Christopher Thorpe

Chris began his career as a software engineer focused on internationalization. After four years in Silicon Valley, he returned to teach and earn a PhD in computer science in AI at Harvard. To meet a theory requirement, he enrolled in a cryptography course with Michael O. Rabin, who invited him to implement an auction design he was working on with David Parkes and Stuart Shieber. This project turned into a paper, and four published related papers later, Chris was awarded the PhD — not in AI, but in cryptography applied to auctions and finance. This research ultimately interested key customers and partners that led to the founding of Provable Labs.

After earning the PhD, Chris became an entrepreneur and co-founded Blueleaf, where he earned his CFA charter. Later, he served as CEO of Philo, which was named one of the world’s 50 most innovative companies in 2014 by Fast Company—an honor shared by Thomer Gil, then Philo’s CTO. In addition to advising and providing scientific leadership to Provable Labs, Chris runs a cybersecurity startup in the San Francisco area. He holds several patents in cryptography, cloud computing, software quality, and natural language processing.