# Piero Molino

> AI researcher and entrepreneur. Creator of Ludwig (Linux Foundation AI project), co-founder of Studio Atelico and Predibase (acquired by Rubrik for $100M+). PhD in Computer Science. Research spans deep learning, natural language processing, dialogue systems, LLM fine-tuning, and ML systems.

## About

- [About & CV](https://w4nderlust.st/about): Biography, full work history (Uber AI, Stanford, Predibase, Studio Atelico), education, and skills.

## Key Projects

- [Ludwig](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/ludwig): Declarative deep learning framework, now a Linux Foundation AI project. Built on PyTorch, uses a data-type-based abstraction enabling training across NLP, vision, time series, and more via config files.
- [Predibase](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/predibase): LLM fine-tuning and serving platform built on Ludwig and LoRAX. Acquired by Rubrik in 2025 for $100M+.
- [Studio Atelico](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/studio-atelico): AI-first games studio building on-device AI engines for real-time game characters.
- [PPLM](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/plug-and-play-language-model): Plug and Play Language Models — steering large LMs with 100,000x smaller attribute models without retraining. ICLR 2020.
- [CoordConv](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/an-intriguing-failing-of-convolutional-neural-networks-and-the-coordconv-solution): Drop-in fix for convolutional layers' inability to represent spatial coordinates. NeurIPS 2018.
- [COTA](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/cota): ML-based customer support ticket assistant at Uber — reduced ticket handling time by 16%. KDD 2018.
- [Manifold](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/manifold): Model-agnostic ML debugging and interpretation framework. IEEE VIS 2018.
- [Parallax](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/parallax): Tool for visualizing and comparing embedding spaces via algebraic formulae. ACL 2019.
- [Graph Learning](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/graph-learning): Graph neural networks for food and restaurant recommendation in Uber Eats.
- [Plato](https://w4nderlust.st/projects/plato): Open-source conversational AI research platform from Uber AI.

## Publications

- [All publications](https://w4nderlust.st/publications): Full list of research papers spanning NLP, dialogue systems, ML systems, and AI.

Selected highlights:
- Declarative Machine Learning Systems (ACM Queue / Communications of the ACM, 2021)
- LoRA Land: 310 Fine-Tuned LLMs that Rival GPT-4 (2024)
- Ludwig: A Type-Based Declarative Deep Learning Toolbox (2019)
- Plug and Play Language Models (ICLR 2020)
- CoordConv (NeurIPS 2018)
- COTA (KDD 2018)
- Wittgenstein's Influence on Artificial Intelligence (2023)

## Teaching

- [Teaching](https://w4nderlust.st/teaching): Lectures on NLP, word embeddings, structuralism, and self-supervised learning.

## Blog

- [Blog](https://w4nderlust.st/blog): Technical articles and essays. RSS feed: https://w4nderlust.st/blog/feed

## Contact & Profiles

- Email: w4nderlust@gmail.com
- GitHub: https://github.com/w4nderlust
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pieromolino
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.it/citations?user=xckWxTsAAAAJ
- X / Twitter: https://x.com/w4nderlus7