TIME has named the leaders of OpenAI, Mark Chen, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman, to its 2026 TIME100 AI list, recognizing individuals reshaping the world through artificial intelligence. The list extends beyond technical achievement to include innovators, leaders, and thinkers driving AI forward, with other honorees including Dario and Daniela Amodei of Anthropic and the heads of Google DeepMind and IBM. The list presents a description of those signaling an assessment of sustained impact beyond current trends.
OpenAI Leadership Recognized in TIME100 AI 2026
The selection process extended beyond purely technical accomplishments to encompass individuals driving AI’s broader impact, as noted in the list’s description. Dario and Daniela Amodei, co-founders of Anthropic, also appear on the list, alongside Arvind Krishna, CEO and Chairman of IBM, and Demis Hassabis, Chief AI Readiness Officer at Google DeepMind. The compilation of 100 individuals signals TIME’s assessment of sustained influence in AI extending beyond current trends; the list describes these figures as innovators, leaders, and thinkers.
Yicheng Zhang, co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Bytedance, and Meredith Kopit Levien, Publisher and Chairman of The New York Times Co., are among those recognized for their roles in shaping the field. Azalia Mirhoseini and Anna Goldie, co-founders of Ricursive Intelligence, were also selected. The TIME100 AI 2026 list was compiled by a team of reporters, editors, and art/design personnel, with lead editor Ayesha Javed overseeing the project.
See today’s quantum computing news on Quantum Zeitgeist for the latest breakthroughs in qubits, hardware, algorithms, and industry deals.
