Who is Prafulla Dhariwal? Sam Altman credits him for creation of GPT-4o

Who is Prafulla Dhariwal? In the bustling tech hubs of San Francisco, a name from Pune, India, has become synonymous with pioneering advancements in artificial intelligence as Prafulla Dhariwal, an MIT graduate with a background in computer science and mathematics, has played a pivotal role at OpenAI. 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has praised Indian prodigy Prafulla Dhariwal for his crucial role in the successful launch of the company’s latest flagship AI model, GPT-4o. 

Altman stated on X (formerly known as Twitter) that ChatGPT 4o would not have been possible without Dhariwal’s contributions. 

Taking to his X handle, Sam Altman wrote, “GPT-4o would not have happened without the vision, talent, conviction, and determination of @prafdhar over a long period of time. that (along with the work of many others) led to what I hope will turn out to be a revolution in how we use computers.”

GPT-4o would not have happened without the vision, talent, conviction, and determination of @prafdhar over a long period of time. that (along with the work of many others) led to what i hope will turn out to be a revolution in how we use computers. https://t.co/f3TdQT03b0

— Sam Altman (@sama) May 15, 2024

But who is this Indian prodigy Prafulla Dhariwal ? 

Who is Prafulla Dhariwal?

• “My name sounds like truffle, but with a P,” reads the description of Prafulla Dhariwal’s website.
• Hailing from Pune and currently living in San Francisco, Dhariwal has been acknowledged for his outstanding academic and scientific accomplishments from a young age.
• He is a research scientist at OpenAI working on generative models and unsupervised learning
• His talent was first recognised in 2009 when he received the National Talent Search Scholarship from the Government of India.

• He won a gold medal at the International Astronomy Olympiad in China.
• He continued his streak of excellence by securing gold medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad in 2012 and the International Physics Olympiad in 2013.
• Prafulla Dhariwal’s aspiration to study engineering led him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), drawn by its comprehensive scholarship that covered both tuition fees and residential facilities.
• He earned a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics and worked as an undergraduate researcher at the Centre for Brain, Minds, and Machines.
• Dhariwal joined OpenAI as a research intern.
• Over the years, he co-created several leading AI models, including GPT-3, DALL-E 2, Jukebox, and Glow. His work has garnered over 70,000 citations in various research papers and studies since 2019.