Vote of confidence in our country by Applied Materials

Vote of confidence in the Greek market and the role that can be played by the global technology giant of the group of Applied Materials that invested in our country, through the acquisition of Greek company Think Silicon and the significant investment that followed. As reported by Costas MalliosVice President and General Manager of the Applied AI Group of Applied Materials, who was in Athens on the occasion of the “Atoms to Algos” Conference in order to highlight the new technological trends that shape the future, the Group’s goal is Think Silicon to operates as one of the key development and innovation hubs of the Applied Materials group worldwide, with particular emphasis on Europe.

«We have strengthened the human resources we have in both Patras and Athens, while we are expanding in Thessaloniki. At the same time, we seek to attract talent from other European countries, to bring people of high scientific level to Greece, to whom we offer the opportunity to work in a particularly interesting and promising field.“, Points out in an interview with APE / MPE and the journalist Aleko Lidorikis.

Think Silicon is a company that started in Patras and is active in the design and implementation of high-performance graphics processing units (Graphics Processors Units or GPUs) with extremely low power consumption, artificial intelligence processors and screen controllers (Display Processors / Controllers) for small portable devices, either Internet of Things (IoT) or wearables.

«Only these terms, says Mr. Mallios, show how much technology and innovation the company produces, so you realize that the great advantage of Think Silicon, and one of the main reasons that Applied Materials proceeded to its acquisition, is the technology that has developed. In practice, Think Silicon solutions allow a device with limited resources, in terms of its technical characteristics, to “run” multiple applications, while maintaining low power consumption. Two elements that are critical to small portable devices. It is no coincidence that Think Silicon customers include the largest manufacturers of wearables in the world and their list is constantly expanding.“, Says Mr. Mallios.

Technological developments concern everyone

The specialized technological terms are often not understood by the average citizen, giving the impression that the developments do not concern them. But what is reality? According to Mr. Mallios, many times many people think that all this does not concern them or, even worse, excludes them. «But the reality is completely different. Digital technologies have penetrated our daily lives. Algorithms are the ones that give us instructions on how to move faster in the city. Networked home appliances are a prime example of the Internet of Things (IoT). The photos and videos we “upload” to social media are a form of cloud utilization. But also in terms of chips and processors, we use them every day in everything we do. From monitoring data, such as the heart rate on the smartwatch we wear on our wrist, to driving, as all these features of modern vehicles that inform us about the condition of our car are possible thanks to the use of chips and sensors. What matters, then, is not just understanding some terms, but knowing that digital technology surrounds us constantly and should not leave us “out”“, He emphasizes.

How much will these possibilities change the daily life of the citizen

“In the near future we will see more ‘smart’ devices. The IoT (or Internet of Things) is something that has already begun to appear and will concern us more. In this new world, the devices and processors that give them the computing power they need will play an even more important role, interfacing and communicating seamlessly, executing the commands we have given them. At the same time, the cloud will allow us to have direct access to data and services from wherever we are and from any device. And we will be able to control all our devices only with our voice “, says the general director of the global technology giant

Applied Materials’s contribution to this technological transformation

Applied Materials, says Mr. Mallios, “is a global group of companies, which develops and provides all the solutions and products used for the production of processors and chips, as well as advanced screens worldwide. I would say that we are the company that provides the tools and infrastructure, in order to manufacture all the technology products that we use every day, either for personal or professional use. It is no coincidence that our motto is “let innovation make a better future possible”. Because that’s where we focus: how to help technology product makers create better devices, with more features and less power consumption. Especially, the last part is something to which we give more and more weight “.

Lack of human resources in the digital technology industry – the key to lifelong learning and adaptation to new data

We also asked the opinion of Mr. Mallios, who has extensive experience in positions of responsibility and knows as little as the Greek and the international technology ecosystem, on another topical issue that is the subject of dialogue at national level and concerns the lack of a sufficient number of human resources. “This dialogue takes place not only in Greece, but also worldwide. There is a shortage of specialties that touch on different areas. Especially for those related to digital technologies. A key reason is that technology is evolving so fast that it is very difficult for the education system to keep up with the trends and prepare the people, the engineers, the programmers they need to meet the needs that are being created. This, however, is something that will continue in the future. That is why I believe that a young scientist, but also all employees in general, should realize that in the near future the key will be lifelong learning and adaptation to new data and requirements that will be created. “Technology will have an ever-increasing need for talent, creative minds and innovative ideas, and we want Greece to become a center of development and human resources and innovation,” he said.

“Atoms to Algos” Event – New technological trends shaping the future have emerged

The event was not accidentally named “Atoms the Algos”. The word Algos is the abbreviation for algorithms or simply algorithms, which are now a key component of the daily lives of people, businesses and countries in the digital age we live in. The aim of the event was to explain some of the key technologies that already concern us. Why is there so much talk about the cloud? What are edge and IoT? How is artificial intelligence, which is based on algorithms and large volumes of data, utilized in our daily lives? But also how necessary is a new generation of equipment and devices, which utilize the latest developments in the field of silicon, in order to make possible all that is designed and developed by creators of applications and services around the world. I believe that we gave a very good picture of all these developments to those who attended the event, either up close or digitally, says Mr. Mallios.