Hajra Naz
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool—it’s the defining technology of our era. From reshaping economies to revolutionizing healthcare, education, robotics, and creativity, AI is rewriting the rules of innovation and human potential.
In 2025, the 100 Most Influential People in AI highlight those pushing boundaries, setting ethical standards, and shaping global conversations. From tech titans and policy makers to artists and scientists, these figures represent the diverse ecosystem powering AI’s future.
Why This Matters
AI adoption is accelerating across industries, but so are debates on ethics, transparency, and regulation. The rise of generative AI, robotics, and quantum computing is transforming the future of work, education, governance, and creativity. This list of influential leaders showcases those driving responsible innovation, scaling disruptive technologies, and steering global AI strategy.
Leaders: Building the Foundations of AI
These figures lead the companies and institutions to make AI mainstream.
Matthew Prince – Co-founder & CEO, Cloudflare
Prince built Cloudflare into a key player in internet security. In 2025, he’s driving AI-powered cybersecurity, using machine learning to stop evolving online threats while improving speed and reliability. His mission: keep the internet fast, safe, and smart.
Elon Musk – Founder, xAI
Musk launched xAI to build safe, open-source AI as a counter to closed models. At Tesla and SpaceX, he integrates AI into self-driving cars and space navigation. His goal: ensure AI serves humanity on Earth—and beyond.
Sam Altman – CEO, OpenAI
Altman leads OpenAI, home of ChatGPT and GPT-5. He balances rapid AI innovation with calls for global governance and safety. Beyond OpenAI, he invests in startups and energy ventures, cementing his role as both a tech visionary and a policymaker.
Jensen Huang – CEO, Nvidia
Huang, the “Godfather of AI chips,” powers the AI revolution with Nvidia’s GPUs, the backbone of model training worldwide. In 2025, he’s pushing into AI supercomputers, robotics, and digital twins, laying the foundation of the global AI economy.
Fidji Simo – CEO of Applications, OpenAI
Simo bridges AI research and real-world use. She leads OpenAI’s applications division, scaling tools like ChatGPT for businesses, students, and governments. She champions human-centered AI, making cutting-edge tech accessible and ethical.
Mark Zuckerberg—Founder & CEO, Meta
Zuckerberg is steering Meta into an AI-first future. With LLaMA, he champions open-source AI to counter big tech monopolies. AI now powers Meta’s platforms—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—while fueling its push toward the metaverse.
Andy Jassy – President & CEO, Amazon
Jassy leads Amazon and AWS, the backbone of global cloud AI services. He’s expanding generative AI tools that power businesses, retail, and everyday life. Under his leadership, AWS is competing head-to-head with Microsoft and Google in the AI cloud race.
Allie K. Miller – CEO, Open Machine
A rising AI voice, Miller champions ethical AI while building enterprise ML platforms. She’s a key advocate for responsible, inclusive AI adoption. She’s also one of LinkedIn’s most influential AI thought leaders.
Dario Amodei – CEO, Anthropic
Amodei runs Anthropic, the creator of Claude AI. His focus is on safe, interpretable AI systems, balancing innovation with human oversight. He’s a former OpenAI executive who co-founded Anthropic after raising safety concerns.
Strive Masiyiwa – Founder & Executive Chairman, Cassava Technologies
Masiyiwa drives AI-powered connectivity across Africa. Through Cassava, he expands digital infrastructure, bridging the gap in emerging markets. His work is helping unlock AI opportunities for millions across the continent.
Cristiano Amon – President & CEO, Qualcomm
Amon powers AI on mobile chips, bringing advanced machine learning to billions of devices worldwide, from smartphones to cars. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips are becoming the foundation of AI-enabled mobile computing.
Liang Wenfeng – CEO, DeepSeek
Wenfeng leads DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab pushing into large language models and open-source AI, aiming to rival global giants. DeepSeek is seen as one of China’s fastest-growing AI challengers to Western companies.
