# Carina Hong

> Carina Hong is the founder and CEO of Axiom Math, an AI startup building an autonomous "AI mathematician" that can generate and formally verify its own proofs. A Guangzhou-born first-generation college student, she finished dual MIT degrees in math and physics in three years, won the Morgan Prize, became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, then left a Stanford PhD-and-JD track to start Axiom in March 2025. Her thesis is blunt: "Math is AGI." Within roughly nine months the company raised about $264M total, reached a reported $1.6B valuation, and pulled researchers from Meta FAIR, Meta GenAI, and Google Brain/DeepMind.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Axiom Math
- **Organizations:** Axiom Math
- **From:** Guangzhou, China
- **Nationality:** Chinese
- **Education:** High school; provincial math Olympiad team, South China Normal University Affiliated High School, Dual BSc, Mathematics and Physics (completed in three years), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MSc Neuroscience, Rhodes Scholar, University of Oxford (Hertford College), JD candidate (Law) and PhD candidate (Mathematics) - left to found Axiom, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Founder and CEO of Axiom Math, reportedly valued at $1.6B within roughly nine months, Winner of the AMS-MAA-SIAM Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize, the top research honor for an undergraduate mathematician in North America, Winner of the AWM Alice T. Schafer Prize, the top honor for an undergraduate woman in mathematics

## Career timeline

- **2022** — Graduated MIT with dual degrees in math and physics in three years; elected Rhodes Scholar for the China constituency
- **2022** — Awarded the AMS-MAA-SIAM Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize and the AWM Alice T. Schafer Prize
- **2022-2023** — MSc in Neuroscience at Oxford; deep-learning research at UCL Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit
- **2023-2025** — Enrolled at Stanford as a joint JD and mathematics PhD candidate
- **2025** — Left Stanford and founded Axiom Math in March
- **2025** — Raised $64M seed funding by September; assembled a team from Meta FAIR, Meta GenAI, and Google Brain/DeepMind
- **2026** — Reported total funding around $264M (Series A, $200M raised) at a reported $1.6B valuation

## Achievements

- Founder and CEO of Axiom Math, reportedly valued at $1.6B within roughly nine months
- Winner of the AMS-MAA-SIAM Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize, the top research honor for an undergraduate mathematician in North America
- Winner of the AWM Alice T. Schafer Prize, the top honor for an undergraduate woman in mathematics
- Completed dual MIT degrees in mathematics and physics in three years, with 20+ graduate-level courses
- Authored nine peer-reviewed papers across number theory, combinatorics, probability, and theoretical computer science
- Rhodes Scholar (China constituency, class of 2022); Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford
- Served as referee for 10+ academic journals; TEDx and international conference speaker

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Reported Series A activity bringing total funding to roughly $264M at a reported $1.6B valuation.
- **2025-09** — Closed $64M seed round and expanded the research team with hires from Meta FAIR, Meta GenAI, and Google Brain/DeepMind.

## Links

- Website: https://axiommath.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carina-hong/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_UMhn8E8lI

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/carina-hong
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-14