Safi Bahcall

Bahcall received an A.B. in physics summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private research university in Massachusetts, established by the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature in 1636 and named in 1639 for early benefactor John Harvard. Its principal campuses are in Cambridge and the Allston and Longwood neighborhoods of Boston. It includes Harvard College, graduate and professional schools, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Two governing boards share oversight. Alan M. Garber was president as of October 2026, and the endowment stood at $56.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.Open the full entry and a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry, where he studied many-body physics under Nobel laureate Robert Laughlin, followed by a Miller Research Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is a campus of the University of California system; the University of California was founded in 1868 through a merger of two institutions and moved to Berkeley, California, in 1873.Open the full entry studying high-temperature superconductors. He then worked for three years as a consultant at McKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey & CompanyMcKinsey & Company is a management consulting firm headquartered in New York, United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey and, after Marvin Bower established its “professional service” principles, grew into one of the largest pure consulting firms in the world; as of October 2026 it has more than 100 offices in over 50 countries and about 40,000 employees. It has also repeatedly faced regulatory investigations and public criticism over episodes such as its work with Enron, a former leader’s insider trading case, and its consulting for opioid manufacturers.Open the full entry.⁠[1][2]

Bahcall co-founded Synta Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company developing cancer drugs, and served as its CEO for 13 years, taking it from startup through its public offering. In 2008 he was named E&Y New England Biotechnology Entrepreneur of the Year. Synta later became Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, which won the first FDA approval for a treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).⁠[2][1]

In 2011 he served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) working group on the future of national research.⁠[2][1]

On March 24, 2019, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry (a16z) published the podcast episode “a16z Podcast: Incenting Innovation Inside” on its website, in which Bahcall spoke with a16z bio general partner Vijay Pande and a16z’s Sonal Chokshi. Centered on his book Loonshots, the episode distinguished “moonshots,” which are destinations, from “loonshots,” the unpredictable ideas that lead there; argued for avoiding “false fails” and not killing small ideas that could lead to unexpected results; criticized the term “disruptive innovation,” market projections and culture-focused management books; held that organizational behavior is governed not by CEOs or culture but by hidden incentives, phase transitions and specific control parameters; and proposed a management framework at the intersection of physics and economics. It was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel on April 1, 2019, as “a16z Podcast | Incenting Innovation Inside, Loonshots to MoonshotsMoonshotsMoonshots, formally Moonshots with Peter Diamandis, is a technology podcast founded by Peter Diamandis. It discusses artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and technological change, and launched its Moonshots LIVE gathering in Los Angeles in 2026.Open the full entry.”⁠[3][4]

Bahcall wrote Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries, on nurturing unconventional ideas and innovating in turbulent times; it has been translated into 23 languages and named a top nonfiction book by BloombergBloomberg L.P.Bloomberg L.P. is a global financial technology, data and media company founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981. It began by providing terminal services that deliver data, analytics and news to financial professionals, and launched Bloomberg News in 1990. Michael Bloomberg has pledged the vast majority of the company’s profits to his philanthropic organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies.Open the full entry, the Financial TimesFinancial TimesThe Financial Times (FT) is a London-based English-language business and financial news organization, known for its salmon-pink newspaper and its motto “Without Fear and Without Favour.” It was owned successively by the British Pearson group and Japan’s Nikkei Inc., and today digital subscriptions are its main source of revenue.Open the full entry, ForbesForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is a U.S. news publication founded in 1889, with a focus on business, finance and economics. It is published by Dow Jones, part of News Corp.Open the full entry, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is an American daily newspaper founded in Washington in 1877, known for its role in the Pentagon Papers case and the Watergate investigation. Run by the Meyer–Graham family for eighty years from 1933, it has been owned personally by Jeff Bezos since 2013.Open the full entry and others.⁠[2][1]

He founded Folkman Ventures, which invests in biomedical, digital health and technology infrastructure companies; has advised hypergrowth startups, investment funds, Fortune 500 companies and U.S. government organizations including the CIA and branches of the U.S. military; and is a member of Applied MaterialsApplied MaterialsApplied Materials, Inc. is a supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and services headquartered in Santa Clara, California.Open the full entry’ Growth Technical Advisory Board.⁠[1]