Alexandr Wang & Nat Friedman – Co-leads, Superintelligence Lab, Meta
This duo guides Meta’s superintelligence research, scaling AI beyond today’s LLMs while keeping safety and governance in focus. Their mission is to make Meta a leader in next-gen AI development.
Ravi Kumar S – CEO, Cognizant
Kumar drives AI transformation for enterprises, helping Fortune 500 firms adopt AI in consulting, healthcare, and digital services. He’s positioning Cognizant as a top competitor in AI-driven business consulting.
C.C. Wei – Chairman & CEO, TSMC
Wei leads TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor maker. His fabs supply the chips powering nearly every AI model today. Without TSMC, the global AI boom would grind to a halt.
David Holz – Founder, Midjourney
Holz created Midjourney, a leading AI art platform. His work pushes the boundaries of creativity, design, and human–AI collaboration. Midjourney is shaping the debate over AI’s role in art and copyright.
Ren Zhengfei – Founder & CEO, Huawei
Zhengfei drives Huawei’s shift toward AI chips, cloud, and 5G-powered AI solutions, strengthening China’s position in AI infrastructure. Despite U.S. sanctions, Huawei continues to expand globally with AI products.
Steve Huffman—Co-founder & CEO, Reddit
Huffman integrates AI moderation and tools into Reddit, balancing community-driven content with safer, scalable platforms. Reddit also licenses its data to AI firms, fueling model training.
Masayoshi Son – Founder & CEO, SoftBank
Son is a visionary investor in AI, robotics, and startups. Through SoftBank’s Vision Fund, he fuels global AI innovation at scale. He predicts that AI will surpass human intelligence within the next decade.
Adam Evans – EVP & GM, Salesforce AI
Evans leads Salesforce’s AI-first strategy, embedding Einstein AI into CRM platforms for smarter business operations. Salesforce is rapidly becoming a leader in enterprise generative AI.
Rene Haas – CEO, Arm
Haas steers Arm’s chip designs, vital for AI on mobile and IoT devices, ensuring efficiency at a massive scale. Nearly every smartphone today runs on ARM-based processors.
Wang Xingxing – CEO, Unitree Robotics
Wang pioneers affordable humanoid robots, making AI-driven robotics accessible for industries and homes. Unitree’s robots are quickly becoming viral sensations online.
Amnon Shashua – President & CEO, Mobileye
Shashua leads Mobileye in autonomous driving, blending computer vision and AI to advance the future of transportation. His technology powers self-driving features in cars from BMW, Audi, and more.
Innovators: Redefining AI Creativity and Applications
Natasha Lyonne – Co-founder, Asteria Film Co.
Actor and filmmaker Lyonne co-founded Asteria Film Co., where she’s exploring the intersection of AI and storytelling. She’s pioneering new ways to merge entertainment and AI-powered creativity. Her work signals a future where actors co-create with AI tools.
Refik Anadol – Artist
Anadol creates immersive AI-driven digital art that transforms data into visual experiences. His installations reimagine how humans interact with machine creativity. He’s showcased at MoMA and other major museums worldwide.
Alex Blania – Co-founder & CEO, Tools for Humanity
Blania co-leads Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, using AI and blockchain for global identity verification. His work raises debates about privacy, ethics, and digital equity. Worldcoin now has millions of users across dozens of countries.
Mike Krieger – Chief Product Officer, Anthropic
Krieger, Instagram’s co-founder, now shapes AI products at Anthropic. He focuses on making Claude and other AI tools more accessible and user-friendly. His consumer-first vision helps bridge AI research and real-world use.
Maithra Raghu – Co-founder & CEO, Samaya AI
Raghu builds AI for healthcare and science, focusing on systems that improve safety and reliability in medical research. She’s known for her groundbreaking research on AI interpretability. Her startup is backed by leading AI and health-tech investors.
Rick Rubin – Music Producer
Rubin experiments with AI in music creation, blending human artistry with machine-assisted composition. His projects are redefining what it means to be a music producer in the AI era. He collaborates with top artists to test AI as a creative partner.
