# Luis Ceze

> Luis Ceze is a Seattle-based computer scientist, OctoAI co-founder and former CEO, and VP of AI Systems Software at NVIDIA. His work spans machine learning compilers, approximate computing and DNA data storage. The University of Washington currently lists him as professor emeritus; he joined its faculty in 2007. NVIDIA acquired OctoAI in September 2024.

- **Role:** VP of AI Systems Software at NVIDIA
- **Organizations:** NVIDIA, University of Washington, OctoAI (formerly OctoML; acquired by NVIDIA in 2024), Molecular Information Systems Laboratory, Apache TVM, Corensic (co-founder; acquired by F5 in 2012), Madrona Venture Group (former venture partner)
- **From:** São Paulo, Brazil
- **Nationality:** Brazilian-born American
- **Education:** B.S. in Electrical Engineering, University of São Paulo, M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering, University of São Paulo, Ph.D. in Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- **Known for:** Co-founder of Apache TVM and OctoAI., Co-recipient with Karin Strauss of the 2020 ACM SIGARCH Maurice Wilkes Award for DNA data storage and retrieval., ACM Fellow, recognition announced January 2023.

## Career timeline

- **2001-2002** — IBM Research intern/co-op; returned for later summer internships.
- **2007** — Completed PhD and joined the University of Washington faculty.
- **2008** — Co-founded Corensic.
- **2012** — F5 acquired Corensic; promoted to associate professor at UW.
- **2013** — Visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge, July-December.
- **2015** — Began co-directing MISL with Karin Strauss.
- **2016** — UW and Microsoft collaborators demonstrated 200 MB of digital data stored in DNA.
- **2017** — Promoted to full professor at UW.
- **2018** — Joined Madrona as venture partner; co-authored TVM paper presented at OSDI.
- **2019** — Co-founded OctoML in July; MISL demonstrated automated DNA data storage and retrieval.
- **2020** — Shared Maurice Wilkes Award with Karin Strauss.
- **2021** — Received Lazowska Endowed Professorship.
- **2023** — ACM Fellow recognition announced; OctoAI compute service launched.
- **2024** — OctoML renamed OctoAI; NVIDIA acquired it in September and Ceze joined NVIDIA.
- **2025** — Co-authored NVIDIA FlashInfer article and delivered MICRO keynote on AI compilers and inference.
- **2026** — Listed as organizer of MLSys FlashInfer AI Kernel Generation Contest; UW directory currently lists professor emeritus.

## Achievements

- Co-founder of Apache TVM and OctoAI.
- Co-recipient with Karin Strauss of the 2020 ACM SIGARCH Maurice Wilkes Award for DNA data storage and retrieval.
- ACM Fellow, recognition announced January 2023.
- 2013 IEEE TCCA Young Computer Architect Award.
- 2010 Sloan Research Fellowship.
- 2009 NSF CAREER Award and Microsoft New Faculty Fellowship.
- 2010 UW CSE ACM Undergraduate Teacher of the Year Award.
- UW reported 23 completed PhD advisees and 29 research-based patents in January 2023.

## Latest updates

- **—** — Listed among organizers of the MLSys 2026 FlashInfer AI Kernel Generation Contest; source does not provide a publication month.
- **2025-10** — Delivered MICRO keynote titled AI compilers and inference at scale: efficiency and velocity.
- **2025-06** — Co-authored NVIDIA technical article on FlashInfer inference kernels.
- **2024-09** — NVIDIA acquired OctoAI; Ceze announced he was joining NVIDIA.

## Links

- Website: https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~luisceze/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-ceze-50b2314/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/luisceze

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/luis-ceze
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15