PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Gennady Pekhimenko

Gennady Pekhimenko is a computer systems researcher whose work spans computer architecture, systems, and applied machine learning. After earning a master of science at the University of Toronto in 2008 and a PhD in computer science at Carnegie Mellon in 2016, he worked in Microsoft Research’s Systems Research Group before joining Toronto’s faculty in 2017. The University of Toronto named him a CIFAR AI Chair in 2019; he received the MICRO Top Picks Award in 2021 and co-founded CentML, whose lab-derived platform optimizes machine-learning models for cost-effective hardware. At NVIDIA, he is Senior Director of AI Software, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, and a Vector Institute faculty member; he contributed to Hexcute, a compiler framework for GPU layout synthesis, at CGO in 2026.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 2008

    A Toronto master's degree

    He earns a master of science at the University of Toronto in 2008.

  2. 2016–2017

    PhD and Microsoft Research

    At Carnegie Mellon, he completes a PhD in computer science in 2016. He spends a year at Microsoft Research's Systems Research Group in Redmond before joining the University of Toronto in 2017.

  3. 2017

    Leading EcoSystem at Toronto

    In summer 2017, he joins the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto as an assistant professor and leads the EcoSystem research group. His research interests include computer architecture, systems, and applied machine learning.

  4. 2019

    A CIFAR AI Chair

    The University of Toronto names him one of eight CIFAR AI Chairs in 2019; all eight researchers are Vector Institute faculty members.

  5. 2021

    A MICRO Top Picks Award

    He receives the MICRO Top Picks Award in 2021.

  6. 2022–2024

    Co-founding CentML

    CentML starts in 2022 from research in his lab. His team optimizes machine-learning models for cost-effective hardware, and by 2024 he is the startup's CEO and a co-founder.

  7. June 2025

    CentML joins NVIDIA

    NVIDIA acquires CentML in June 2025. Pekhimenko becomes a senior director of AI software at NVIDIA.

  8. As of October 2026

    NVIDIA AI software director

    He is Senior Director of AI Software at NVIDIA, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, and a Vector Institute faculty member. At CGO in 2026, he contributes to Hexcute, a compiler framework for automating layout synthesis in GPU programs.

Career

  1. Since 2025NVIDIASenior Director of AI Software
  2. Since 2017University of TorontoAssistant Professor
  3. NowVector InstituteFaculty Member
  4. From 2022CentMLCo-founder, CEO
  5. 2016–2017Microsoft Research

Education

  1. 2016Carnegie Mellon UniversityPhD in Computer Science
  2. 2008University of TorontoMaster of Science

From the biography.

Videos

YouTube videos in which Gennady Pekhimenko speaks or appears, newest first. A model chose them from YouTube search results. List updated 21 October 2026.

  1. Optimize GPU performance for AI - Prof. Gennady PekhimenkoMachine Learning Street Talk · 13 November 2024 · 2 h 9 min

Video data from YouTube API Services. By watching you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service. How we use YouTube data.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Gennady Pekhimenko. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. 23% of people shaping AI who left a university for a company later returned to a universityIncludes Gennady Pekhimenko. We estimate that 468 of the 2,011 people shaping AI who left a university for a company (23%) later returned to a university after a median of 5 years, and 163 of 829 (20%) made the reverse round trip.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes NVIDIA. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  4. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Toronto. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Gennady Pekhimenko yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. CentML startup led by Gennady Pekhimenko provides cost-effective machine learning solutions to companies web.cs.toronto.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Gennady Pekhimenko - Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence vectorinstitute.ai. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Gennady Pekhimenko | Systems & Networks Group csng.cs.toronto.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Artificial Intelligence researchers named CIFAR AI Chairs | University of Toronto utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Nvidia acquires Canadian AI efficiency startup CentML | BetaKit betakit.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. From Research to Revenue: Accelerating AI Commercialization app.swapcard.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Gennady Pekhimenko - CGO 2026 2026.cgo.org. Checked 21 October 2026.