Mati Staniszewski – Co-founder & CEO, ElevenLabs
Staniszewski leads ElevenLabs, a global leader in AI voice technology. Their tools power lifelike synthetic voices for film, games, and accessibility. ElevenLabs recently raised funding at a multibillion-dollar valuation.
Peggy Johnson – CEO, Agility Robotics
Johnson drives Agility Robotics, known for its humanoid robot Digit, built to work alongside humans. She’s pushing robotics from labs into real-world industries. Agility is among the first robotics firms scaling humanoid production.
James Peng – Founder & CEO, Pony.ai
Peng runs Pony.ai, a self-driving car company operating in the U.S. and China. His company is testing autonomous taxis and trucks on public roads. Pony.ai has partnerships with Toyota and other auto giants.
Tareq Amin – CEO, Humain
Amin leads Humain, exploring AI-driven communication technologies. He’s a former telecom exec who’s now focused on AI-powered global connectivity. His vision is to bring AI-driven networks to emerging markets.
Mfikeyi Makayi – CEO, KoBold Metals Africa
Makayi uses AI for mineral exploration, helping find resources critical for clean energy. She’s at the forefront of Africa’s role in the green tech revolution. KoBold is backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos’ climate funds.
Sam Rodriques – Co-founder & CEO, FutureHouse
Rodriques builds AI tools for biomedical discovery, advancing cures and treatments. His lab fuses synthetic biology and AI for medical breakthroughs. FutureHouse is pioneering AI-driven drug discovery.
Andy Parsons – Senior Director of Content Authenticity, Adobe
Parsons develops AI tools to verify digital content, fighting misinformation. He’s leading efforts to make AI-generated media more transparent. His team works with the Content Authenticity Initiative, a global standard.
Navrina Singh – Founder & CEO, Credo AI
Singh is a champion of responsible AI governance, helping firms adopt ethical AI frameworks. Her work influences global AI policy discussions. She was named to the U.S. National AI Advisory Committee.
David Ha – Co-founder & CEO, Sakana AI
Ha runs Sakana AI, inspired by natural systems to build adaptive AI models. He’s a former Google Brain researcher known for creative AI design. Sakana AI is part of Japan’s growing AI research ecosystem.
Edwin Chen – Founder & CEO, Surge AI
Chen leads Surge AI, building better data labeling and evaluation systems for training LLMs. His company supports AI safety and reliability. Surge AI’s clients include top labs like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Priya Donti – Assistant Professor, MIT
Donti researches AI for climate action, focusing on renewable energy and power systems. She co-founded Climate Change AI, a leading global initiative. She was recognized in MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35.
Alan Descoins – CEO, Tryolabs
Descoins heads Tryolabs, a consultancy helping firms integrate AI into real business operations. He’s driving AI adoption in logistics, retail, and finance. His company has delivered AI solutions to Fortune 500 clients.
Kakul Srivastava – CEO, Splice
Srivastava runs Splice, a music platform using AI to empower creators. She’s making music production more accessible through AI-powered tools. Splice now serves millions of musicians worldwide.
Brandon Tseng – Co-founder & President, Shield AI
Tseng builds autonomous drones and defense AI for the military. His company’s tech is shaping the future of AI-powered defense. Shield AI’s systems are already deployed in combat zones.
Denise Herzing – Founder & Research Director, Wild Dolphin Project
Herzing studies dolphins using AI to decode animal communication. Her work may one day help humans talk to other species. She’s a pioneer in the field of bioacoustics and AI linguistics.
Mitesh Khapra – Associate Professor, IIT Madras
Khapra researches multilingual AI systems, making AI more inclusive for India’s languages. He co-leads the AI4Bharat initiative, expanding access to AI. His projects bring AI tools to underserved communities.
Ana Helena Ulbrich – Co-founder & Director, NoHarm
Ulbrich drives AI for healthcare safety, ensuring medical AI tools are transparent and fair. Her focus is on patient-first innovation. NoHarm collaborates with global health organizations.
