Jacob Tsimerman, winner of the 2026 Fields Medal, founded the Mathematical AI Safety Institute (MAISI) on September 8, 2026. The organization is dedicated to creating rigorous mathematical frameworks to understand and mitigate AI risks. Tsimerman will serve as the Scientific Director, while also joining the safety department at OpenAI in September 2026, though MAISI will remain independent of the company.
Based in the Bay Area, the institute is modeled after traditional mathematical research centers. It will start operations in January 2027 with a cohort of 10 to 30 mathematicians. By September 2027, a "special year" program will scale the research group to between 30 and 100 researchers for an intensive period.
Andrew Critch will act as the Executive Director. He and Tsimerman co-authored a 2025 paper on "omnicidal" AI scenarios, which served as the intellectual foundation for the institute. The advisory panel includes Ravi Vakil from Stanford University, and the institute has established partnerships with resolution.org and alignment.org.