Andrew Ng

Andrew Ng is a British-American computer scientist, educator and entrepreneur who has been a central figure in the development and popularization of machine learning and artificial intelligence. He is known for his academic work at Stanford University, for co-founding major AI initiatives in industry, and for helping to bring online education in machine learning to a global audience.

Early life

Andrew Ng was born in 1976 in London, United Kingdom, and spent parts of his upbringing in Hong Kong and Singapore. He pursued higher education in the United States, earning an undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University, a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. His academic training focused on computer science and machine learning, laying the foundation for his later research and teaching career.

Career

Ng became a professor at Stanford University, where he led research in machine learning, robotics and related fields and directed the institution's artificial intelligence laboratory. He became widely known as an educator through his machine learning courses, which reached very large numbers of students online and helped demonstrate the potential of large-scale internet-based education.

He co-founded Coursera, one of the most prominent massive open online course platforms, helping to expand access to university-level education worldwide. In industry, he founded and led the Google Brain project, a major deep learning research effort, and later served as chief scientist at the Chinese technology company Baidu, where he oversaw its artificial intelligence research and strategy. These roles placed him at the forefront of the deep learning advances that reshaped the technology industry.

Recent work

Ng has continued to focus on education, entrepreneurship and the practical application of artificial intelligence. He founded deeplearning.ai, which produces widely used courses and educational materials on AI and deep learning, and launched Landing AI, a company focused on applying machine learning to industrial and manufacturing problems. He has also been involved in AI-focused investment and incubation efforts. A frequent commentator on the state of the field, Ng is known for advocating the broad, responsible adoption of AI across industries and for framing the technology in accessible terms for businesses and learners alike.

His online courses are frequently credited with introducing a large international audience to the fundamentals of machine learning, and many practitioners cite his teaching as an early influence on their careers. Ng has also written and spoken extensively about the practical challenges of deploying AI in businesses, emphasizing data quality and real-world implementation over hype. Through his various companies, educational platforms and investment activities, he has positioned himself as a bridge between academic research and industrial application, and he remains an influential voice in ongoing public discussions about the direction and societal impact of artificial intelligence.