Uber Just Promoted This Machine Learning Expert to Its Chief Scientist Role

Three months ago, Zoubin Ghahramani was a machine learning researcher at an under-the-radar startup. On Tuesday, Uber appointed him as its new chief scientist overseeing its Uber A.I. Labs, its new research arm dedicated to A.I. and machine learning. Here's what happened in the interim: In December 2016, Uber continued its aggressive push into artificial intelligence by acquiring A.I. startup Geometric Intelligence for an undisclosed amount. Ghahramani, a renowned machine learning researcher, was part of the 15-person Geometric Intelligence team absorbed in the acquisition. As part of the deal, Geometric CEO and founder Gary Marcus, a neural science professor at New York University and leading figure in A.I., became director of the A.I. Labs team at Uber based in San Francisco.