Edwin Chen is an American data scientist and entrepreneur known as the founder and CEO of Surge AI. He pursued a rigorous academic path at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied mathematics, computer science, and linguistics.

Before founding his own firm, Chen held prestigious roles as a research scientist at Google, Facebook (Meta), and Twitter (X). His experience at these algorithmic platforms gave him a unique perspective on the critical role that high-quality human data plays in the development of artificial intelligence.

• Core Company: Surge AI.
• Education: Mathematics and Computer Science, MIT.
• Origin: Born in the United States; former lead scientist at top Silicon Valley firms.

Edwin Chen’s career reached a new peak in 2020 when he founded Surge AI with his own personal savings. His structural achievement is tied to creating the first company to reach $1 billion in revenue while remaining completely bootstrapped and employing fewer than 100 people.

Surge AI provides elite data and evaluation environments used to train the world's most advanced AI models, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Chen’s contrarian approach rejects the standard Silicon Valley 'blitzscale' playbook, focusing instead on extreme quality and human expertise to refine AI 'taste' and values.

• Role: Founder and CEO of Surge AI.
• Market Influence: Named to the TIME 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2025.