Bio

Sammy Martin is an Applied Researcher on the Global Catastrophic Risks team at Founders Pledge. His research focuses on identifying high-impact funding opportunities related to AI safety, international security, and other existential risks to help guide strategic philanthropy.

Before joining Founders Pledge in 2025, Sammy was a Research Associate at the Transformative Futures Institute, where he worked on forecasting catastrophic AI risks. His experience includes a PIBBSS Fellowship focused on AI misuse risks, and research roles with the Centre on Long-term Risk investigating AI conflict scenarios.

Sammy holds an MSc in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh and a BSc First Class in Physics and Philosophy from Durham University. Outside of work, he has interests in history, philosophy and science fiction.

Q&A with Sammy

Q: If you could choose anyone famous (real or fictional) to have dinner with who would they be and why?

Dwight Eisenhower - probably the most life experience any single person has had.

Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Astronaut or physicist.

Q: If a movie was made of your life what genre would it be, who would play you?

A zany sci-fi comedy directed by Luc Besson. I'd be played by Riz Ahmed.