Keep diving... Keep changing... The reason why I dived into ExaWizards after working on numerous AI projects at IBM and LINE

“The only company that really said, 'Let's do BrainTech' was ExaWizards.”

This is a story that introduces the Wizards who work at ExaWizards.

This time, it’s about Rei Sasaki, who after studying physics, has been involved in the launch and development of AI businesses at IBM and LINE. Currently, he is managing AI products and driving the launch of BrainTech business at ExaWizards."Life is Diving" is his motto, and we asked him about how he dived into ExaWizards and what he would like to try next.

■Profile

Rei Sasaki

Majored in particle physics at Tohoku University and studied at the CERN Institute. He then joined IBM as an engineer, where he developed 2nd generation AI and promoted 3rd generation AI "Watson". He then moved to Boston Consulting Group, where he worked as a strategy consultant to help clients launch AI and IoT businesses. In 2017, he moved to LINE Corporation, where he was in charge of the AI domain and was involved in the launch of LINE BRAIN and business development of CLOVA. In 2020, he joined ExaWizards, and is also involved in NowDo Corporation, which is headed by Keisuke Honda, as a parallel carrier.

Sea, sky, and outer space. His insatiable curiosity for the unknown.

• First of all, could you tell us what kind of school days you had?

I chose Tohoku University because I wanted to study physics. At the university, I studied physics seriously, but I was not interested in other classes, and I spent my whole university life doing club activities.

What left a deep impression on me was the scuba diving club I joined in my second year. A senior member of the club invited me to join, saying, "You usually live on the ground, but when you're scuba diving, it's the only time you can be in a new world under the sea," and I thought, "That worldview is very passionate".

I had always wanted to open up a new world that no one else had experienced, and this was the perfect match. After that, I became interested in skydiving, and diving became my lifelong hobby.

• After that, you went on to graduate school, right? What kind of research did you do in graduate school?

I was working on finding the Higgs boson, also known as the God particle. The Higgs boson can explain why particles have mass, and although it had been predicted theoretically, its existence had not yet been proven. I also studied at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland for this research.

• What made you decide to study the Higgs boson?

This research is going to help us understand why the universe came to exist. The Higgs boson is believed to have appeared just after the Big Bang, gave mass to all things, and played a role at the beginning of the universe. My main motivation was to get closer to the mysteries of the universe as I proceeded with my research.

• You already had a desire to research and dive into the unknown world such as diving and particle physics at that time. You had the option of continuing your research, but why did you choose to work?

The research I was doing required a huge budget of one trillion yen to develop the accelerator for the experiment, and the time frame was something like ten years or more. I thought this was already beyond the scope of my ability. I had been doing research with the motive of figuring out the universe, but then I thought it might be interesting to create something from scratch by myself instead of figuring out what already exists, and I decided to go into society.

How to successfully complete a challenging project in a short period of time

• What kind of work did you do in your first position at IBM?

At IBM, I started as an app developer and worked my way up to product engineer, solution architect, IT consultant, and many other positions. One of the most challenging and memorable projects was to build a facility in IBM Japan headquarters in three months to introduce advanced technologies to business partners and promote collaboration.

• Only in three months! That's a very short period of time.

The project had originally been decided a year ago, but they hadn't been able to decide on the requirements for a long time and hadn't made any progress. They were reluctant to take on this project because of the high risk involved, but I thought it was the right thing to do for the company, so I raised my hand.

We planned the project with tremendous speed. We created a system where Pepper, a humanoid robot that had just gone on sale at the time, would greet customers, embedded beacons on the floor so that customers would be able to experience various things by walking around with an iPad. We also utilized the cloud, which had not yet been proven within the company.

• I heard that after working at BCG, you also launched a new business in the area of AI at LINE.

The last BtoB project I worked on was "LINE BRAIN". This was a project that I initiated, and it was an experience just like starting a new business: making a business plan, finding customers, developing the product, and ....... It was like riding a roller coaster every day, and you never knew what was going to happen. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun.

• What was the most difficult part?

It was the part of launching a BtoB business in a company that is basically all BtoC products. When we had a kick-off meeting with researchers, more than 80% of them were very much against it. They had a negative image that BtoB means doing clients’ bidding. We worked steadily to build a relationship of trust by clearing up this misunderstanding, explaining the significance of this business and getting to know each other over dinner.

• As with the IBM project, what were the factors that allowed you to carry out such difficult projects that were considered high risk?

The main reason was that I believed that this would definitely benefit the company, its customers, and also society. I also gathered members who were willing to take on challenges as much as possible, so it was easy to incorporate new technologies. I tried to adopt ideas that came from the members. I think one of the reasons for our success was the high level of enthusiasm in the team, with the spirit of "we may not succeed, but let's try anyway".

