David Shrier is a globally recognised expert on financial innovation and digital transformation. He is a Professor of Practice at Imperial College Business School, where he is founding faculty of the Centre for Digital Transformation and leads the Trusted AI initiative. He also chairs the Research Group for the World Metaverse Council. Previously, Shrier held a dual appointment at MIT and Oxford, where he created and led the Leadership & Diversity Program for Regulators in collaboration with Women’s World Banking.
Shrier is widely known for developing and teaching MIT and Oxford’s fintech and blockchain courses, which expanded access to over 150 countries and helped redefine the business model for online higher education. His initiatives have attracted nearly $1 billion in financial support for MIT, Harvard, and Oxford. His government advisory work spans more than 100 countries, shaping policies that affect over 2.4 billion people globally.
In the private sector, Shrier serves as Senior Advisor to Dandelion Science, an AI neuromodulation company creating a programming language for the brain. Through Visionary Future, he holds leadership roles in multiple innovative ventures, including Chairman of ORBU.AI, a prediction intelligence company; Acting CEO of Phourm.AI, an AI-driven peptide drug discovery platform; Founder of VybeSync, a next-generation human intelligence platform; and Managing Director of Pepr Energy, a geothermal provider for high-performance computing datacenters. He also advises the Minister of Finance of Luxembourg on AI applications in the financial sector.
Shrier has successfully led complex financial transactions, including an oversubscribed SPAC IPO on the NYSE and the subsequent deSPAC onto NASDAQ, taking an HPC-renewable energy datacenter company public through a merger with GRIID Infrastructure (GRDI). This occurred during one of the most challenging SPAC markets in history, navigating a rapidly evolving regulatory environment. GRIID was later acquired by CleanSpark in October 2024.
A prolific author, Shrier’s most recent books, Welcome to the Metaverse: Unlocking the Potential of Virtual Worlds was published in 2025, and Basic AI: A Human Guide to Artificial Intelligence, was published in 2024. He has co-authored several influential works with MIT Professor Alex “Sandy” Pentland, including Global Fintech, Trusted Data, New Solutions for Cybersecurity, Frontiers of Financial Technology, and Trust::Data. His monographs include Basic Blockchain, Augmenting Your Career, and Basic Metaverse.
