Guillaume Verdon

Verdon attended McGill University as an undergraduate and graduated with honors with a double major in Mathematics & Physics.{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Josh |date=2023-12-08 |title=Founded by Alphabet alums, Canadian-led AI hardware startup Extropic secures over $14 million |url=https://betakit.com/founded-by-alphabet-alums-canadian-led-ai-hardware-startup-extropic-secures-over-14-million/ |website=BetaKit |language=en-CA}} He attended University of Waterloo for graduate studies where he completed Master's work in 2017{{cite web|url=https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/11161|title=Probing Quantum Fields: Measurements and Quantum Energy Teleportation|author=Verdon-Akzam, Guillaume|date=January 10, 2017|access-date=June 5, 2024|publisher=University of Waterloo}} at the Institute for Quantum Computing and continued with Achim Kempf as his PhD supervisor. He presented papers as a Guest Speaker at NASA's 2018 Adiabatic Quantum Computing conference.{{cite web|url=https://riacs.usra.edu/quantum/aqc2018/quantum-computing-conference--speakers.html|title=2018 Adiabatic Quantum Computing Conference - Speakers|access-date=January 18, 2024|publisher=Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science - Universities Space Research Association|date=August 21, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbrgoMeO5zI|title=Quantum Approximate Boltzmann Machines - Guillaume Verdon|publisher=Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science - Universities Space Research Association|access-date=January 18, 2024|date=August 21, 2018}}

In 2017, Verdon co-founded Everettian Technologies and became its chief scientific officer.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} The company was named after Hugh Everett III, an early Canadian start-up focused on quantum machine learning solutions. He also had a side venture into NFTs related to quantum information which provided capital for his later startup Extropic AI.{{Cite web |title=OpenSea, gverdon |url=https://opensea.io/gverdon}} Verdon has worked at Alphabet & Google and had primary responsibility for theoretical work on the team that introduced the TensorFlow Quantum library for quantum machine learning.{{cite arXiv|title=TensorFlow Quantum: A Software Framework for Quantum Machine Learning|date=August 26, 2021|eprint=2003.02989 |last1=Broughton |first1=Michael |last2=Verdon |first2=Guillaume |last3=McCourt |first3=Trevor |last4=Martinez |first4=Antonio J. |author5=Jae Hyeon Yoo |last6=Isakov |first6=Sergei V. |last7=Massey |first7=Philip |last8=Halavati |first8=Ramin |author9=Murphy Yuezhen Niu |last10=Zlokapa |first10=Alexander |last11=Peters |first11=Evan |last12=Lockwood |first12=Owen |last13=Skolik |first13=Andrea |last14=Jerbi |first14=Sofiene |last15=Dunjko |first15=Vedran |last16=Leib |first16=Martin |last17=Streif |first17=Michael |author18=David Von Dollen |last19=Chen |first19=Hongxiang |last20=Cao |first20=Shuxiang |last21=Wiersema |first21=Roeland |last22=Huang |first22=Hsin-Yuan |last23=McClean |first23=Jarrod R. |last24=Babbush |first24=Ryan |last25=Boixo |first25=Sergio |last26=Bacon |first26=Dave |last27=Ho |first27=Alan K. |last28=Neven |first28=Hartmut |last29=Mohseni |first29=Masoud |class=quant-ph }}{{cite web|url=https://insidehpc.com/2020/03/tensorflow-quantum-software-combines-quantum-and-classical-machine-learning/|title=TensorFlow Quantum software combines quantum and classical machine learning|date=March 9, 2020|access-date=April 19, 2024|author=Black, Doug|publisher=insideHPC}} During his time at Google X Verdon pioneered and worked on quantum graph neural networks,{{cite arXiv |last1=Verdon |first1=Guillaume |title=Quantum Graph Neural Networks |date=2019-09-26 |eprint=1909.12264 |last2=McCourt |first2=Trevor |last3=Luzhnica |first3=Enxhell |last4=Singh |first4=Vikash |last5=Leichenauer |first5=Stefan |last6=Hidary |first6=Jack|class=quant-ph }} and quantum Hamiltonian-based models.{{cite arXiv |last1=Verdon |first1=Guillaume |title=Quantum Hamiltonian-Based Models and the Variational Quantum Thermalizer Algorithm |date=2019-10-04 |eprint=1910.02071 |last2=Marks |first2=Jacob |last3=Nanda |first3=Sasha |last4=Leichenauer |first4=Stefan |last5=Hidary |first5=Jack|class=quant-ph }} He has several patents{{Cite web |title=Google Patents |url=https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Guillaume+Verdon-Akzam |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=patents.google.com}} with Google X covering quantum computing, quantum machine learning, and signal processing.

