MIT welcomes David Siegel as 2026-27 Innovation Fellow to explore AI for science
David Siegel SM ’86, PhD ’91 will serve as MIT’s Innovation Fellow for the 2026-27 academic year, working with the Schwarzman College of Computing to examine how artificial intelligence can speed scientific discovery. The former Two Sigma co‑founder, who retired from day‑to‑day management in 2024 but remains co‑chair, brings a blend of technical expertise, entrepreneurship and philanthropy.
Key points
- David Siegel will serve as MIT Innovation Fellow for the 2026-27 academic year.
- Siegel founded Open Athena in 2024, which is developing the 535‑billion‑parameter public model Marin.
- Siegel co‑founded Two Sigma in 2001 and remains co‑chair after retiring from day‑to‑day management in 2024.
Siegel founded the nonprofit Open Athena in 2024 to close the resource gap between academic labs and frontier AI. Open Athena is building Marin, a 535‑billion‑parameter foundation model that will be released publicly with all data and experiments shared in real time. Through his Siegel Family Endowment, established in 2011, he supports organizations such as the Scratch Foundation, Khan Academy and the Aspen Institute, and sits on several advisory boards. His appointment follows a history of deep ties to MIT, including graduate work in the AI Lab and co‑chairing the External Advisory Committee for the Schwarzman College of Computing.
MIT welcomes David Siegel SM ’86, PhD ’91 as its next Innovation Fellow
MIT News on AI · 23 September 2026
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