Dr. Bijoy Sagar on Leading Bayer’s Global AI-First Transformation in Pharma & Agriculture | CAIO Connect Podcast

In this episode of the CAIO Connect Podcast, host Sanjay Puri sits down with Dr. Bijoy Sagar, Chief Information & Digital Transformation Officer at Bayer, to explore how one of the world’s most iconic life sciences companies is reimagining itself with AI. What you’ll learn: How Bayer launched MyGenAssist, a secure GenAI platform for 50,000+ employees. Why pharma & agriculture are ideal testbeds for AI innovation. The rise of agentic AI – shifting from tools to enterprise-wide decision velocity. Balancing compliance, governance, and innovation in highly regulated industries. The future of synthetic data, quantum compute, and digital twins in life sciences. 👉 Watch now to hear how Bayer is driving “Health for All, Hunger for None” with AI-first strategies. Resources Mentioned: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bijoysagar/  ⏱️ Timestamps: 0:00 Podcast Highlights & Introduction  1:36 Why pharma and agriculture are ideal for AI  4:34 Bijoy’s "aha moment" with Gen AI  6:49 AI as a driver of decision velocity  10:03 Convincing the board and the bottom-up approach to Gen AI adoption 13:20 Differentiating between Gen AI and agentic AI use cases  17:43 The role of AI agents in life sciences and the concept of "transition points"  21:45 Defining AI agents: autonomous decisions and outcome-driven goals  26:13 Model selection and the importance of compute and token optimization  28:57 Rethinking the intranet as a living AI interface  33:56 Balancing AI innovation with regulatory compliance  37:16 Protecting data and the ethical use of black-box models  40:17 The future of synthetic data, digital twins, and a hybrid approach  47:50 The role of TPU accelerated compute in scientific innovation  50:25 The war for AI talent and attracting mission-driven employees  53:46 The importance of diversity in AI development and addressing the digital divide  59:18 AI's role in sustainability and food security  1:01:55 The importance of C-suite and board support for AI transformation  1:04:18 Lightning Round of Questions  1:06:09 Key advice for peers: be prepared to be wrong  1:07:16 Conclusion and farewell