Alex Krizhevsky
Email - Google Scholar - ACM
TL;DR Alex Krizhevsky is a pioneering computer scientist whose groundbreaking work in deep learning and computer vision transformed the field of artificial intelligence.
Alex Krizhevsky by Sora
Alex Krizhevsky is a Ukrainian-born Canadian computer scientist who is known for his contributions to artificial neural networks and deep learning. He co-designed AlexNet, a deep convolutional neural network that won the ImageNet challenge in 2012 and sparked a revolution in computer vision. He also co-founded DNN Research Inc., a startup that was acquired by Google in 2013. He worked at Google Brain until 2017, when he left to pursue other interests. He has published many influential papers on topics such as dropout, image classification, reinforcement learning, and hand-eye coordination.
Krizhevsky’s academic background includes studies at the University of Toronto, where he worked under the supervision of Geoffrey Hinton, a leading figure in neural network research. Together, they developed AlexNet, which won the ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge (ILSVRC) in 2012 by a staggering margin. This victory marked a turning point in AI history, proving that deep learning could outperform traditional machine learning techniques at scale.
Following this success, Krizhevsky co-founded DNN Research Inc., a startup later acquired by Google in 2013. At Google Brain, he continued advancing deep learning architectures, exploring innovations like model optimization, reinforcement learning, and parallel training. His contributions laid the groundwork for many of today’s most powerful AI systems, from image recognition to generative models.
Although Krizhevsky later stepped back from the spotlight, his influence remains deeply embedded in the technologies that drive modern AI, from self-driving cars and medical imaging to voice recognition and creative generative models.
Co-creator of AlexNet, the deep convolutional neural network that revolutionized computer vision in 2012
Winner of the ImageNet Challenge, achieving a record-breaking accuracy that sparked the deep learning renaissance
Co-founder of DNN Research Inc., acquired by Google in 2013
Contributed to Google Brain, advancing neural network scalability and architecture optimization
Published seminal research on dropout, image classification, and reinforcement learning
Recognized globally as one of the key figures who launched the deep learning era in artificial intelligence
References
AlexNet - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlexNet
University of Toronto Profile https://www.cs.toronto.edu/~kriz
