# Alex Rives

Head of Science, Biohub and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. TIME100 AI 2026, Thinkers. He started and led Meta's ESM project, which built the first large-scale transformer language models for proteins, then co-founded EvolutionaryScale. ([biohub.org](https://biohub.org/team/alex-rives/))

- Education: PhD, Computer science, New York University; BS, Philosophy and biology, Yale University ([biohub.org](https://biohub.org/team/alex-rives/), [broadinstitute.org](https://www.broadinstitute.org/bios/alex-rives))
- Career: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (Head of Science, 2025 to now); MIT (Assistant Professor, 2025 to now); Broad Institute (Core Institute Member, 2025 to now); EvolutionaryScale (Co-founder and Chief Scientist, 2023–2025); Meta (Research Scientist, 2020–2023); Flatiron Institute (Data Scientist, 2014–2016); Kallyope (Co-founder, 2014–2023); Syros Pharmaceuticals (Co-founder, 2009–2023); Fate Therapeutics (Co-founder, 2005–2023); ARCH Venture Partners (Affiliate, 2005–2016) ([chanzuckerberg.com](https://chanzuckerberg.com/about/leaders/), [biohub.org](https://biohub.org/team/alex-rives/), [broadinstitute.org](https://www.broadinstitute.org/bios/alex-rives), [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrives))
- TIME profile: https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/alex-rives/
- Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/most-influential-people-in-ai/alex-rives

- Studied philosophy and biology at Yale and co-founded biotech companies including Fate Therapeutics and Syros before earning a computer science PhD. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrives))
- Started the ESM project at Meta's AI lab, which built the first large-scale transformer language models for proteins. ([biohub.org](https://biohub.org/team/alex-rives/))
- His team trained a protein model on 250 million protein sequences and found that biological structure and function emerged on its own. ([science.org](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads0018))
- In 2025 the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative bought his startup EvolutionaryScale, and its 50 employees joined Biohub with him as head of science. ([axios.com](https://www.axios.com/2025/11/06/zuckerberg-chan-biohub-ai-disease))
- Sums up his approach in five words: "I believe in scaling laws." ([youtube.com](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdevS0GSuiQ))