Columbia Economist Dave Holtz Takes Leave to Lead AGI Economics at OpenAI
On September 15, Columbia Business School scholar Dave Holtz announced he will take an academic leave for the 2026–2027 school year to join OpenAI's economic research team full-time, leading its AGI economics research direction. OpenAI chief economist Ronnie Chatterji publicly welcomed him, confirming the arrangement.
Confirmed
- Holtz himself confirmed the move in multiple posts and reshared Chatterji's welcome announcement
- The arrangement covers the 2026–2027 academic year as a leave from Columbia, and is a full-time role
- His focus is AGI economics within OpenAI's economics research team under chief economist Ronnie Chatterji
Why it matters
- Holtz said recent events highlight how fast the AI capability frontier is expanding, and he wants to explore how economics can help understand and shape that trajectory, expressing optimism about working with Chatterji's team
- A prominent academic economist joining a leading AI lab signals that "AGI economics" is becoming a formally established industry research direction, potentially shaping the agenda on AI's impact on labor markets and economic structure
2026-09-15 ~ 2026-09-15 · 6 related posts
Primary sources
- [source] Columbia economist Dave Holtz takes leave to lead AGI economics research at OpenAI — daveholtz · 2026-09-15
5 near-duplicate retellings: mattbeane · daveholtz · daveholtz · Felipe_Millon · soumitrashukla9