Chemicals group Syensqo launches AI partnership with Microsoft
Chemicals and materials group Syensqo is entering into a partnership with Microsoft on AI innovation, it announced on Wednesday.
The agreement involves cooperation and knowledge sharing, with the goal of “exploring joint development projects and establishing a roadmap for future strategic engagement”, it said.
Syensqo will use Microsoft Discovery, a new AI application platform specifically aimed at scientists and engineers for research and development, which can be integrated with proprietary systems and data.
The company, which was spun off from chemical giant Solvay at the end of 2023, will use the platform to accelerate innovation in bio-based polymers, circular composites and materials for clean energy.
"We’re not just accelerating innovation — we’re redefining what’s possible in the specialty materials industry"
In addition, the two businesses will explore how Microsoft could use Syensqo’s materials in its cloud and AI infrastructure and for meeting sustainability goals.
“Syensqo’s advanced materials indeed enable AI technologies," the company said. "From powerful semiconductor components to energy systems, Syensqo provides the building blocks of tomorrow’s digital infrastructure, while remaining at the forefront of innovation.”
Syensqo, whose headquarters are in Brussels, is already using several AI applications. In its research and development activities, for example, it uses AI to design entirely new polymers. Generating and analysing millions of hypothetical molecules reduces discovery time.
"By integrating AI into everything from product discovery to factory floor efficiency, we’re not just accelerating innovation — we’re redefining what’s possible in the specialty materials industry," CEO Ilham Kadri said in a press release.
AI in public sector
Meanwhile, according to research commissioned by Google, which offers AI services, Belgium could save up to 4 billion euros a year by using AI in the public sector.
The report says 71 per cent of functions within public administration, accounting for about 320,000 jobs, could be improved by AI. That includes officials performing fewer repetitive tasks and doing more meaningful work.
For about 55,000 jobs, according to the study, more than half of tasks could be automated, for example by chatbots helping citizens with general queries.
Generative AI could also help with coordinating public transport or rubbish collection, drafting regulations and budget planning, it said.
At the beginning of the year, Flanders signed Europe's largest government contract for Microsoft's Copilot during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Up to 10,000 employees of the Flemish government and local administrations were expected to have access to the AI assistant.
Syensqo CEO Ilham Kadri at the Clean Industrial Deal Event in Antwerp, February 2025 © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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