Ali Farhadi, a computer vision specialist and startup founder who most recently led Apple’s machine learning initiatives, will rejoin the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) as the second chief executive officer in the non-profit research organization’s history.
Farhadi founded and led AI2 spinout Xnor.ai as CEO, and sold the AI startup to Apple in 2020 in an estimated $200 million deal that represents one of the institute’s biggest commercial successes to date.
His departure from Apple and return to AI2, effective July 31, comes at a pivotal moment in the evolution of artificial intelligence, as generative AI technologies powered by large language models capture the attention of the world.
Farhadi succeeds Oren Etzioni, who was tapped by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to launch AI2 nearly a decade ago. Etzioni announced his decision to step down as CEO last year, saying he would continue as a board member, advisor, and technical director of the AI2 Incubator.
Longtime AI2 research leader Peter Clark has been serving as interim CEO.
AI2 has been responsible for numerous breakthroughs in the field, even as Microsoft-backed OpenAI — a combination of a non-profit and a “capped profit” corporation — has received the lion’s share of attention in the industry for its publicly available AI technologies, most recently ChatGPT and GPT-4.
Farhadi will be tasked with cementing and elevating AI2’s position, leveraging its unique role as an independent nonprofit.
“As we face unprecedented changes in the development and usage of AI, I could not think of a better time to return to AI2 as CEO,” Farhadi said in a statement. “Today more than ever, the world needs truly open and transparent AI research that is grounded in science and a place where data, algorithms, and models are open and available to all.”
“I believe this radical approach to openness is essential for building the next generation of AI.”
Ali Farhadi
AI2 employed about 200 people as of its last publicly released numbers.
Primarily backed by Allen’s Vulcan Inc., AI2 has been expanding its funding sources in recent years, and generating more proceeds from its startup incubator, which recently raised a new $30 million startup investment fund.
Last year, Etzioni told GeekWire that the Allen estate was providing more than 95% of AI2’s total of $100 million in annual funding for 2022, with a commitment from the estate to support AI2 in perpetuity. At the time, the organization and the estate were creating a 10-year funding plan, with the assumption that funding from the estate and separate fundraising by AI2 would both increase over time.
AI2 didn’t reference the outcome of that planning or the status of AI2’s funding in the announcement naming Farhadi as its new CEO. A public-relations representative for AI2 said Farhadi wasn’t available for an interview.
Farhadi is expected to remain a faculty member at the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, in addition to serving as AI2 CEO.
Along with his AI expertise, AI2 board members say his past roles as a startup CEO and leader inside a large company give him a unique perspective and breadth of experience.
“Ali is the truly rare leader who combines expertise as an executive, entrepreneur, academic, and researcher. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated the transformative power of AI through his unique ability to channel deep scientific research into product solutions,” said Peter Lee, an AI2 board member and corporate vice president of Microsoft Research & Incubations, in a statement released by AI2.
The search for AI2’s next CEO took nearly a year, said Ed Lazowska, a University of Washington computer science professor who took part in the search along with fellow AI2 board members Lee and Bill Hilf, CEO of Vulcan.
They narrowed a list of more than 50 prospects to six “really extraordinary” finalists, Lazowska said via email.
“Ali was our top choice out of this amazing group, and we’re thrilled that we were able to land him,” Lazowska said. He added that the selection also ensures the continuation of the “extremely close relationship between AI2 and the Allen School that Oren Etzioni nurtured and that has been hugely beneficial to both organizations.”
Lazowska pointed to AI2’s recently announced OLMo (Open Language Model) as a signature AI2 initiative — “something of great importance that a university can’t do and a company won’t do.”
“The next few years will be critical in defining the future of AI,” he said. “AI2 is uniquely positioned not only as one of the world’s top AI research organizations, but as an independent non-profit, not beholden to a corporation. AI2’s expert, independent, thoughtful voice will be of even greater importance in the future than it has been in the past.”
