Prem Akkaraju
CEO of Stability AI
Prem Akkaraju leads Stability AI, best known for Stable Diffusion, one of the most widely used generative AI models in the world. Stable Diffusion has been downloaded over 308 million times and, in 2023, powered more than 80% of AI-generated images online. Before Stability, Prem served as CEO of Weta Digital, the Oscar-winning visual effects studio behind Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and The Lord of the Rings. He also founded Weta Cloud, later acquired by Unity for $1.6 billion. With a career spanning film, cloud infrastructure, and generative AI, Prem brings a rare perspective on the intersection of creativity, technology, and the future of AI. With a career spanning film, cloud infrastructure, and generative AI, Prem brings a rare perspective on the intersection of creativity, technology, and the future of AI.
Eric Zelikman
AI Researcher | xAI Co-Author of the paper "Quiet-STaR"
Eric Zelikman is an AI researcher at xAI, where he focuses on developing systems that reason, represent, and learn with human-like flexibility. His work bridges the gap between human and machine learning, aiming to build models that generalize from limited experience. He is best known for co-authoring Quiet-STaR, a method enabling language models to generate internal rationales before producing output, leading to significant improvements in tasks like CommonsenseQA and GSM8K. Additionally, he developed Parsel, a framework that enhances algorithmic reasoning in language models by composing decompositions, achieving over 75% higher pass rates on complex programming tasks compared to previous methods. Eric's research has been recognized with spotlight selections at top conferences, including NeurIPS, ICLR, COLM, and TMLR. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, where he was advised by Nick Haber and Noah Goodman.
May Habib
Co-Founder and CEO of Writer
May Habib is the Co-Founder and CEO of Writer, leading enterprise generative AI platform developing LLMs and advanced AI systems for mission-critical enterprise work. A Harvard graduate and repeat founder, May began her entrepreneurial journey as a teenager and went on to launch Qordoba, an early innovator in AI-powered localization. She is a recognized thought leader in the transformative power of language and AI, shaping how organizations adapt to the future of work. Under her leadership, Writer recently raised a $200 million series C round at a $1.9 billion valuation, solidifying its role as a category-defining company in enterprise AI. Named to the Forbes AI 50 and Inc.'s Female Founders 100, May is also a MELI Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
