PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Sam Bankman-Fried

Also known as SBF

Sam Bankman-Fried is a former cryptocurrency executive who, as CEO of FTX, led the $580 million Series B round of the AI company Anthropic in April 2022. Born in Stanford, California, he graduated from MIT in 2014 with a physics degree, worked at Jane Street Capital, cofounded the trading firm Alameda Research in 2017, and founded the FTX exchange in 2019. After FTX collapsed in November 2022, he was arrested in December 2022, a jury convicted him on all seven counts in 2023, and he received a 25-year sentence in 2024. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in June 2026. He is serving the sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc, and petitioned the Supreme Court for a new trial in September 2026.

Now at
FTX
Born
1992
Badges

Timeline

  1. 1992–2014

    Physics degree at MIT

    He is born in 1992 in Stanford, California, and graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in physics and a minor in mathematics.

  2. 2013–2017

    Jane Street and effective altruism

    After graduating from MIT, he works full-time at the trading firm Jane Street Capital, where he had interned in the summer of 2013. In September 2017, he leaves for Berkeley, California, and works briefly at the Centre for Effective Altruism as director of development.

  3. 2017–2019

    Alameda Research and FTX

    In November 2017, he cofounds the quantitative trading firm Alameda Research, and in April 2019 he founds the FTX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange.

  4. April 2022

    Leading Anthropic's Series B

    In April 2022, as CEO of FTX, he leads the $580 million Series B funding round in the AI company Anthropic. Caroline Ellison, Jim McClave, Nishad Singh, Jaan Tallinn and the Center for Emerging Risk Research also take part.

  5. November 2022–December 2022

    The FTX collapse and arrest

    FTX collapses in November 2022, leaving customers, investors and lenders short over $11 billion. He is arrested in the Bahamas in December 2022 and extradited to the United States, where he is indicted on seven criminal charges.

  6. November 2023–March 2024

    A 25-year prison sentence

    A Manhattan federal jury convicts him on all seven counts in November 2023 after a monthlong trial. In March 2024, he is sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion.

  7. April 2024–June 2026

    Appeal and pardon petition

    He appeals his conviction and sentence in April 2024. In June 2026, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the conviction, the 25-year sentence and an approximately $11 billion forfeiture order, and he files a petition for a presidential pardon.

  8. As of October 2026

    Prison and a Supreme Court petition

    He is serving his 25-year sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc. In September 2026, he petitions the Supreme Court of the United States for a new trial, arguing that the trial court improperly restricted evidence about whether FTX and Alameda had sufficient assets to repay customers.

Career

  1. 2019–2022FTXFounder, CEO
  2. 2017Centre for Effective AltruismDirector of Development
  3. From 2017Alameda ResearchCo-founder
  4. 2013–2017Jane StreetIntern

Education

  1. 2014Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyBachelor's degree in physics

From the biography.

Videos

YouTube videos in which Sam Bankman-Fried speaks or appears, newest first. A model chose them from YouTube search results. List updated 20 October 2026.

  1. Sam Bankman-Fried on GREAT FOUNDERSDwarkesh Patel · 22 July 2022 · 1 min
  2. Sam Bankman-Fried - Crypto, FTX, Altruism, & LeadershipDwarkesh Patel · 5 July 2022 · 46 min

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

  1. 23% of people shaping AI who left a university for a company later returned to a universityIncludes Sam Bankman-Fried. 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.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Jane Street. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Sam Bankman-Fried yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Sam Bankman-Fried - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Google invests $300M in AI firm previously funded by Sam Bankman-Fried cointelegraph.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. FTX CEO leads $580m Series B round in Anthropic - Private Equity Wire privateequitywire.co.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. US Prosecutors Calls SBF's $500 Million Investment in AI Firm Anthropic 'Wholly Irrelevant' - Decrypt decrypt.co. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Appeals court upholds FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction - WTOP News wtop.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Ex-crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of defrauding FTX customers arabnews.pk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Sam Bankman-Fried Formally Applies For A Pardon engadget.com. Checked 20 October 2026.