Jack Hidary

Jack Hidary (born 1967/1968) is the CEO of AI and quantum technology company SandboxAQ.

Hidary has collaborated with MIT on a series of papers focused on AI and deep learning. In particular, the papers address the ability of deep learning networks to generalize to cases beyond the training data. Hidary is also the author of Quantum Computing: An Applied Approach, in its second edition and published by Springer.

Early life and education
Hidary was born to a Syrian-Jewish family at the Brookdale Hospital in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn and raised near Coney Island. He is the oldest of four brothers and a sister. He attended school at Yeshivah of Flatbush.

Hidary studied philosophy and neuroscience at Columbia University and was awarded a Stanley Fellowship in Clinical Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health. At NIH, Hidary focused on functional MRI studies of brain function and the application of neural network technologies to the analysis and modelling of fMRI imaging data and brain function.

Entrepreneurial career
In 1995, Jack Hidary co-founded the IT information portal EarthWeb with his brother Murray Hidary and entrepreneur Nova Spivack. In 1998, they took the company public, garnering one of one of the largest first-day returns in NASDAQ history. In 1999, under Hidary's leadership, EarthWeb acquired the tech career website Dice.com. In 2000, the team renamed the company Dice Inc and then later as DHI Holdings, Inc.

Hidary co-founded Vista Research in 2001 as an independent financial research company serving institutional investors, drawing on experts in the fields of technology, media, telecommunications, energy, aerospace and healthcare. Vista Research was acquired in 2005 by the Standard & Poor’s division of McGraw-Hill.

In 2016, Hidary founded a quantum technology group at Alphabet Inc. In March 2022, it was spun out into a standalone company, SandboxAQ, with Hidary as CEO and Eric Schmidt as Chairman. At launch, Reuters reported the company had raised a ‘nine-figure’ initial funding round from investors including Schmidt, Breyer Capital, T. Rowe Price funds, TIME Ventures and others. The company used some of the funds to invest in other quantum technology startups such as evolutionQ and Qunnect, fund quantum research and education programs, and to acquire Paris-based Cryptosense. In February 2023, Reuters confirmed that the amount raised was $500 million. Under Hidary’s leadership, the company has secured several government contracts for its quantum-resistant cybersecurity solutions, launched a quantum navigation pilot program with the U.S. Air Force, and launched a molecular simulation division to accelerate drug discovery.

Social and policy initiatives
In 2008, Hidary helped draft the Cash for Clunkers program. He has been a vocal proponent of renewable energy. He is a trustee of the X Prize Foundation and the co-founder of the Auto X Prize, which inspired the development of highly fuel-efficient vehicles.

Hidary has served as a partner or trustee for numerous New York City groups, including the Partnership for New York City and the Citizens Budget Commission.

He has served on several boards including the advisory council for the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). He is on the board of the X Prize Foundation.

Politics
On July 17, 2013, Hidary announced his intent to run for New York City Mayor as an independent on a new party line called the Jobs and Education Party and succeed Michael Bloomberg. The New York Times described his political leanings as "socially progressive, fiscally reserved, and digitally savvy," and his primary goals are to better education, foster small business growth and spur employment across all boroughs, and attract companies and investment to New York. One of his primary initiatives was to increase productivity by wiring all of the city’s schools, businesses and neighborhoods for broadband Internet service. Another focus was to increase the number of tech incubators and shared workspaces across the city. On November 5, 2013, Hidary lost to Bill de Blasio in the mayoral election.