Podcast/Video Interviews by Stephen Ibaraki

A Chat with Ari Smith: Co-Founder of Balance Farm; Co-Founder of FatRat.ai

This week, Stephen Ibaraki has an exclusive interview with Ari Smith.

Ari Smith is the co-founder of Balance.Farm, an AI-powered luxury resilience microcommunity (micom) redefining sustainable living for an era shaped by intelligent systems, and the co-founder of FatRat, an elite AI development and consulting firm focused on building practical, next-generation AI with measurable real-world impact. At FatRat, he leads university and privately funded initiatives developing AI systems capable of detecting multiple cancer types from complex biomedical data, advancing earlier detection and improving diagnostic precision. He also oversees the creation of AI platforms that strengthen molecular drug discovery by combining advanced ML with systems biology and multiomics simulation to generate, evaluate, and prioritize therapeutic candidates, reducing both time and cost in preclinical research.

Under his leadership, FatRat customizes language models for specialized enterprise use, designing architectures tailored to domains ranging from law to manufacturing while maintaining high standards for performance, safety, and interpretability. He directs the design and deployment of self hosted AI systems that provide private, sovereign AI capabilities for individuals and organizations that require strict data control and confidentiality. FatRat is also pioneering sovereign, AI driven smart property platforms for micoms, customizing and integrating language models, autonomous agents, and IoT infrastructure to create environments that are intelligent, resilient, adaptive, and secure.

Prior to founding FatRat, Ari studied at MIT, founded and exited AlertWire to a Microsoft subsidiary, and served as a Solutions Architect at Microsoft. His work has been recognized with top honors in NASA's National Science Olympiad, a gold medal at the 2017 GeekPark International AI Challenge in Shanghai, and selection as an MIT 100K semifinalist. He has served as a Visiting Professor of AI at Yonsei University in Seoul and sits on the Executive Board of the nonprofit Global Voices for Autism.