Anima Anandkumar

Anima Anandkumar is a trailblazing computer scientist, currently the Bren Professor at Caltech and Global Advisory Board Member at SK hynix, in addition to serving on the Life Sciences Investment Fund Advisory Board at Goldman Sachs. Anima’s personal experiences as an Indian-American woman navigating the male-dominated tech world have fuelled her passion for racial and gender equality. Her lived reality shapes her powerful voice in advocating for greater inclusion in technology. Anima speaks on topics including Empowering Women, Futurism Technology, Diversity in Technology, Machine Learning, and Can Artificial Intelligence Be Conscious Too?, where she weaves together her cutting-edge research with a strong social consciousness.

Anima began her academic journey at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, later earning her PhD from Cornell University. A postdoctoral researcher role at MIT in 2009 launched her research career in machine learning and artificial intelligence. She joined UC Irvine as an Assistant Professor in 2010, rising to Associate Professor by 2016. That same year, she became a Principal Scientist at Amazon Web Services, shaping large-scale AI systems. In 2018, Anima was appointed Director of AI Research at NVIDIA, a position she held until 2022, influencing the direction of deep learning at one of the world’s leading AI companies.

Her impressive career has been recognised with numerous prestigious awards. In 2025, she received the Time100 Impact Award and the IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award, celebrating her societal influence and technical innovation. She was also named a Blavatnik Award laureate in 2024 and honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Madras. Anima’s TED talks, AI That Connects the Digital and Physical Worlds and Trinity of Artificial Intelligence, continue to spark conversations globally. She has also been named a Guggenheim Fellow, a Schmidt Sciences AI 2050 Senior Fellow, and a Fellow of AAAI and ACM, underlining her leadership in the field.

Anima’s talks combine rigorous AI insights with pressing questions of equity. She discusses the lack of racial representation in tech, proposes structural reforms, and highlights how diverse voices improve innovation. Her talks on Empowering Women and Diversity in Technology resonate deeply with underrepresented communities and allies alike. With her rare blend of technical brilliance, personal advocacy, and global recognition, Anima is a compelling speaker on racial equality and beyond—making her a standout choice for events that demand both visionary thinking and authentic leadership.