In July 2016, Alex Smola joined Amazon Web Services (AWS) as Vice President and Distinguished Scientist for Machine Learning. At AWS, he led efforts to make AI more accessible, contributing to the development of services like Amazon Lex (natural language processing), Amazon Polly (speech synthesis), and Amazon Rekognition (image analysis). Alex Smola was also a key figure in AWS’s support for Apache MXNet, an open-source deep learning framework. During his time at AWS, he initiated a large internship programme, hiring talents in areas like natural language processing, computer vision, and core algorithms. He also hired well-known researchers such as Animashree Anandkumar, Mu Li, Edo Liberty, and Hassan Sawaf.

In 2019, Alex Smola was promoted to Distinguished Scientist and VP at AWS, continuing his work in machine learning and deep learning. His focus at AWS included developing scalable models for various AI applications and ensuring the use of high-performance computing in AI projects.

In 2023, Alex Smola founded Boson AI, a company focused on building scalable foundation models for human interaction and entertainment. As CEO of Boson AI, Alex Smola is currently leading efforts to develop advanced deep-learning models and AI solutions for large-scale applications.

Throughout his career, Alex Smola has authored over 250 academic papers and written or edited six books, including Learning with Kernels and Dive into Deep Learning. His work covers areas like deep learning, kernel methods, statistical modelling, and scalable machine learning. He has also contributed significantly to the development of machine learning systems that handle large datasets and millions of users.

In 2024, Alex Smola continues to lead Boson AI, focusing on scaling AI solutions for diverse industries. He remains an influential figure in the AI and machine learning community, frequently speaking at conferences and contributing to ongoing research. Alex Smola’s work has had a lasting impact on both academia and industry, particularly in making machine learning accessible and scalable for developers and researchers worldwide.

Alex Smola’s vision is to make artificial intelligence (AI) accessible to all developers, regardless of their background. His goal is to lower the barriers to entry in machine learning by creating tools that are easy to use and scalable for a wide range of applications. Through his company, Boson AI, Alex Smola aims to develop advanced AI models that can solve complex problems at scale. He believes that AI should be available to everyone, and by building scalable, efficient systems, he seeks to empower businesses and individuals to leverage the power of machine learning and AI.

Alex Smola has received significant recognition throughout his career for his contributions to machine learning and AI. He is widely cited in the academic community, with over 75,000 citations for his research work. His publications, including over 250 papers and six books, have been influential in the fields of deep learning and scalable algorithms. Alex Smola has also been recognised for his leadership roles at organisations like Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he helped advance AI technologies. His efforts in making AI more accessible and scalable have earned him a respected position in both academia and industry.