Math star quits university professor job to serve 24-year-old student

According to The Wall Street Journal , at the age of 57, Professor Ken Ono took an indefinite leave of absence from the University of Virginia. What attracted more attention was that he joined Axiom Math - a startup founded by Carina Hong, 24, an excellent former student he had mentored.

From “natural intelligence” to being convinced by AI

A few years ago, Ono still considered AI “hyped” and introduced himself as a member of the “Naturally Intelligent” (NI) school. But everything changed when he witnessed firsthand the reasoning and mathematical proof capabilities of new-generation AI models.

Professor Ken Ono.jpg — Ken Ono participates in the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society's Distinguished Speaker Series (USA) on October 3, 2025. Photo: *The Cavalier Daily*

“The gap between me and the models is narrowing,” he admitted after joining a team of experts building an AI test set last year.

Ono started spending 1-2 hours a day “chatting math” with AI and realized this could revolutionize the way people do math.

Former student becomes… new boss

The person who convinced Ono to leave university was Carina Hong - a character considered a "phenomenon" in the field of mathematics and AI.

Hong graduated from MIT in three years, won the prestigious Morgan Prize, received a Rhodes Scholarship, and then pursued a dual PhD in Mathematics and Law at Stanford University. Before dropping out to found Axiom, she raised $64 million in funding and attracted several AI researchers from Meta.

Axiom aims to build “AI mathematicians”: systems that can reason, create new problems, and verify themselves with formal proofs. Investors believe that a “mathematical superintelligence” could revolutionize software testing, logistics, algorithmic trading, and quantitative finance.

The Unusual Journey of Ken Ono

According to the University of Virginia website, Ono was born into a Japanese family who immigrated to the United States after World War II. Despite his talent, he was bored with math and dropped out of high school due to pressure. The turning point came when he learned the story of Ramanujan - a math genius who also did not follow the "perfect" academic path.

By participating in a gifted program and being accepted to the University of Chicago without a high school diploma, Ono gradually discovered the beauty of mathematics. He then went to graduate school at UCLA, under the guidance of Professor Basil Gordon - who laid the foundation for his mathematical career.

Ono taught for many years at Wisconsin, Emory, and Virginia, leading a top research program for honors students and training 10 Morgan Prize winners—including Carina Hong.

Professor Ken Ono 12.jpg — Mathematician Ken Ono and his student Carina Hong. Photo: *The Wall Street Journal*

Turning point leaving the lecture hall
Ono says he didn’t leave university just for AI. Teaching has become increasingly subject to pressures beyond academics, from political upheavals to cuts in research funding. This has left him with less time for mathematics, the thing he values most.

“This is an opportunity to help change the way the world works. For a pure mathematician, that rarely happens,” Ono said of his student’s decision to give up his university professorship to become an employee at a startup.

The story of a young CEO

Carina Hong was born in China, taught herself English from a young age to read advanced math books, participated in the Math Olympiad but soon turned to research.

At Axiom, she wants to build AI systems that truly understand mathematics, not just mimic solutions. Ono will serve as a “founding mathematician,” designing new problems and building benchmarks to measure the model’s reasoning.

“Ken Ono is the idol of many math students,” Hong said.

Despite pursuing AI, Ono insists that he will not change his nature: “Even if the world reaches superintelligence, there will still be problems that no one can solve. And I will continue to find solutions,” he confided.

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