Alhussein Fawzi
Co-Founder and CEO · Hiverge
Research Scientist at Google DeepMind working on ML, CV, and signal processing, pioneered DeepFool algorithm for computing minimal adversarial perturbations. Transitioned from pure research on adversarial robustness at a frontier lab to founding CEO of Hiverge.
Why: Perfect match on adversarial ML expertise (DeepFool) and DeepMind→founder trajectory. Missing physics foundation and Central European connection, but career arc from frontier lab research to founding CEO mirrors Fort closely.
Alex Georges
Founder · AetherLab
Started in particle physics at Lawrence Berkeley, pivoted to AI safety in grad school focusing on adversarial attack defense. Led deep tech strategy and AI engineering before founding AetherLab, translating 15 years of AI research into products.
Why: Nearly identical physics→adversarial AI safety→founder path. Particle physics background directly parallels Fort's astrophysics. Less evidence of rotating through multiple frontier labs, but core DNA is remarkably similar.
Sahil Agarwal
Co-Founder & CEO · Enkrypt AI
Transitioned from modeling Arctic ice drift to modeling AI misbehavior. Co-founded Enkrypt AI to find harmful outputs in LLMs, raised $2.35M seed round. Yale PhD background applied to adversarial testing and AI safety.
Why: Strong physics→AI security bridge (climate modeling to adversarial AI). Career-long adversarial focus ('finding worst things chatbot might say'). Missing frontier lab rotation and olympiad background.
Saahil Shenoy
Founding AI Scientist · Bedrock Security
Stanford Physics PhD (2016) advised by Nobel Laureate, specialized in AI applications for large-scale climate datasets. Now Founding AI Scientist at Greylock-backed Bedrock Security, applying physics training to AI security challenges.
Why: Elite physics pedigree (Nobel Laureate advisor) to AI security founding role. Strong theoretical→applied trajectory. Less evidence of adversarial specialization or frontier lab experience than Fort.
Kevin Roth
Co-Founder & COO · DeepJudge
ETH Zurich ML PhD focusing on theoretical physics, mathematical statistics, and adversarial ML (GAN regularization). Co-founded DeepJudge to translate robustness research into production systems.
Why: Strong physics→adversarial ML→founder path from ETH Zurich (Central European hub). GAN regularization work shows adversarial thinking. Less evidence of frontier lab rotation or olympiad background.
Jakub Pachocki
Chief Scientist · OpenAI
Polish competitive programmer who won international olympiads, became OpenAI's Chief Scientist overseeing GPT-4 development. Represents olympiad→frontier AI trajectory at the highest technical level.
Why: Perfect match on olympiad→civilization-scale trajectory and Central European (Poland) connection. Missing physics background and adversarial security focus; stayed in research rather than founding.
Mateo Rojas
Co-Founder and CTO · Lakera AI
Built web-scale systems at Google before co-founding Lakera AI as CTO. Now Head of Research for AI Agent Security in Zurich, focusing on safety and trustworthiness of AI systems.
Why: Google→AI security founder trajectory with Central European base (Zurich). Strong on research-to-product and adversarial focus. Missing physics foundation and olympiad background.
Martin Rehak
CEO & Founder · Resistant AI
25+ years building secure ML algorithms, founded Resistant AI in Czechia to protect financial systems from adversarial attacks, manipulation and misuse. Focuses on robust and fair machine learning.
Why: Perfect Central European match (Czechia-based like Fort). Career-long adversarial ML focus protecting critical systems. Missing physics background and frontier lab experience, but geographic and mission alignment is strong.
