About
Curtis Northcutt is Director of AI Research at Handshake, where he leads data-centric AI research on foundation models. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of Cleanlab, whose business was acquired by Handshake AI in January 2026, and earlier developed the CAMEO cheating detection system used to validate MITx and HarvardX certificates. Northcutt holds a PhD in Computer Science from MIT, advised by Isaac Chuang, and graduated as valedictorian from Vanderbilt University with a degree in mathematics and computer science.
Founder at Cleanlab
Intro paths
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In turn, Curtis can intro founders to Cleanlab's investors below.
Cleanlab's investors · 8
AME Cloud VenturesPalo Alto · $1M – $10M checksBain Capital VenturesBoston · $1M – $100M checks · since 2023Databricks VenturesSan Francisco · since 2023Essence Venture CapitalSeattle · $10K – $10M checksMenlo VenturesSan Francisco · $1M – $20M checks · since 2023Preston-Werner VenturesSan Francisco Bay Area · $500K – $3M checksSamsung NextSan Jose · $100K – $5M checksTq Ventures LlcNew York · since 2023
Co-founders at Cleanlab
Experience
- HandshakeDirector, AI Researchcurrent2026 — present
- CleanlabCEO & Co-Founder2021 — 2026San Francisco, California, United States
- ChipBrainCTO & Co-Founder2020 — 2021Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)PhD in Computer Science2017 — 2021Cambridge, MA
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Masters in Computer Science2013 — 2017Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- Oculus VRVisiting Research Scientist with Dr. Steve Lovegrove2018 — 2020Redmond, Wa
- Oculus VRFacebook Reality Labs, Oculus Research Intern with Dr. Richard Newcombe2018Redmond, WA
- Knowledge AIChief AI Scientist2019 — 2020Greater Boston
- GoogleGoogle AI Research Intern2019New York City Metropolitan Area
- AmazonAmazon Research Scientist (Alexa Machine Learning) Intern with Dr. Ming Sun2017Cambridge, MA
- Facebook AIFacebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) Intern with Dr. Y-Lan Boureau and Yann Lecun2016New York City Metropolitan Area
- Microsoft ResearchMicrosoft Research Visiting Scientist (USAID Research and Innovation Fellowship) with Dr. Bill Thies2014Bangalore, India
- MIT Lincoln LaboratoryNetwork Intrusion Detection and Cybersecurity Research with Joshua W. Haines2013Lexington, Massachusetts
- CourseraCoursera Research: Unsupervised learning for Education with Dr. Derek Bruff2013Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Vanderbilt UniversityIntelligent Learning Environments Research with Dr. Gautam Biswas2013Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Vanderbilt UniversityCyber-Physical Security (CPS) Systems and Artificial Intelligence Research, Dr. Xenofon Koutsoukos2012
- MicrosoftTechnical Program Manager Intern for Windows Phone, Camera and Photos Team2012Microsoft Corporation, Windows Phone Division, Redmond, WA
- National Science Foundation REU at University of Notre DameExperimental Research on Wireless Networking (ERWiN) NSF-Sponsored REU in Computer Science2011University of Notre Dame
- GE General Electric AppliancesEngineering Intern, Databases and HCI2010Appliance Park, Louisville, KY
- NASA Langley Research CenterNASA Inspire, Aerospace Research2009Langley, VA
- University of Kentucky, Dept. of Biology and PhysiologyNeurobiology Research on Glutamatergic Synaptic Transmission2008 — 2009
Skills & more
Analysis6Leadership9Matlab21Python12Java8C++7Databases2Python (Programming Language)2Algorithms63Machine Learning54Research51Computer Science22
+12 more
Data AnalysisData MiningMathematicsProgrammingEngineeringArtificial IntelligenceScienceProduct ManagementArtificial Intelligence (AI)TeachingTheoretical Computer ScienceProbabilistic ModelsLanguages C++ · English · Java · Javascript (HTML, CSS) · LISP · MATLAB · Prolog, LaTeX, VHDL, MIPS · Python · SQL · Spanish
- LearnLab Educational Data-mining track — Carnegie Mellon University
- MIT Global Fellow — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
From Curtis's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Curtis Northcutt?
- Curtis Northcutt is Director of AI Research at Handshake, where he leads data-centric AI research on foundation models. He previously co-founded and served as CEO of Cleanlab, whose business was acquired by Handshake AI in January 2026, and earlier developed the CAMEO cheating detection system used to validate MITx and HarvardX certificates. Northcutt holds a PhD in Computer Science from MIT, advised by Isaac Chuang, and graduated as valedictorian from Vanderbilt University with a degree in mathematics and computer science.
- Where does Curtis Northcutt work?
- Curtis Northcutt is Founder of Cleanlab.
- What companies did Curtis Northcutt found?
- Curtis Northcutt founded Cleanlab.
- Where did Curtis Northcutt go to school?
- Curtis Northcutt studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Computer Science); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Master of Science - MS, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science); Harvard University (Cross Registration as MIT PhD Student, Machine Learning).
Same school
Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology1,361
Fred WilsonCo-founder & Partner at Union Square VenturesElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalAileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesHemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGBrad FeldCo-founder of Foundry and Techstars
+ 1,355 more
Also attended Harvard University1,537
Alfred LinPartner at Sequoia CapitalChris DixonFounder & Managing Partner of a16z crypto at Andreessen HorowitzSarah TavelVenture Partner at BenchmarkDanny RimerPartner at Index VenturesLaela SturdyManaging Partner at CapitalGBill GatesCo-founder of Microsoft; Chair of the Gates Foundation
+ 1,531 more
Also attended Vanderbilt University194
Jacob JofeInvestor at Index VenturesRoss Perot Jr.Chairman of The Perot Group at Perot JainDavid JohnsonManaging Director at Intel Capital, North AmericaTom DriscollPrincipal at Differential VenturesSabina SmithPrincipal at Scale Venture PartnersPayton DobbsOperating Partner at Hoxton Ventures
+ 188 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)472
Aileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmMichael TruellCo-founder & CEO of CursorRaquel UrtasunFounder & CEO of WaabiColin WebbFounder & CEO of Avatar RoboticsAdam BryCo-founder & CEO of Skydio
+ 466 more
Also worked at Google1,692
Ron ConwayFounder of SV AngelElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundJess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalTomasz TunguzFounder & General Partner at Theory Ventures
+ 1,686 more
Also worked at Microsoft Research1,172
Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBill GatesCo-founder of Microsoft; Chair of the Gates FoundationMike KriegerCo-founder of Instagram; Chief Product Officer at Anthropic
+ 1,166 more
Also worked at MIT Lincoln Laboratory37
Adrianna MaInvestor at Index VenturesLeSean BrownAssociate at Context VenturesAlex ZhangInvestor at Matter Venture PartnersAnand AtreyaInvestor at Inception Studio CapitalJessica AlstonPartner at F-Prime Capital PartnersCrystal ValentineTechnology Fellow at Cross Creek Advisors
+ 31 more