BREAKING: In a stunning move, 24-year-old Carina Hong has successfully lured some of Meta’s top AI researchers to her innovative startup, Axiom Math. This urgent development marks a significant shift in the tech landscape as Hong’s company has already raised a remarkable $64 million in seed funding to create an AI mathematician.
Founded in March 2023, Axiom Math is making headlines after claiming it solved two notorious Erdos math problems that have stumped mathematicians for decades. The urgency surrounding this announcement highlights not only Axiom’s ambition but also its potential to revolutionize advanced mathematics and AI research.
Hong, a former Stanford Ph.D. student and Rhodes Scholar, has a clear vision: to tackle advanced mathematics, which experts believe is crucial for achieving superintelligence. She stated that the mission to solve complex mathematical problems is inspiring her team, which now boasts 17 employees, many of whom hail from Meta’s prestigious Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) lab, as well as Google Brain—now part of DeepMind.
According to Hong, the allure of Axiom’s groundbreaking mission has been a key factor in attracting top-tier talent from Big Tech. “When the problem is hard enough, talent density gets very high, and that makes you a magnet for other great thinkers,” Hong told Business Insider.
The competitive hiring environment has intensified after Meta experienced significant layoffs in October 2023, losing top researchers and even its chief scientist, Yann LeCun. Despite Meta’s substantial retention packages, Axiom’s potential for long-term success and its exhilarating mission drew talent like Shubho Sengupta, Axiom’s Chief Technology Officer, who was recruited after a chance meeting at a coffee shop.
Moreover, Hong isn’t just fishing in the Big Tech talent pool; she has also recruited her former professor, renowned mathematician Ken Ono, underscoring her determination to build a world-class team. “Age and experience are sort of manmade concepts,” Hong remarked, highlighting her confidence in leading a diverse group of researchers.
The company’s mission extends beyond pure mathematics; Axiom Math aims to have commercial applications in fields requiring “provably correct reasoning,” such as hardware and software verification, quantitative finance, and cryptography. This expansive vision further enhances its appeal to prospective employees.
As Axiom Math gears up for its next phase, the tech community watches closely. What happens next could redefine the intersection of AI and mathematics, with Hong’s team potentially leading the charge into uncharted territories.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story, as Axiom Math’s progress could have profound implications for the future of technology and artificial intelligence.