Anant Agarwal

Anant Agarwal is Chief Academic Officer at 2U, founder of edX, and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. He previously served as 2U’s Chief Platform Officer and as director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

Since founding edX in 2012, Agarwal has advanced its mission to expand access to high-quality education worldwide. At 2U, he continues to drive the growth of edX as a leading global online learning platform. His MIT edX course on circuits and electronics attracted 155,000 learners from 162 countries.

A pioneer in computer architecture and a serial entrepreneur, he has co-founded multiple companies, including Tilera Corporation and Virtual Machine Works. His contributions to education and technology have earned numerous honors, including the Maurice Wilkes Award, MIT teaching awards, the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize for Higher Education, the Padma Shri Award, and the Yidan Prize for Education Development.

Agarwal is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the ACM. He holds a PhD from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree from IIT Madras.