PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Simon Frieder

Simon Frieder is a machine-learning researcher and mathematician who studies how language models can solve advanced mathematics. At Oxford, he began a DPhil in computer science and machine learning in 2019 under Thomas Lukasiewicz and joined Tim Gowers' Cambridge group in 2023; a 2023 study introduced GHOSTS and miniGHOSTS, datasets designed for graduate mathematics. He and his coauthors introduced the IMO Small Challenge in 2024, and he became AIMO Prize Manager; a December 2024 paper argued for mathematical-copilot data that captures proof discovery and research practice. In 2025, he discussed AIMO1 and AIMO2 and their winning models at NII, and his AIMO report described OpenAI's o3-preview tests on 50 unreleased AIMO2 problems. In 2026, he brought the three winning teams and NII researchers together to develop FM-Pochi-32B; as of October 2026, he is founder of the Fields Model Initiative and director of benchXiv.

Now at
Fields Model Initiative and benchXiv
Works
21
Citations
526
h-index
6
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2019–2026

    Oxford DPhil and Cambridge group

    He starts a DPhil in computer science and machine learning at Oxford in 2019 under Thomas Lukasiewicz. In 2023, he joins Tim Gowers' group at Cambridge.

  2. 2023

    Testing ChatGPT's math skills

    In 2023, he coauthors a study that releases GHOSTS and miniGHOSTS, natural-language datasets that aim to cover graduate-level mathematics.

  3. 2024

    The IMO Small Challenge

    He and his coauthors introduce the IMO Small Challenge in 2024, a curated collection of accessible IMO and other competition problems for evaluating language-model problem-solving.

  4. 2024

    AIMO Prize Manager

    In 2024, he becomes AIMO Prize Manager. His research links mathematics and computer science with deep-learning methods for automating mathematics.

  5. December 2024

    Data for mathematical copilots

    In December 2024, he coauthors a paper arguing that mathematical LLM datasets should capture proof discovery and richer parts of research practice.

  6. 2025

    AIMO2 and math copilots

    At an NII seminar in May 2025, he reviews AIMO1 and AIMO2 and their winning models. His AIMO report describes tests of OpenAI's o3-preview on 50 unreleased AIMO2 problems.

  7. 2026

    Developing FM-Pochi-32B

    In 2026, he brings the three winning teams and researchers from Japan's National Institute of Informatics together to develop FM-Pochi-32B under the Fields Model Organization.

  8. As of October 2026

    Founding Fields Model and benchXiv

    He is founder of the Fields Model Initiative and director of benchXiv, a nonprofit developing rigorous mathematical benchmarks for language models. Fields Model supports community development of open-source LLMs for AI in mathematics.

Career

  1. NowFields Model InitiativeFounder
  2. NowbenchXivDirector
  3. 2023–2026University of Cambridge

Education

  1. 2026University of OxfordDPhil

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Oxford. 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.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Oxford. 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.
  3. Companies supply the most prior-work hires at 7 of the 9 frontier AI labsIncludes University of Oxford. Our estimates of the organizations where 550 people worked directly before joining 9 frontier AI labs across 620 career transitions, comparing the main feeder organizations per lab.
  4. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes University of Oxford. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.

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 Simon Frieder yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Intelligent Systems cs.ox.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Simon Frieder friederrrr.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Mathematical Capabilities of ChatGPT arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. The IMO Small Challenge: First IMO Dataset for LLMs cs.ox.ac.uk. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. The AIMO Prize Manager and Advisory Committee aimoprize.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Data for Mathematical Copilots: Better Ways of Presenting Proofs for Machine Learning arxiv.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Talk on the AIMO and LLMs' mathematical abilities nii.ac.jp. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. The gap between commercial and open-source LLMs for Olympiad-level math is shrinking aimoprize.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Update on XTX Markets' AI for Maths Philanthropy aimoprize.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. FM-Pochi-32B fieldsmodel.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  11. About | Fields Model Initiative fieldsmodel.org. Checked 20 October 2026.