Jeff Leek – VP & Chief Data Officer, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Leek integrates AI and data science into cancer research and clinical care. He’s advancing precision medicine with AI-driven insights. His work is helping doctors deliver more personalized treatments.
Shapers: Policymakers and Global Strategists
Stuart Russell – Co-founder, International Association for Safe and Ethical AI
Russell is one of the world’s leading AI safety researchers, advocating for ethical and responsible AI use. His book Human Compatible is a cornerstone in the AI safety movement. He continues to influence global AI policy and regulation.
Fei-Fei Li – Co-director, Stanford HAI & CEO, World Labs
Li is a pioneer of computer vision and AI for good, bridging research and application. At Stanford HAI, she champions human-centered AI. Her leadership at World Labs expands AI’s role in health and education.
Peter Thiel – Partner, Founders Fund
Thiel, the billionaire investor, is shaping the AI startup funding landscape. He backs controversial bets on frontier AI firms. His influence extends into U.S. tech and geopolitics.
David Sacks – White House AI & Crypto Czar
Sacks oversees AI and crypto strategy for the Biden administration. He’s tasked with balancing innovation, regulation, and national security. His role connects Silicon Valley to Washington policymaking.
Henna Virkkunen – EVP for Tech Sovereignty, Security & Democracy, EU Commission
Virkkunen leads Europe’s AI sovereignty agenda, pushing for independence from the U.S. and China. She emphasizes democratic values in AI deployment. She’s central to shaping the EU AI Act rollout.
Peter Kyle – U.K. Secretary of State for Science, Innovation & Technology
Kyle heads the U.K.’s efforts to scale AI innovation while regulating risks. He works to position Britain as a global AI hub. His office drives the AI Safety Summit agenda.
Chris Lehane – Chief Global Affairs Officer, OpenAI
Lehane manages OpenAI’s government and policy relationships worldwide. He’s building global trust for OpenAI’s products. A former political strategist, he shapes AI’s geopolitical narrative.
Marsha Blackburn – U.S. Senator, Tennessee
Blackburn is a key voice in AI regulation and children’s online safety. She co-sponsors bipartisan bills on tech accountability. Her work influences how Congress addresses AI harms.
Jeffrey Kessler – Under Secretary for Industry & Security, U.S. Commerce Department
Kessler oversees export controls on AI chips and technology. His policies directly affect–U.S.-China AI competition. He’s one of the most powerful regulators in the AI supply chain.
Joshua Kushner – Founder & Managing Partner, Thrive Capital
Kushner is a major venture backer of AI startups, including OpenAI. His fund shapes which AI firms scale globally. Thrive recently raised billions to double down on AI investments.
Paula Ingabire – Minister of ICT & Innovation, Rwanda
Ingabire drives Rwanda’s national AI and tech strategy. She’s building Africa’s presence in AI governance. Rwanda now hosts continental AI research centers.
Bruce Reed – Head of AI, Common Sense Media
Reed leads efforts to protect kids from AI harms in education and media. His team researches AI’s impact on child development. Common Sense Media is shaping family-friendly AI policies.
Clara Chappaz – Minister for AI & Digital Affairs, France
Chappaz is the face of France’s AI policy, driving both regulation and innovation. She balances support for startups with strict AI standards. France is emerging as a European AI powerhouse.
Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan – UAE National Security Adviser & Chair, G42
Tahnoun oversees the UAE’s AI and data strategy, linking security and tech. As G42’s chair, he drives AI investment and global partnerships. UAE is now a rising AI player in the Middle East.
Chris Murphy – U.S. Senator, Connecticut
Murphy is one of the most outspoken senators on AI regulation. He advocates for federal oversight and guardrails on frontier AI models. His bipartisan work makes him a key voice in shaping U.S. AI law.
Chase Lochmiller – Co-founder & CEO, Crusoe
Lochmiller runs Crusoe Energy, using wasted natural gas to power AI data centers. His company tackles AI’s massive energy footprint. Crusoe is a leader in green computing for AI.
