Long before Demis Hassabis pioneered artificial intelligence techniques to earn a Nobel prize, he was a master of board games.

Demis Hassabis, Britain’s recent Nobel laureate in Chemistry, has a unique background combining video games and artificial intelligence. Born in London, he co-designed the hit game Theme Park at 17 before earning a double first in computer science from Cambridge and co-founding the AI startup DeepMind.

Cypriot British scientist Demis Hassabis won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, alongside US scientists David Baker and John Jumper, for their work in decoding the structure of proteins and creating new ones.