{"id":"yi-sun","title":"Yi Sun","content":"**Yi Sun** is a mathematician and entrepreneur whose academic work spans probability, high‑dimensional statistics, and their applications to machine learning. He earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and later served on the faculty of the University of Chicago before taking academic leave to found [Axiom](https://iq.wiki/wiki/axiom), where he serves as founder and CEO. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-AOur168zJaynF7qR) [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-GFPAQuhDQlP5BDqs)​\n\n## Education\n\nSun studied mathematics at Harvard University from 2006 to 2010, earning both an A.B. degree with a secondary field in economics and an A.M. degree in mathematics. He later completed a Master of Advanced Study in mathematics with distinction at the University of Cambridge between 2010 and 2011, followed by a Ph.D. in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2011 to 2016.  [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-AOur168zJaynF7qR)  [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-i8hOKdcPmGe0Ml95)  [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-GFPAQuhDQlP5BDqs) \n\n## Career\n\nSun began his career through research, teaching, and quantitative finance roles, including internships at D. E. Shaw & Co., Google Research, and Jane Street Capital between 2007 and 2011. During this period, he also worked with the Math Olympiad Program as an instructor and served as a head grader for Art of Problem Solving.\n\nFrom 2016 to 2019, Sun was a Simons Fellow at Columbia University, later becoming the Joseph F. Ritt Assistant Professor from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, he joined the University of Chicago as an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics.\n\nIn 2023, Sun co-founded [Axiom](https://iq.wiki/wiki/axiom), a [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) and cryptographic infrastructure company based in New York.  [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-AOur168zJaynF7qR)  [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-GFPAQuhDQlP5BDqs)  [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-i8hOKdcPmGe0Ml95)  [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-ebDnmGMeKFQ5MVBr) \n\n## Public Speaking and Media Appearances\n\nSun regularly appears in technical talks and interviews related to zero‑knowledge systems and [Axiom’s](https://iq.wiki/wiki/axiom) approach to programmable infrastructure. One example is a conference presentation described in the EthCC Livestream series in 2025, where he discussed building a performant and modular zkVM framework with OpenVM under the [Axiom](https://iq.wiki/wiki/axiom) affiliation. The talk’s framing emphasizes performance and extensibility as core design goals in zkVM development. [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-ebqpThEXMGll1SGj)​\n\nThe following video is an example of Sun’s public technical presentations and captures his perspective on zkVM design trade‑offs and modular implementation.\n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](D6K3oVFwVt4)","summary":"Yi Sun is a mathematician and entrepreneur, co‑founder of Axiom. He earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from MIT, held research appointments at Columbia, and served on the University of Chicago Statistics faculty. He speaks on ZK and zkVMs, including OpenVM.","images":[{"id":"QmS7y2kkgcoZng8yAiaXs7EHQsQrZjHPDPq2AuEMX6zrBU","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"categories":[{"id":"people","title":"people"}],"tags":[{"id":"Founder"},{"id":"Researcher"},{"id":"Speaker"},{"id":"Advisor"},{"id":"Developer"}],"media":[],"metadata":[{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"AOur168zJaynF7qR\",\"description\":\"Yi Sun's Personal Website\",\"timestamp\":1778713319189,\"url\":\"https://yisun.io/\"},{\"id\":\"GFPAQuhDQlP5BDqs\",\"description\":\"Substack - Founders First With Yi Sun: ZK is Where AI Was Ten Years Ago\",\"timestamp\":1778713344551,\"url\":\"https://sandypeng.substack.com/p/founders-first-with-yi-sun-zk-is\"},{\"id\":\"i8hOKdcPmGe0Ml95\",\"description\":\"LinkedIn: Yi Sun\",\"timestamp\":1778713351383,\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/yisun0/\"},{\"id\":\"ebDnmGMeKFQ5MVBr\",\"description\":\"The Org - Yi Sun\",\"timestamp\":1778713360035,\"url\":\"https://theorg.com/org/axiom/org-chart/yi-sun\"},{\"id\":\"ebqpThEXMGll1SGj\",\"description\":\"YouTube - Yi Sun (Axiom) - Building a performant and modular zkVM framework with OpenVM\",\"timestamp\":1778713374218,\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6K3oVFwVt4\"}]"},{"id":"website","value":"https://yisun.io/"},{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://x.com/theyisun"},{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/yisun0/"},{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"AOur168zJaynF7qR\",\"description\":\"Yi Sun's Personal Website\",\"timestamp\":1778713319189,\"url\":\"https://yisun.io/\"},{\"id\":\"GFPAQuhDQlP5BDqs\",\"description\":\"Substack - Founders First With Yi Sun: ZK is Where AI Was Ten Years Ago\",\"timestamp\":1778713344551,\"url\":\"https://sandypeng.substack.com/p/founders-first-with-yi-sun-zk-is\"},{\"id\":\"i8hOKdcPmGe0Ml95\",\"description\":\"LinkedIn: Yi Sun\",\"timestamp\":1778713351383,\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/yisun0/\"},{\"id\":\"ebDnmGMeKFQ5MVBr\",\"description\":\"The Org - Yi Sun\",\"timestamp\":1778713360035,\"url\":\"https://theorg.com/org/axiom/org-chart/yi-sun\"},{\"id\":\"ebqpThEXMGll1SGj\",\"description\":\"YouTube - Yi Sun (Axiom) - Building a performant and modular zkVM framework with OpenVM\",\"timestamp\":1778713374218,\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6K3oVFwVt4\"}]"},{"id":"commit-message","value":"\"Added Yi Sun biography and education details\""}],"events":[],"user":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"author":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"operator":{"id":"0x4a2bC97afBF41a2Cbf4b4628F63420682Ff4CF2a"},"language":"en","version":1,"linkedWikis":{"blockchains":[],"founders":["axiom"],"speakers":[]}}