Elliston Berry – Activist Against AI Harms
Berry campaigns against the social and labor harms caused by AI. He amplifies the voices of displaced and exploited workers. His activism shapes public debates on AI ethics and justice.
Doug Matty – Chief Digital & AI Officer, U.S. Department of Defense
Matty oversees the Pentagon’s adoption of AI in defense systems. He balances innovation with ethical military AI use. His office ensures the U.S. military keeps a technological edge.
Alex Bores – Assembly Member, New York State
Bores is pushing state-level AI regulation in the U.S. He focuses on AI accountability and transparency laws. New York could become a testbed for AI regulation.
Bosun Tijani – Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Nigeria
Tijani leads Nigeria’s AI and digital economy strategy. He’s building Africa’s biggest tech-driven economy. Nigeria is emerging as a continental AI leader.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland – Executive Director, SAG-AFTRA
Crabtree-Ireland negotiates AI labor rights for actors. He helped secure guardrails on AI use in Hollywood contracts. His leadership ensures performers’ voices and likenesses are protected.
Randi Weingarten – President, American Federation of Teachers
Weingarten advocates for ethical AI in education. She warns against replacing teachers with AI-driven systems. She pushes for AI literacy in schools.
Ed Newton-Rex – Founder & CEO, Fairly Trained
Newton-Rex is building ethical standards for AI training datasets. He pushes back against copyright abuse in AI models. Fairly Trained sets new norms for responsible AI sourcing.
Milagros Miceli – Founder, Data Workers’ Inquiry
Miceli organizes AI data laborers worldwide, exposing poor working conditions. She fights for fair wages and recognition of AI’s hidden workforce. Her research gives voice to the global data labeling community.
Abhishek Singh – CEO, IndiaAI Mission
Singh leads India’s flagship national AI strategy. He’s scaling AI across healthcare, agriculture, and governance. IndiaAI positions the country as a global AI powerhouse.
Megan Garcia – Activist Against Chatbot Harms
Garcia campaigns against the mental health and misinformation risks of chatbots. She works on policy to curb AI’s social harms. She’s become a leading voice in AI accountability activism.
Oliver Ilott – Director, U.K. AI Security Institute
Ilott heads the U.K.’s AI Safety Institute, overseeing technical evaluations of advanced AI models. His team sets standards for AI red-teaming and testing. The institute is becoming a global authority on AI safety.
Thinkers: The Intellectual Architects of AI
Joanne Jang – Head of Model Behavior, OpenAI
Jang leads efforts to ensure AI systems behave safely and responsibly. She shapes policies for alignment, trust, and user protection. Her work is central to OpenAI’s ethics and safety framework.
Yoshua Bengio – Co-president and Scientific Director, LawZero
Often called the godfather of deep learning, Bengio is a leading AI pioneer. He now advocates for AI safety and global governance frameworks. His research continues to bridge science, ethics, and policy.
Jeffrey Dean – Chief Scientist, Google
Dean is one of Google’s longest-serving AI leaders. He oversees cutting-edge research across machine learning and AI models. His leadership drives Google DeepMind and Gemini initiatives.
Daniel Kokotajlo – AI Researcher
Kokotajlo is known for his analysis of AI risks and governance. He contributes insights on long-term AI alignment challenges. His work influences policy discussions around frontier AI.
Yejin Choi – Senior Fellow, Stanford HAI
Choi is a leading researcher in commonsense AI and ethics. She studies how AI can reason, understand, and act responsibly. Her work bridges technical progress with human values.
Jakub Pachocki – Chief Scientist, OpenAI
Pachocki guides the research roadmap behind GPT models. He focuses on scaling AI while maintaining safety and reliability. His leadership drives OpenAI’s technical breakthroughs.
Jared Kaplan – Co-founder & Chief Science Officer, Anthropic
Kaplan helped design Claude AI’s research foundations. He focuses on interpretability and alignment of large models. His work ensures AI remains robust and understandable.
Karen Hao – Author
Hao is a respected journalist and writer on AI ethics. She explains how AI impacts society, policy, and daily life. Her work helps demystify AI for the public.
