Silvio Savarese
Also known as S. Savarese
Silvio Savarese is an AI researcher whose work connects 3D computer vision, socially aware robotics, and enterprise AI. He earned a degree at the University of Naples Federico II, completed a Caltech doctorate, and held research and faculty roles at Illinois, Michigan, and Stanford. At Stanford, he led Jackrabbot research that used machine learning to help a robot recognize unwritten pedestrian rules. He joined Salesforce in 2021 to lead AI research, where the work includes generative AI and CodeGen. TIME named him to its 2024 AI list; as of October 2026, he serves as Salesforce's Chief Scientist and a member of the UN's AI panel.
- Now at
- Salesforce and United Nations
- Works
- 467
- Citations
- 58,309
- h-index
- 102
Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.
Timeline
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By 2005
A degree and doctorate
He earns a degree at the University of Naples Federico II and completes an electrical-engineering PhD at Caltech in 2005.
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2005–2008
An Illinois research fellowship
He holds a Beckman Institute postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through 2008.
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2008–2013
Michigan's computer vision group
He joins the University of Michigan faculty, first as assistant professor and then associate professor, and directs the Computer Vision Group. In 2011, he receives the NSF CAREER Award for research on 3D scene interpretation.
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2016
Teaching robots sidewalk rules
As a Stanford assistant professor, he leads the Jackrabbot project, which uses machine learning to help a robot recognize and react to unwritten pedestrian rules.
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2021
Joining Salesforce AI Research
He leaves full-time academia in April 2021 to join Salesforce AI Research as executive vice president and chief scientist.
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2022–2023
Code from conversation
He leads a Salesforce AI Research team focused on generative AI. CodeGen translates plain-English specifications into executable code.
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2024
Named to TIME's AI list
TIME names him to its 2024 list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI.
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As of October 2026
Building enterprise agent systems
He serves as Salesforce Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist and joins the United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on AI in 2026. AI Foundry's eVerse simulation tests agents against business edge cases, handoffs, and judgment calls.
Sources and credits
Photo: salesforce.com; Silvio Savarese, Author - Salesforce; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: salesforce.com. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.
- Silvio Savarese, Author - Salesforce
- Silvio Savarese - Wikipedia
- Meet Jackrabbot: the social robot | Stanford University School of Engineering
- ‘We’re Interested in Huge Leaps’: Behind the Scenes with Salesforce’s AI Research Leader - Salesforce
- Chief Scientist for Salesforce AI Offers a Glimpse into the Future of Generative AI - Salesforce
- Salesforce Launches AI Foundry to Accelerate Enterprise AI - Salesforce