Jacob Tsimerman, the 2026 Fields Medal winner, has founded the Mathematical AI Safety Institute, a new research body dedicated to building rigorous mathematical frameworks for understanding and mitigating the risks of artificial intelligence. The institute, known as MAISI, was launched on September 8, 2026.
Tsimerman will serve as MAISI’s Scientific Director while simultaneously joining OpenAI’s safety department in September 2026. The institute, however, will operate independently from the company.
What MAISI actually plans to do
Based in the Bay Area, MAISI is modeled after traditional mathematical research institutes where small groups of serious researchers gather for structured semesters to work on hard problems.
The institute plans to begin operations in January 2027 with an initial cohort of 10 to 30 mathematicians. A more ambitious “special year” program is slated for September 2027, scaling up to 30 to 100 researchers for an intensive research period.
