Nigerian-born computer scientist Oluwasanmi Koyejo has made TIME’s 2026 TIME100 AI list. He joins a small group of Africans on this year’s ranking of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence.
Koyejo, widely known as Sanmi Koyejo, co-founded Virtue AI, an AI security startup. His work focuses on testing what AI models can and cannot do. As a result, his research pushes AI companies to build systems that are more reliable, accurate, and secure. It also helps reduce the risk of misuse by bad actors.
His research has drawn attention from major players in the AI industry. In June, Meta announced it had hired Koyejo along with co-founders Dawn Song and Bo Li. The trio joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs security team. Koyejo is now expected to help shape the direction of FAIR, Meta’s fundamental AI research division. Notably, this division saw its workforce significantly reduced last fall.
Beyond his corporate role, Koyejo holds several influential academic and community positions. For five years, he has served as president of Black in AI, an organization that supports Black researchers in the field. He also directs Stanford University’s Trustworthy AI Research Lab, known as STAIR. There, he leads research into AI measurement science.
READ ALSO:Why Nigeria Needs AI Crypto Surveillance Like South Korea
This field focuses on one key question. How do AI models actually perform once they reach the real world? According to Koyejo, companies evaluate models before public release. But once a model ships, nobody can fully predict how it will hold up with daily use.
Koyejo explained that this evaluation gap matters greatly. It would let institutions such as hospitals, school districts, or regulators test whether a model’s evaluation reflects their own setting. In turn, they could get a measurable answer with a clear margin of error. He compared this need to how other industries already certify products before release.
Koyejo’s selection places him among a handful of Africans recognized on this year’s list. TIME released the fourth annual TIME100 AI list this week. The list sorts its 100 honorees into four categories: Leaders, Innovators, Shapers, and Thinkers. To build the list, TIME’s editors and reporters spent months researching candidates. They also consulted industry leaders and dozens of expert sources.
This year’s list features several major global figures too. These include OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, Anthropic’s Dario and Daniela Amodei, and Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk. IBM’s Arvind Krishna also made the cut. TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs said the list reflects a tumultuous moment for AI. The field, he noted, combines explosive growth with genuine public concern.
Koyejo built a strong academic foundation before reaching this stage. He earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He then completed postdoctoral research at Stanford University. Before joining Stanford’s faculty, he served as an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
His recognition adds to a growing trend. More African-born researchers and technologists are gaining global recognition for their AI contributions. This shift comes at a critical time, as artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries, economies, and everyday life worldwide.