Pope Leo XIV – Leader, Catholic Church
The Pope offers moral guidance on AI and humanity’s future. He stresses that AI must serve human dignity and ethical values. His voice brings faith into global AI debates.
Cynthia Breazeal – Dean for Digital Learning, MIT
Breazeal is a pioneer in social robotics and AI for education. She develops systems that enhance learning through interaction. Her work combines innovation with accessible education.
Kyle Fish – Model Welfare Lead, Anthropic
Fish focuses on responsible AI deployment and oversight. He works on ensuring safety and ethical guardrails. His role emphasizes human-centered AI development.
Marius Hobbhahn – Co-founder & CEO, Apollo Research
Hobbhahn builds tools for AI interpretability and safety. His startup focuses on understanding frontier models. He’s helping make AI transparent and accountable.
Josh Woodward – VP, Google Labs & Gemini
Woodward leads AI product innovation at Google Labs. He oversees the development of next-gen Gemini AI tools. His work brings AI research closer to consumer use.
Regina Barzilay – Professor, MIT
Barzilay is a renowned researcher in AI for healthcare and language. She pioneered AI models for cancer detection and drug discovery. Her work applies AI to save lives and improve medicine.
Anton Korinek – Professor, University of Virginia
Korinek studies the economic impacts of AI on labor and society. His research explores AI-driven inequality and growth. He is a key voice on AI economics and policy.
Hartmut Neven – Founder & Lead, Google Quantum AI
Neven spearheads quantum computing and AI integration at Google. His team drives breakthroughs in quantum machine learning. He’s shaping the future of computing and intelligence.
Latanya Sweeney – Professor, Harvard University
Sweeney is a trailblazer in data privacy and fairness in AI. She exposed biases in algorithms affecting real-world decisions. Her work set the stage for AI accountability research.
Miles Congreve – Chief Scientific Officer, Isomorphic Labs
Congreve leads AI-driven drug discovery at Isomorphic Labs. He applies machine learning to accelerate medical breakthroughs. His work transforms pharma research through AI.
Heidy Khlaaf – Chief AI Scientist, AI Now Institute
Khlaaf focuses on AI safety and systemic accountability. She studies how AI impacts justice, equity, and rights. Her research informs AI policy and advocacy.
Benjamin Rosman – Founding Director, MIND Institute
Rosman researches machine learning and decision-making. He works on AI for robotics and adaptive systems. His leadership drives African AI research excellence.
Paola Ricaurte Quijano – Professor, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Ricaurte studies AI, digital cultures, and social impacts. She highlights risks of surveillance and algorithmic harm. Her work bridges academia and public activism.
Ryoji Ikeda – Artist
Ikeda uses AI to create immersive audiovisual experiences. His art explores the intersection of data, sound, and light. He is a pioneer of algorithm-driven creativity.
Dávid Jancsó – Film Editor
Jancsó experiments with AI in modern filmmaking. His work blends human creativity with machine assistance. He pushes the boundaries of storytelling with technology.
Xue Lan – Dean, Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University
Lan is a leading scholar on AI governance in China. He shapes policy discussions on responsible AI adoption. His voice influences China’s global AI strategy.
Pliny the Liberator – Digital Jailbreaker
Pliny is known for hacking and exposing AI vulnerabilities. His work reveals risks in AI restrictions and safeguards. He sparks debate on freedom vs. control in AI.
AI in 2025: What’s Next?
The landscape of AI is evolving rapidly:
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Generative AI is reshaping media, education, and business.
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AI ethics and governance are at the forefront of global policy.
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Robotics and automation are redefining labor and productivity.
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Quantum AI promises breakthroughs in computing power.
The people on this list represent not just today’s leaders, but those charting the course for the next decade.
Conclusion
The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2025 highlight the power of collaboration between technologists, policymakers, artists, and ethicists. As AI reshapes society, their vision and leadership will determine whether we achieve an inclusive, ethical, and innovative AI-powered future.
