PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Matt Clifford

Matt Clifford links startup creation with AI policy. He studied History at Clare and political science at MIT as a Kennedy Scholar, then founded Entrepreneur First and co-authored How to be a Founder. He also co-founded Code First Girls and served as the Prime Minister’s Representative for the AI Safety Summit and vice-chair of the Frontier AI Taskforce advisory board. His AI Opportunities Action Plan set out 50 recommendations for growth and adoption; he received a CBE for services to AI in 2024 and later advised the Prime Minister on the plan. As of October 2026, he leads International Affairs at Anthropic.

Now at
Anthropic
Photo of Matt Clifford

Timeline

  1. 2005

    Studying history at Clare

    At Clare, he studied History, founded Clare Politics, and served as president of the UCS. After graduation, he went to MIT as a Kennedy Scholar to pursue a master’s in political science.

  2. 2011–2023

    Backing founders early

    He and Alice Bentinck founded Entrepreneur First in 2011, a talent investor that backs technical founders before they have a team or company idea. With Bentinck, he co-authored How to be a Founder.

  3. By 2022

    Co-founding Code First Girls

    By 2022, he was a co-founder and non-executive director of Code First Girls.

  4. July 2022

    Taking ARIA’s first chair

    The government appointed him as ARIA’s first chair in July 2022. He would support its chief executive and steward its governance as it set out to fund transformational science and technology.

  5. 2023

    Representing the UK on AI safety

    He served as the Prime Minister’s Representative for the AI Safety Summit and vice-chair of the Frontier AI Taskforce advisory board.

  6. July 2024–January 2025

    Setting out AI opportunities

    In July 2024, the government commissioned him to lead an AI Opportunities Action Plan focused on economic growth and adoption. Published in January 2025, the plan set out 50 recommendations to grow the UK AI sector, increase adoption, and improve products and services. He received a CBE for services to AI in 2024.

  7. January 2025

    Advising the Prime Minister

    The Prime Minister appointed him as AI Opportunities Adviser to help implement the plan across government.

  8. As of October 2026

    Leading Anthropic’s global affairs

    He is Anthropic’s managing director for international affairs and leads its engagement with governments outside the United States.

Sources and credits

Photo: aria.org.uk; Board and Advisors; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: aria.org.uk. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Investing in talent stories.clare.cam.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Company builder Entrepreneur First raises $12.4M led by Greylock, Reid Hoffman joins board techcrunch.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Matt Clifford matthewclifford.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Innovation heavyweights appointed to lead new Advanced Research and Invention Agency gov.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Frontier AI Taskforce: first progress report gov.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. AI expert to lead Action Plan to ensure UK reaps the benefits of Artificial Intelligence gov.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. AI Opportunities Action Plan gov.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Matt Clifford CBE rts.org.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. Appointment of Matt Clifford CBE as the AI Opportunities Adviser gov.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  10. Architect of UK’s AI strategy joins Anthropic amid conflict of interest warning theguardian.com. Checked 14 October 2026.