Barney Pell

Barney Pell is a computer scientist whose AI work spans general game playing, spacecraft autonomy, and natural-language search. He earned a B.S. in symbolic systems at Stanford in 1989 and a PhD in computer science at Cambridge in 1993 as a Marshall Scholar. At NASA Ames, he worked on autonomous control software and METAGAME, a workbench for chess-like games; his Remote Agent design became the first AI system to fly aboard and control a spacecraft, winning NASA's Software of the Year Award in 1999. After leaving NASA for Mayfield in 2005, he founded Powerset and was its co-founder and CEO when Microsoft agreed to acquire the natural-language search company in 2008; in April 2011, he joined Moon Express as a co-founder, vice-chairman, and chief technology officer. In March 2025, he served as a Venture Partner at Radical Ventures; as of October 2026, he is Chief Strategist, Chief Scientist, and Head of AI at Magic.

Now at: Radical Ventures and Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Works: 58
Citations: 2,843
h-index: 17
Badges: Founder
Bridge
Wayfarer

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026.

Timeline

1989–1993

Degrees in symbolic systems and AI

He earns a B.S. in symbolic systems at Stanford in 1989 and a PhD in computer science at Cambridge in 1993 as a Marshall Scholar.
1993–1998

NASA Ames and METAGAME

From 1993 to 1998, he works as a principal investigator and senior computer scientist at NASA Ames on autonomous control software for deep-space missions. By 1995, his METAGAME workbench can generate symmetric chess-like games and provides game definitions for chess, checkers, Chinese chess, and shogi.
1998–1999

Remote Agent on a spacecraft

In 1998, he co-authors a design for NASA's Remote Agent flight experiment for spacecraft command and control. In 1999, the AI system becomes the first to fly aboard and control a deep-space probe, and wins NASA's Software of the Year Award.
2005–2008

Founding Powerset search

After leaving NASA in 2005 for an Entrepreneur-in-Residence role at Mayfield, he founds Powerset, a natural-language search company. In 2008, Microsoft agrees to acquire Powerset; he is its co-founder and CEO, and Microsoft plans to integrate the search technology into Live Search.
April 2011

Moon Express and lunar exploration

In April 2011, he joins Moon Express as co-founder, vice-chairman, and chief technology officer, applying his AI, search, and spacecraft-control work to commercial lunar exploration.
March 2025

Venture Partner at Radical Ventures

In March 2025, he serves as a Venture Partner at Radical Ventures and co-hosts a Constellation AI Forum session on advances in AI startups.
As of October 2026

Leading AI at Magic

As of October 2026, he is Chief Strategist, Chief Scientist, and Head of AI at Magic and a Venture Partner at Radical Ventures.