# Andrej Karpathy > Slovakian-Canadian AI researcher (born 1986) **Wikidata**: [Q56037405](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56037405) **Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrej_Karpathy) **Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/andrej-karpathy ## Summary Andrej Karpathy was born on October 23, 1986, in Bratislava[1][2]. He received his education at Stanford University[3]. His professional field encompasses machine learning and computer vision. He was employed at OpenAI from 2015 to 2017[4]. He subsequently worked for Tesla, Inc. between 2017 and 2022[4]. He then returned to OpenAI from 2023 to 2024[4]. ## Summary Andrej Karpathy (born 23 October 1986) is a Slovak‑Canadian computer scientist and artificial‑intelligence researcher. He is best known for leading Tesla’s AI vision team (2017‑2022) and for his research and engineering work at OpenAI and Stanford University. ## Biography - **Born:** 23 October 1986, Bratislava, Slovakia - **Nationality:** Slovakian, Canadian - **Education:** Ph.D. in Computer Science, Stanford University (Doctor of Philosophy, completed 2016) – doctoral advisor Fei‑Fei Li - **Known for:** Pioneering work in machine learning and computer‑vision systems for autonomous vehicles and AI research platforms - **Employer(s):** OpenAI (Dec 2015 – Jun 2017; Feb 2023 – Feb 2024), Tesla, Inc. (Jun 2017 – 30 July 2022) - **Field(s):** Machine learning, computer vision ## Contributions Andrej Karpathy earned his doctorate at Stanford under the mentorship of Fei‑Fei Li, focusing on deep learning for visual perception. After academia, he joined OpenAI in late 2015, contributing to early large‑scale language and vision models until mid‑2017. In June 2017 he moved to Tesla, where he served as the head of the AI and computer‑vision team, overseeing the development of the neural‑network stack that powers Tesla’s Autopilot visual system; he remained in that role until July 2022. Karpathy returned to OpenAI for a second stint from February 2023 to February 2024, working on advanced AI research initiatives. Throughout his career he has maintained an active open‑source presence (GitHub @karpathy) and shares technical insights via his personal website, Medium blog, and YouTube channel, influencing both academic researchers and industry engineers. ## FAQs ### Q: What is Andrej Karpathy’s primary area of expertise? A: He specializes in machine learning and computer vision, particularly deep‑learning models for image and video understanding. ### Q: Which companies has Karpathy worked for? A: He has held senior AI positions at OpenAI (2015‑2017, 2023‑2024) and Tesla, Inc. (2017‑2022). ### Q: Where was Andrej Karpathy born? A: He was born in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 23 October 1986. ### Q: Does Karpathy have an academic background? A: Yes; he earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2016, supervised by Fei‑Fei Li. ### Q: How can I follow Karpathy’s work online? A: He publishes on his website [karpathy.ai](https://karpathy.ai/), GitHub @karpathy, Medium @karpathy, and YouTube channel “Andrej Karpathy”. ## Why They Matter Karpathy’s blend of academic rigor and industry leadership has accelerated the practical deployment of deep‑learning vision systems. At Tesla, his work enabled real‑time perception for autonomous driving, setting a benchmark for on‑device neural networks. His contributions at OpenAI helped shape early large‑scale language and vision models that underpin today’s generative AI tools. By openly sharing code, tutorials, and research insights, he has educated a generation of engineers and researchers, spreading best practices in model training, optimization, and deployment. Without his influence, the pace of AI integration into consumer products and the accessibility of cutting‑edge deep‑learning knowledge would have been markedly slower. ## Notable For - Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University (2016) under Fei‑Fei Li. - Head of AI and computer‑vision at Tesla, Inc. (2017‑2022), guiding Autopilot visual technology. - Two tenures at OpenAI (2015‑2017; 2023‑2024), contributing to foundational AI research. - Dual Slovakian‑Canadian citizenship and a prominent public educator via GitHub, Medium, and YouTube. - Recognized as a leading figure in machine learning and computer‑vision communities. ## Body ### Early Life and Education - Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 23 Oct 1986. - Holds Slovakian and Canadian citizenship. - Completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science at Stanford University in 2016; doctoral advisor was Fei‑Fei Li, a noted computer‑vision researcher. ### Academic Work - Conducted research on deep learning for visual perception, publishing papers that are indexed in Google Scholar (author ID l8WuQJgAAAAJ) and listed in the Mathematics Genealogy Project (ID 258986). - His scholarly output is tracked by Scopus (ID 47962274400) and DBLP (author 04/9925). ### Industry Career #### OpenAI (Dec 2015 – Jun 2017) - Joined OpenAI shortly after his Ph.D., contributing to early large‑scale AI models. #### Tesla, Inc. (Jun 2017 – 30 Jul 2022) - Appointed AI leader, overseeing the development of the neural‑network stack for Tesla’s Autopilot vision system. - Managed a team that integrated deep‑learning perception into production vehicles. #### OpenAI (Feb 2023 – Feb 2024) - Returned to OpenAI for a second term, focusing on advanced research projects. ### Online Presence and Community Impact - Maintains a personal website [karpathy.ai](https://karpathy.ai/) (English). - Active on GitHub as **karpathy**, sharing open‑source code and tutorials. - Publishes technical articles on Medium under the username **karpathy**. - Hosts a YouTube channel “Andrej Karpathy” (Channel ID UCXUPKJO5MZQN11PqgIvyuvQ) with over 300 k subscribers as of early 2023. - Engages on Twitter (@karpathy, verified) and Mastodon (karpathy@sigmoid.social). ### Identifiers and References - Image: ![Andrej Karpathy](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Andrej_Karpathy,_OpenAI.png) - GND ID 1274073936, VIAF 3028167025443553390006, ORCID not listed. - Wikipedia entry available in multiple languages (e.g., en, de, cs). --- *All information presented is drawn exclusively from the supplied source data.* ## References 1. [Šéf AI v Tesle: Rodák zo Slovenska je medzi TOP 35 mladými novátormi. Živé.sk. 2020](https://zive.aktuality.sk/clanok/147462/sef-ai-v-tesle-rodak-zo-slovenska-je-medzi-top-35-mladymi-novatormi/) 2. [Source](https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/11849345) 3. [Tesla AI leader Andrej Karpathy announces he's leaving the company. CNBC. 2022](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/13/tesla-ai-leader-andrej-karpathy-announces-hes-leaving-the-company.html) 4. [X account. 2012](https://twitter.com/karpathy/status/261161354969358337) 5. Google Knowledge Graph 6. [Source](https://karpathy.ai/) 7. YouTube API