Nathan Benaich
Founder & GP, Air Street Capital; State of AI Report author
nathan
London, England, United Kingdom
86.2K connections
Joined August 2025
Summary
An operator-investor who bridges deep scientific training and early-stage AI investing. Trained as a computational and experimental cancer researcher (Gates & Herchel Smith scholar), Nathan uses that technical background to evaluate and back AI-first startups—particularly where ML intersects with biology and applied sciences. nathanbenaich+1
Public communicator and curator: he is the lead author and publisher of the annual State of AI Report and runs newsletters and Air Street Press content that synthesise research, industry trends, compute and policy into actionable narratives for founders, investors and policymakers. stateof+2
Data‑driven policy and transparency advocate through Spinout.fyi: he founded an open dataset and policy effort to improve university spinout outcomes, and the initiative has been cited in policy discussions and adopted recommendations by UK policymakers. spinout+1
Community builder and event organiser: he founded and runs RAAIS (Research and Applied AI Summit) and related community activities aimed at connecting researchers and entrepreneurs, providing grants and supporting open research and education. nathanbenaich+1
Active public presence and commentator on AI ecosystem developments—regularly posts on X, speaks at conferences, and is widely cited in media pieces covering AI investment and strategy. x+1
Work
Education
Projects
Writing
State of AI Report (annual)
January 1, 2018An annual, open-access report that synthesises key developments across AI research, industry, compute, safety, and politics; includes a practitioner survey and predictions. Published since 2018 and widely cited in industry and media.
Guide to AI (newsletter and essays)
January 1, 2015Monthly and occasional long-form essays covering AI progress, geopolitics, hardware, and strategy for entrepreneurs and researchers.
Selected blog posts and playbooks (Air Street / personal site)
Technical and investment-focused essays such as 'The full‑stack machine learning startup' and other pieces on AI-first company strategy and AI-for-science.
Hobbies
Photography / involvement with photographic societies during studies (reported involvement at Oxford) williams
Writing and editorial work (newsletter, reports, blog writing) substack+1
Notes
EHEliott Hoffenbergsaid
NBNathan Benaich
has made a particularly insightful impact as a Limited Partner in venture investing.Oct 31, 2025
XFXavier Fischersaid
NBNathan Benaich
is someone they've seen drive genuinely successful corporate strategic initiatives.Oct 29, 2025
XFXavier Fischersaid they would trust
NBNathan Benaich
to lead a high-stakes AI research or development project.Oct 3, 2025
RARobin Allensonsaid they've seen
NBNathan Benaich
make a big positive impact by identifying or backing standout startups.Jul 22, 2025
Jun 24, 2025