At first, many people would think that a new startup product will never work, but when it does, it is recognized as a success story. I felt like I was experiencing this with my own company's business.

Only ExaWizards told me that I could work on it seriously.

• After LINE, how did you come to work at ExaWizards?

It all started when I received an invitation on LinkedIn to have lunch with Mr. Ishiyama, CEO of ExaWizards. We had a great time talking about brain science, and he said, "You may not be planning to change jobs now, but if you are still interested in joining us even after a year, please come".

• So you were already interested in brain science at that time. Was brain science an extension of your AI products?

That's part of it, and I also thought that there must be some kind of principle in human nature. That's what I'm trying to do now with brain science. At first, I studied on my own by reading technical books, but since 2020, I have been attending lectures at the Brain Science School, which is organized by the RIKEN Brain Science Institute.

• Did you decide to move to ExaWizards when the business at LINE had settled down?

That's right. I decided to do BrainTech, which is based on brain science, but I thought there was still no synergy with LINE's business, so I decided to change jobs. I was approached by several other companies, and each time I said firmly, "I'll go if I can do BrainTech," The only company that really answered "Let's do it!" was ExaWizards, haha.

• Oh, I see. When you changed jobs, you wrote a note saying that you were going to move to ExaWizards and start BrainTech.

It seemed that many people in ExaWizards had read the note before I joined, and when I actually joined ExaWizards, I was already recognized to be a guy who would work on the AI and brain science business.

So, I was soon called to work on the entire AI product and on work related to BrainTech. As a result of expressing what I wanted to do and people seeing it, it has created a good cycle.

Incorporating brain science findings into improvisation like a jazz session

• What exactly are you working on now?

We are trying to create new value by adding the knowledge of brain science to the products of ExaWizards.

For example, the ExaWizards AI camera, MilCube.

This is placed in nursery schools to provide a service that detects children's behavior and facial expressions and automatically takes pictures of them. Based on the results of research in neuroscience and developmental psychology, I would like to suggest that we implement functions in this MilCube that will help support mental growth and build trust with caregivers.

This was the ideal way to get involved. I would suggest, "Does this look interesting?” And then they'd say, "Great!” And then we'd invite other people and start a new project. It's exciting when this kind of improvisational collaboration is born, just like a jazz session.

• Collaboration came so naturally.

ExaWizards is like a zoo of experts who all share the same main goal of solving social issues. Everyone is always thinking about how to make society better, so when they come up with an idea, it's easy for them to go like "That sounds great.” I think it's amazing that this kind of development can happen in daily meetings, not a brainstorming session.

• What do you keep in mind to make your projects improvisational and exciting?

I try to find a point where the needs of society and the motivation of the members match.

The first thing I did when I joined a product was to organize a New Year's party. I held a New Year's party online, and while talking casually, I asked everyone why they were doing what they were doing. Then I would throw out topics that matched the motivation of the individuals, everyone comes up with ideas like, "Oh, I'd like to try something like this."

If each one of us stretches ourselves a little and takes on challenges, the product will produce better results and motivation will also increase. Therefore, I try to speak up to bring out that kind of feeling in the members. A follow-up study has shown that the success of a person depends more on whether or not they can motivate themselves to make the effort than on their IQ, so I am keeping this in mind.

Brain science x social issues to increase the number of people who spend their days in a healthy state of mind

• Finally, what would you like to work on in the future, Ray?

In the short term, I would like to incorporate the findings of brain science into all of ExaWizards' products. In the long term, I would like to launch a more in-depth brain technology business, such as neurofeedback using brain waves.

It is now becoming possible to understand a person's state of mind by recording brain activity, so I would like to create a product that utilizes this technology. Products related to the brain are very unique at this moment, but if we think about it 10 years from now, they should become popular at some point. I would like to select the right market and find out when it is neither too early nor too late.

I believe that people are happier when they spend their days in a healthy state of mind, so it would be great if we could create a service that supports that state of mind using brain science and technology.

• You have been "diving" into various fields, but is there any theme that you would like to dive into beyond BrainTech?

I believe that the theme of the brain will continue for a while. This is because the brain itself has yet to be understood. I believe that I can continue to be excited about solving social issues. That's why I think I will continue to pursue the theme of brain science x social issues. But if I get bored with it, I will probably go back to the natural world again, since my interest has shifted from the natural world to society in the course of my career......

• What do you mean?

It's nirvana. When I quit ExaWizards, consider it my time of nirvana, haha.