In 2022, Verdon and Trevor Mccourt co-founded Extropic AI, which focuses on building a thermodynamic hardware platform for accelerating AI research.{{Cite web |author1=Mark Tyson |date=2024-03-19 |title=AI startup Extropic emerges from stealth with superconducting processors it boldly claims will beat GPUs, CPUs, and TPUs |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/ai-startup-extropic-emerges-from-stealth-with-superconducting-processors-it-boldly-claims-will-beat-gpus-cpus-and-tpus |website=Tom's Hardware |language=en}}{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-crypto-bros-are-coming-for-ai-2023-12|title=The crypto bros are coming for AI|date=December 23, 2023|access-date=January 18, 2023|publisher=Business Insider}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/17/techno-optimists-doomsdayers-and-silicon-valleys-riskiest-ai-debate-.html|title=The techno-optimists and doomsdayers inside Silicon Valley's most dangerous AI debate|publisher=CNBC|access-date=January 16, 2024|date=December 17, 2023}} The company recently announced the completion of a $14.1 million seed round.{{cite news|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/extropic-secures-14-1-million-224700258.html|title=Extropic Secures $14.1 Million in Seed Funding to Propel Novel Physics-Based Computing Paradigm|newspaper=Yahoo Finance |date=December 12, 2023|access-date=January 16, 2024}} Extropic AI was initially operating in stealth-mode and is focused on building chips specifically intended for running LLMs according to Verdon a "type of physics-based computer that is not quantum".{{cite web|url=https://www.theinformation.com/articles/eight-startups-challenging-nvidia-in-ai-chips|title=Eight startups challenging Nvidia in AI chips|publisher=The Information|date=August 24, 2023|access-date=February 3, 2024}} On March 24, 2025, Wired reported that Verdon was continuing to work on a "new kind of chip to accelerate AI," through Extropic.{{cite magazine |last=Knight |first=Will |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Hot New Thermodynamic Chips Could Trump Classical Computers |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/thermodynamic-computing-ai-guillaume-verdon-based-beff-jezos/ |access-date=March 28, 2025}}

{{Main|Effective accelerationism}}

Verdon wrote under the pseudonym BasedBeffJezos and was a co-founder of the effective accelerationism (e/acc) movement. The origin of the movement can be traced back to a May 2022 newsletter published by him and 3 other authors.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-leaders-accelerationism-eacc-twitter-profiles-2023-7|title=Get the lowdown on 'e/acc' — Silicon Valley's favorite obscure theory about progress at all costs, which has been embraced by Marc Andreessen|publisher=Business Insider|date=July 28, 2023|access-date=January 18, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://effectiveaccelerationism.substack.com/p/repost-effective-accelerationism|title=Effective Accelerationism — e/acc|date=31 October 2022 |access-date=January 16, 2024}}{{Cite web |first=Stephen |last=Walker |date=July 4, 2023 | title=Effective Accelerationism (e/acc)|url=https://klu.ai/glossary/effective-accelerationism |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=Klu |language=en-US }}

In its coverage of the movement Forbes outed Verdon as the author behind his pseudonymous account.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2023/12/01/who-is-basedbeffjezos-the-leader-of-effective-accelerationism-eacc/?sh=764557747a13|title=Who Is @BasedBeffJezos, The Leader Of The Tech Elite's 'E/Acc' Movement?|work=Forbes|date=December 1, 2023|access-date=January 16, 2024}} Since his naming he has spoken on podcasts & debated publicly those with conflicting views on AI safety (including with Connor Leahy{{Cite web |last=DeepCast |title=Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST): Showdown Between e/acc Leader And Doomer - Connor Leahy + Beff Jezos on DeepCast |url=https://deepcast.fm/episode/showdown-between-eacc-leader-and-doomer-connor-leahy-beff-jezos |website=DeepCast |language=en}}) and other issues of technological progress.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-18/ai-insiders-eacc-movement-speeding-up-tech/103464258|title=The AI insiders who want the controversial technology to be developed faster|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=February 17, 2024|access-date=July 12, 2024|author=Lavoipierre, Ange}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://lexfridman.com/guillaume-verdon Lex Fridman Podcast #407 – Guillaume Verdon: Beff Jezos, E/acc Movement, Physics, Computation & AGI]
• [https://www.extropic.ai/ Extropic AI - Official Website]
• [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NiXejNwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao Google Scholar Profile]

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