Babak Hodjat is CTO for AI at Cognizant, leading the AI Research Lab. He is the former co-founder and CEO of Sentient, responsible for creating the world's largest distributed AI system, and founded the first AI-driven hedge fund, Sentient Investment Management. A serial entrepreneur, Babak has started several Silicon Valley companies including Dejima Inc., which developed the natural language technology behind Apple's Siri. Babak holds 38 US patents, has a PhD in Machine Intelligence from Kyushu University, and has expertise in AI fields like Agent-Orientated Software Engineering, Artificial Life and distributed AI. He is also the author of two books, including an AI sci-fi novella.