🗣️ “We need to build an ecosystem and bring AI into the business fabric”
🤖 Albert Puntí and Tetiana Klymchuk, co-founders of Somia Solutions 💬 “ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek are the best for personal use, but we’re aware they fail in business settings”
This article from Transparent Algorithm #89 is also available in Catalan, English, French, and Italian. Interview originally published in Catalan in El Punt Avui, in the series AI for Everyone
Albert Puntí (Barcelona, 1998) and Tetiana Klymchuk (Kyiv, 1992) are an industrial engineer and a mathematician, respectively, and have just founded Somia Solutions. They met at a tech consultancy, and since 2019 they’ve been working with AI, especially in text processing. They’ve recently moved into Barcelona Activa and already have their first employee, fellow engineer Marcel Hernàndez.
📌 What is Somia?
Albert Puntí: We are AI, artificial intelligence. And we dream of a future. The name comes from the novel Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, where people take soma pills and are happy. As entrepreneurs, we want to offer an alternative, a more democratized AI.
Tetiana Klymchuk: And our logo is a bridge between AI and people. We want to offer solutions to companies and users.
🔮 You are techno-optimists. What is your vision and what space are you aiming for?
T.K.: We’ve done many deep learning projects and we know the field. Each company will go through a paradigm shift and bring their processes into AI. How will they do it? They still don’t know what use cases they’ll have, and we are at the beginning of this journey as providers of a platform that allows them to experiment with their own AI. There’s a lot of future here.
🛠️ Do you want to be a consultancy that accompanies companies on their AI journey, or will you have your own product?
T.K.: We have a product developed by us: Somia Platform. Custom AI projects are very expensive and, in addition, democratizing AI means offering a low-cost solution that can be quickly tested and adapted to SMEs’ needs. AI is alive. We can maintain the platform and let the company update their use cases.
A.P.: The technology that is going to revolutionize everything could leave SMEs behind compared to large companies. From a geopolitical perspective, it's essential that these kinds of entrepreneurial initiatives arise in Europe to provide solutions. As a country, we have a unique opportunity with institutions like the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. We must build an ecosystem and bring this technology to the entire business fabric.
💡 Why should an SME bet on Somia instead of settling for ChatGPT or Copilot?
A.P.: ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, etc., are the best for personal use — it’s impossible to compete there. Everyone has tried them. We know they have limitations, but when a company wants to standardize tools for all its employees, there’s a risk, because the responsibility shifts to the company or public administration.
T.K.: We’ve worked with the Architects’ Association of Catalonia (COAC), which reviews building reports according to current regulations. There are many regulations, they change, and can be contradictory. The COAC wants to implement an AI agent to help generate these reports in compliance with regulations. ChatGPT cannot guarantee this reliably.
📑 Is what you’re doing for the Architects’ Association a custom ChatGPT trained with regulations?
T.K.: We provide them with a tool that guarantees robustness. Our platform allows building the whole process as a diagram, with technology that extracts information from documents.
A.P.: We offer tools to validate that an architectural chatbot works well and has a user-friendly interface.
T.K.: ChatGPT is not robust enough for sensitive use cases like these construction reports.
“We’ve been developing and training AI models for over 7 years and we understand the technology behind it well”
🏢 Do you have other clients?
T.K.: Yes, but I’m not sure if we can name them. [Laughs.] We’ve spent a year looking for verticals, custom solutions for different sectors. We work in industry, occupational risk prevention, and with architects. We create agents to automate tasks and free up time.
🎓 Does the fact that you’re an industrial engineer and a mathematician help?
T.K.: It’s an advantage because we know what we’re talking about and what’s feasible. We’re realistic in planning and development. We can already provide access to the tool; having it ready in a year is great. Also, we don’t have the typical marketing ambitions.
A.P.: We’ve been developing and training models for over 7 years and we understand the technology well. We’ve seen more AI experts grow than AI itself. Our bet is long-term, for the next ten years.
🌎 In Latin America, you’re received like AI evangelists.
A.P.: When someone from MIT or Harvard comes, they seem better. In Europe we are a step ahead of Latin America, although they have strong companies that we don’t know or don’t recognize.
T.K.: They send students to train in the U.S. and return later. There is talent. But in Catalonia, we are also well received. Companies and institutions invite us to give training sessions every week. We don’t stop.
🌍 How do you see Europe in the geostrategic battle? Why not found Somia in the United States?
T.K.: I’ve proposed that to Albert. [They laugh.]
A.P.: At the European level, there is a clear commitment, and that’s the path we must follow. Europe can only compete if it’s united. We have talent, infrastructure, and resources. We must go together.
💻 What advantage does being close to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center give you?
T.K.: They’ve backed AI Factories, which is the bridge between companies and local supercomputing models. We want to be AI providers.
A.P.: The supercomputer is a research and innovation institute that requires investment. There’s a gap between the market and the BSC. Within this ecosystem, Somia is necessary.
🏅 Can a Catalan SME only benefit from the BSC through companies like Somia?
A.P.: Exactly. The BSC needs to reach SMEs, and we make that process easier.
T.K.: Barcelona is the best place in Europe for tech startups, especially in AI.
🏢 Do you have other clients?
T.K.: Yes, but I’m not sure if we can name them. [Laughs.] We’ve spent a year looking for verticals, custom solutions for different sectors. We work in industry, occupational risk prevention, and with architects. We create agents to automate tasks and free up time.
🎓 Does the fact that you’re an industrial engineer and a mathematician help?
T.K.: It’s an advantage because we know what we’re talking about and what’s feasible. We’re realistic in planning and development. We can already provide access to the tool; having it ready in a year is great. Also, we don’t have the typical marketing ambitions.
A.P.: We’ve been developing and training models for over 7 years and we understand the technology well. We’ve seen more AI experts grow than AI itself. Our bet is long-term, for the next ten years.
🌎 In Latin America, you’re received like AI evangelists.
A.P.: When someone from MIT or Harvard comes, they seem better. In Europe we are a step ahead of Latin America, although they have strong companies that we don’t know or don’t recognize.
T.K.: They send students to train in the U.S. and return later. There is talent. But in Catalonia, we are also well received. Companies and institutions invite us to give training sessions every week. We don’t stop.
🌍 How do you see Europe in the geostrategic battle? Why not found Somia in the United States?
T.K.: I’ve proposed that to Albert. [They laugh.]
A.P.: At the European level, there is a clear commitment, and that’s the path we must follow. Europe can only compete if it’s united. We have talent, infrastructure, and resources. We must go together.
💻 What advantage does being close to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center give you?
T.K.: They’ve backed AI Factories, which is the bridge between companies and local supercomputing models. We want to be AI providers.
A.P.: The supercomputer is a research and innovation institute that requires investment. There’s a gap between the market and the BSC. Within this ecosystem, Somia is necessary.
🏅 Can a Catalan SME only benefit from the BSC through companies like Somia?
A.P.: Exactly. The BSC needs to reach SMEs, and we make that process easier.
T.K.: Barcelona is the best place in Europe for tech startups, especially in AI.