Epoch AI is an independent nonprofit research institute that investigates the trajectory of AI for the benefit of society. It began as a volunteer group in 2021 and was formally established in 2022 following its influential paper on machine learning training-compute trends. The institute is led by director Jaime Sevilla and is funded by donors, with a public transparency page.
Epoch AI runs the AI Benchmarking Hub, which publishes independent evaluations of frontier models. It created FrontierMath, a benchmark of expert-level, unpublished mathematics problems developed with dozens of research mathematicians and organized into Tiers 1-4 plus Open Problems; it is notable because even top models initially solved under 2% of problems. Other products include the Epoch Capabilities Index (ECI), a combined capability score across benchmarks, and MirrorCode.
Beyond benchmarks, Epoch AI maintains open data explorers tracking more than 3,200 AI models from 1950 to the present, AI data centers (using satellite imagery and permit data), chip sales, hardware performance, and AI company financials. Datasets are updated continuously and are widely cited by media, policymakers, and AI labs.
Epoch AI's data and research are free, with much of the data published under open licenses on GitHub. Consulting is available on request.