# Geoffrey von Maltzahn

> Geoffrey von Maltzahn is a Cambridge-based inventor, serial founder and co-founder and CEO of Lila Sciences. A former Lemelson-MIT Student Prize winner and longtime Flagship Pioneering partner, he is building systems that link AI reasoning to automated physical experiments.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Lila Sciences
- **Organizations:** Lila Sciences, Flagship Pioneering, Indigo Ag, Generate:Biomedicines, Tessera Therapeutics, Quotient Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Seres Therapeutics, Nanopartz
- **From:** Arlington, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** SB, Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MS, Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, PhD, Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Named inventor on more than 200 patents and patent applications., Co-authored 20 peer-reviewed publications., Won the 2009 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize.

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Graduated from MIT with an SB in chemical engineering.
- **2005** — Earned an MS in bioengineering from UC San Diego.
- **2009** — Won the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize and joined Flagship Pioneering.
- **2010** — Earned his MIT PhD.
- **2023** — Co-founded Lila Sciences.
- **2025** — Lila emerged from stealth and closed a $350 million Series A, bringing reported total funding to $550 million.
- **2026** — Delivered MIT’s engineering and computing advanced degree ceremony address.

## Achievements

- Named inventor on more than 200 patents and patent applications.
- Co-authored 20 peer-reviewed publications.
- Won the 2009 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize.
- Helped launch a dozen startups, according to MIT’s 2026 ceremony program.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Lila reported that its AI-directed lab screened 2,942 green-hydrogen catalyst candidates in three months and identified six high-performing material families.
- **2026-09** — Lila described how von Maltzahn recruited Ken Stanley in 2025 to build an open-endedness research team.
- **2026-05** — Von Maltzahn addressed MIT’s engineering and computing advanced degree graduates.

## Links

- Website: https://www.lila.ai/team/geoffrey-von-maltzahn
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-von-maltzahn-7a6b755a
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/gvmaltzahn

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/geoffrey-von-maltzahn
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-29