| Human Profile | |
| Name: | Peter H. Diamandis |
| Birthday: | May 20, 1961 (age 64 years), Born in Bronx, New York |
| Height: | 5'4" (163 cm) |
| Education: | Great Neck North High School (Diploma) Hamilton College (Student) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS), Molecular Genetics Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS), Aeronautics and Astronautics Harvard Medical School (MD) |
| Subscribers: | 425K |
| Views: | 39,230,334 |
| YouTube Revenue: | $39.2K - $196.2K |
| Videos: | 1715 |
| Channel Created: | May 2010 |
Overview
Peter H. Diamandis is an American engineer, physician, entrepreneur, and author, widely recognized as the founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, known for its incentivized competitions driving technological breakthroughs, and as the co-founder of Singularity University, an organization focused on exponentially accelerating technologies; he has founded or co-founded over 25 ventures in space, longevity, and education, championing a vision of abundance through innovation.
Latest News (Jan 9, 2026): Peter H. Diamandis recently uploaded two new videos to his YouTube channel: "Elon Musk on AGI Timeline, US vs China, Job Markets, Clean Energy & Humanoid Robots | 220" two days ago, which garnered 448K views, and "AI Investor Panel: Where Smart Money Is Actually Going in AI | EP 219" six days ago, receiving 50K views.
Early Life and Education
Peter H. Diamandis was born on May 20, 1961, in the Bronx, New York, to Greek immigrant parents involved in the medical field; his father was a physician. From a young age, Diamandis developed a strong interest in space exploration, giving lectures to his family and friends on the topic. At the age of 12, he won first place in a rocket design competition.
After graduating from Great Neck North High School in 1979, he attended Hamilton College for one year before transferring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, he pursued degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering. During his sophomore year in 1980, he co-founded Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. He earned his Bachelor of Science from MIT in 1983 and subsequently enrolled at Harvard Medical School. While at Harvard, he co-founded the Space Generation Foundation. Diamandis later took a leave of absence from his medical studies to return to MIT, where he received a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics in 1986, before completing his M.D. from Harvard.
Career Beginnings
While still in the midst of his extensive education, Peter H. Diamandis began laying the groundwork for his entrepreneurial career. In 1987, during his third year of medical school, he co-founded the International Space University (ISU) with several colleagues. The ISU is a graduate-level institution that offers interdisciplinary space studies programs. By his final year of medical school in 1989, he was serving as the managing director of the ISU and as the CEO of International MicroSpace, Inc., a microsatellite launch company. These early ventures demonstrated his focus on creating private and international platforms for space education and enterprise.
The XPRIZE Breakthrough
In 1994, inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s autobiography “The Spirit of St. Louis,” Diamandis founded the XPRIZE Foundation. The foundation was established to design and manage large-scale, high-profile public competitions to incentivize technological development for the benefit of humanity. The first and most famous of these was the $10 million Ansari XPRIZE, announced in 1996, which challenged non-governmental teams to build and launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks.
Despite not having the prize money secured at the time of the announcement, the competition attracted 26 teams from around the world who collectively invested over $100 million in developing new space technologies. The prize was ultimately won on October 4, 2004, by Mojave Aerospace Ventures for their SpaceShipOne vehicle, a design later licensed by Richard Branson for Virgin Galactic. The success of the Ansari XPRIZE established a new model for fostering innovation and led the foundation to launch numerous other competitions targeting challenges in genomics, ocean health, literacy, and more.
Major Projects and Ventures
Beyond the XPRIZE Foundation, Peter H. Diamandis has founded or co-founded over 25 companies in sectors including space, longevity, education, and venture capital. In 2008, he co-founded Singularity University with author and inventor Ray Kurzweil. Located at the NASA Ames campus, this organization provides educational programs and counsels leaders on the potential of exponentially accelerating technologies to address global challenges.
His ventures in the commercial space sector include co-founding Zero Gravity Corporation, which provides weightless parabolic flights, and Space Adventures, a space tourism company. He also co-founded Planetary Resources, a company that aimed to prospect asteroids for resources, and founded the Rocket Racing League.
In the health and biotechnology fields, Diamandis has co-founded several prominent companies. These include Human Longevity Inc., which focuses on genomics and cell therapy to extend the healthy human lifespan, and Celularity, a biotechnology company working with allogeneic cells from postpartum placentas. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Fountain Life, a company delivering preventative and data-driven health services. Additionally, he co-founded the venture capital firm BOLD Capital Partners, which invests in exponential technologies.
Impact and Ongoing Work
Peter H. Diamandis is the author of several bestselling books, including “Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think” and “BOLD: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World,” which explore his philosophy of data-driven optimism and the power of technology to solve significant problems. He hosts the “Moonshots with Peter Diamandis” podcast on his YouTube channel, where he discusses technological advancements and their impact on humanity.
Through his various organizations and writings, Diamandis advocates for the idea that exponentially growing technologies can create a world of abundance. He remains an active public speaker, sharing his vision on innovation and the future with audiences worldwide. Fortune magazine has named him one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.” He continues to serve as the executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation and Singularity University, and remains involved with his numerous commercial ventures.