PeopleofSuperintelligence

Lab leader

David Luan

David Luan is a lab leader whose work spans generative pretraining and AI agents. Yale awarded him a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics and political science in 2013. From 2017 to 2020 he was VP of Engineering at OpenAI, and his co-authored paper Generative Pretraining From Pixels received an Outstanding Paper Honorable Mention at ICML 2020. The research lab Adept, which he co-founded, announced a $65M Series A in April 2022. He led Amazon's AGI SF Lab as vice president of Autonomy until he announced his exit in February 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2013

    Graduating from Yale

    He graduates from Yale in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics and political science.

  2. 2017–2020

    VP of engineering at OpenAI

    He serves as VP of Engineering at OpenAI from 2017 to 2020, overseeing early-stage research projects across various subjects.

  3. 2020

    An ICML honorable mention

    He co-authors Generative Pretraining From Pixels, which receives an Outstanding Paper Honorable Mention at ICML 2020.

  4. April 2022

    Co-founding Adept

    He co-founds Adept, a research and product lab building general intelligence, which announces a $65M Series A in April 2022.

  5. June 2024

    Adept's team joins Amazon

    In June 2024 Amazon hires Adept's co-founder and CEO, David Luan, and licenses Adept's technology.

  6. December 2024–February 2026

    Heading Amazon's AGI SF Lab

    He leads Amazon's AGI SF Lab as vice president of Autonomy, a team focused on foundational capabilities for AI agents. In February 2026 he announces that he is leaving Amazon.

Sources and credits

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  1. David Luan analyticsinsight.net. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. ICML 2020 Awards icml.cc. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Generative Pretraining From Pixels proceedings.mlr.press. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. A Human-Centric Path to AGI | Greylock greylock.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Amazon hires founders away from AI startup Adept | TechCrunch techcrunch.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Amazon beefs up AI development, hiring execs from startup Adept and licensing its technology – NBC New York nbcnewyork.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Amazon opens new AI lab in San Francisco focused on long-term research bets - Amazon Science amazon.science. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Amazon AGI Lab Head David Luan Departs to Focus on AI Development | FeedBagel feedbagel.com. Checked 14 October 2026.