Sir Demis Hassabis: Co-founder Google DeepMind
Artificial intelligence pioneer and neuroscientist Demis Hassabis advances general AI and scientific discovery by uniting machine learning, neuroscience, and game-based intelligence research.
Quick Facts:
- Highlights:
- Founder and CEO of DeepMind, a global leader in advanced AI research
- Led development of AlphaGo and AlphaFold2, two historic AI breakthroughs
- Five-time World Games Champion in chess and games competition
- Joint recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold2
- Formats: Keynote speaker and AI research leader
- Audiences: Scientists, business leaders, policymakers, and organizations exploring artificial general intelligence, scientific discovery, and long-term AI impact
- Outcomes:
- Deeper understanding of how AI accelerates scientific breakthroughs
- Insight into building general-purpose intelligence systems
- Perspective on responsible AI development and long-term societal impact
- Travels from: London, UK
- **Fee range: $500,001 - $1,000,000
Talent Services
Keynote Topics:
Speaker Topics
- AI
- Leadership
- Neuroscience
- Technology
Talent Short Bio
Sir Demis Hassabis is a world-leading computer scientist, neuroscientist, and technology entrepreneur best known as the founder and CEO of DeepMind, a neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence company acquired by Google in 2014 and now operating within Alphabet.
A former chess prodigy and self-taught programmer, Hassabis began his AI career in the games industry. At just 17, he co-designed and programmed the multi-million-selling simulation game Theme Park. After earning a Double First in Computer Science from University of Cambridge, he founded Elixir Studios and spent more than a decade building successful technology startups.
Driven to understand intelligence at a deeper level, Hassabis returned to academia, completing a PhD in cognitive neuroscience at University College London, followed by postdoctoral research at MIT and Harvard University.
Since founding DeepMind in 2010, Hassabis has led landmark breakthroughs including AlphaGo, the first system to defeat a world champion at the game of Go, and AlphaFold2, which solved the long-standing protein structure prediction challenge, transforming biology and drug discovery. His work consistently demonstrates how general-purpose AI can accelerate scientific progress.
Read Full Bio
Sir Demis Hassabis is a computer scientist, neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and the founder of DeepMind, the pioneering neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence company acquired by Google in January 2014.
Hassabis began his career in artificial intelligence in the games industry. A chess and programming prodigy, he co-designed and programmed the multi-million-selling construction and management simulation game Theme Park at the age of 17, after completing his A-levels at 16. After graduating from the University of Cambridge with a Double First in Computer Science, Sir Demis Hassabis founded the award-winning video game company Elixir Studios, producing titles for global publishers including Vivendi Universal. Following more than a decade leading successful technology startups, he returned to academia, earning a PhD in cognitive neuroscience at University College London, followed by postdoctoral research at MIT and Harvard.
In 2010, Sir Demis Hassabis founded DeepMind in London. The company was acquired by Google in 2014 and now operates as part of Alphabet. Under his leadership, DeepMind has grown to more than 2,000 research scientists and engineers and has delivered landmark breakthroughs across numerous AI domains, including Atari games and StarCraft II. In 2016, DeepMind’s AlphaGo became the first computer program to defeat the world champion in the complex game of Go through self-play. In 2020, this success was followed by AlphaFold2, which solved the 50-year grand challenge of protein structure prediction by accurately predicting protein 3D structures, with profound implications for biology, disease research, and drug discovery.
Sir Demis Hassabis is a five-time World Games Champion and a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. His research on the relationship between memory and imagination was named one of Science magazine’s top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2007. He was included in TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2017, appointed CBE in 2018 for services to science and technology, and awarded the Dan David Prize Future Award in 2020 for his work in AI. In 2024, Hassabis received a knighthood for services to artificial intelligence and was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold2.
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