William Tunstall-Pedoe

William Tunstall-Pedoe was born in January 1969. He grew up in a family of medical professionals, with his father and uncle being cardiologists and his grandfather a mathematician. At 13, he moved to Scotland and, while attending the High School of Dundee, developed commercial software. He then pursued a degree in computer science at Churchill College, Cambridge University. His early career also included work at Acorn Computers and the Isaac Newton Institute, demonstrating an early engagement with computing and scientific research.

He founded Evi (originally named True Knowledge), a voice assistant, semantic search, and question-answering startup. This venture was acquired by Amazon in 2012. Following the acquisition, William Tunstall-Pedoe played a key role in the team that defined, built, and launched Amazon Alexa, integrating Evi’s technology into the platform. He departed from Amazon in 2016. In addition to his direct work on AI products, he developed Cyber Chess, an early commercial chess-playing program that utilized a Genetic Algorithm for weight tuning.

Currently, William Tunstall-Pedoe is the founder and CEO of Unlikely AI, a British deep technology startup that focuses on creating safe and effective general AI using neuro-symbolic methods. He is also an active angel investor, supporting approximately 100 AI startups. His investment and advisory roles include being a fellow at Creative Destruction Lab at Rotman School of Management and Saïd Business School. He is recognized for his contributions to the field of engineering as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.