Microsoft has chosen Barcelona as the base of operations for its next R&D Hub, which will focus on the application of Artificial Intelligence technologies to improve the user experience on the web.
After the London, Paris and Munich hubs, the Barcelona one becomes the eighth research centre of Microsoft's WebXT division (Web Experiences Team) in the world. This division of the technology giant has a workforce of more than 5,000 people and focuses on developing advanced user experiences through new Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning technologies.
Microsoft is the second most valuable technology company in the world, valued at 326,554 million dollars in 2020
The hub sits within the Search & AI team led by Jordi Ribas, corporate vice president of Microsoft Corporation in the United States. It is the largest AI-specialised team in the WebXT division and will work specifically on applying artificial intelligence to Microsoft products: Windows, Azure and Bing.
Talent search
To a large extent, the aim of the Barcelona hub is to attract technology talent from both Barcelona and across Europe. In a first phase, a selection process will be carried out that envisages hiring thirty professionals in Software Engineering and Data Science, with specialisation in AI, Machine Learning and Deep Learning. In the coming years this number could rise to a hundred professionals.
Alberto Granados, president of Microsoft in Spain, recently welcomed the news: “Microsoft's investment in our country is further proof of the high qualifications of our professionals and of our capacity to become a hub for attracting talent”.
The future is artificial intelligence
Microsoft's investment in Barcelona shows that the city can be a leader in innovation and new technologies and be a hub for attracting talent in the field of AI.
In turn, Microsoft positions itself as a benchmark for the opportunities that investing in Artificial Intelligence systems can offer all companies, a technology that stands out for its cross-cutting nature, as it is applicable to a wide range of sectors: sales, health, construction, mobility… among many more.
If you want to know how artificial intelligence can help you sell, don't miss article «Five ways in which Machine Learning can help you sell».
