What is Lex Fridman's Net Worth?
Lex Fridman is a computer scientist, artificial intelligence researcher, and podcaster who has a net worth of $8 million. As a research scientist, he works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on computer vision and autonomous vehicle systems, among other areas of specialty. Fridman also hosts the "Lex Fridman Podcast," a popular podcast and YouTube series.
Early Life and Education
Lex Fridman was born on August 15, 1986 in Chkalovsk in Soviet Tajikistan into a Russian-Jewish family. His father, Alexander, is a plasma physicist who works at Drexel University's College of Engineering. Fridman's brother, Gregory, is also a plasma physicist. When Fridman was around 11 years old, he immigrated with his family to the United States, settling in suburban Chicago, Illinois. In Naperville, he went to Neuqua Valley High School. For his higher education, Fridman attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he earned his BS and MS degrees in computer science and his PhD in electrical and computer engineering. He completed his PhD dissertation, entitled "Learning of Identity from Behavioral Biometrics for Active Authentication," under the advisement of Moshe Kam and Steven Weber.
Computer Scientist
Fridman launched his professional career at Google, where he worked on machine learning projects. He went on to join the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a research scientist in 2015. In 2017, Fridman worked on projects related to computer vision, deep learning, and algorithms for semi-autonomous vehicles.
Lex Fridman Podcast
In 2018, Fridman launched his "Artificial Intelligence Podcast" as part of an MIT course on artificial general intelligence. He later renamed it the "Lex Fridman Podcast" and began focusing on a broader array of subjects, including history, philosophy, and phenomenology. The podcast is structured as a long-form interview show, and typically runs anywhere from two to four hours per episode. Over the years, it has featured various celebrities, including chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and tech titans Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Elon Musk. Additionally, Fridman has brought his interest in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and other grappling sports onto the podcast via interviews with such fighters as Georges St-Pierre, Roger Gracie, and Craig Jones.
YouTube
Fridman has been on YouTube since 2006. His channel focuses on talk and technology, and has accumulated over 450 million total views. Fridman has more than three million subscribers on his channel, as well.
Research and Publications
Fridman's research focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and autonomous vehicle systems. His publications include "Driver Gaze Region Estimation without Use of Eye Movement," "Arguing Machines: Human Supervision of Black Box AI Systems," and "Automated Synchronization of Driving Data Using Vibration and Steering Events."
Personal Life
In addition to his involvement in Brazilian jiu-jitsu – in which he holds a first-degree black belt under Rick and Phil Migliarese – Fridman plays piano and the guitar.
