Jaan Tallinn
Estonian programmer who co-developed Skype and funds AI-safety research
- Age
- 54 yrs
- Birthday in 100 days
- Works listed
- 0
- Career highlights
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 2006
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Jaan Tallinn is an Estonian programmer who, with Ahti Heinla and Priit Kasesalu, wrote the technology behind Kazaa and Skype. He is now a prominent investor in and funder of AI-safety research, having co-founded the Future of Life Institute and Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.
Biography
Bluemoon
Tallinn studied theoretical physics at the University of Tartu. With friends he founded Bluemoon, which made the game Kosmonaut, one of the first Estonian games sold abroad.
Kazaa and Skype
Hired by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the Bluemoon team built the FastTrack peer-to-peer technology for Kazaa and then Skype (2003).
AI safety
After reading Eliezer Yudkowsky’s writings he devoted himself to reducing risks from AI. He co-founded the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (2012) and the Future of Life Institute (2014) and funds many safety researchers.
Investor
He was an early investor in DeepMind and Anthropic, partly to influence safety, and signed the 2023 open letter calling for a pause on giant AI experiments.
Timeline
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1972
Born in Tallinn, Estonia
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1989
Kosmonaut game
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2001
Kazaa
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2003
Skype
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2012
Co-founds CSER
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2014
Co-founds the Future of Life Institute
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2023
Signs the pause letter
Awards and honours
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Order of the White Star
2006
Did you know?
-
1
Skype’s engineering team was based in Tallinn.
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2
He has said AI is the biggest risk facing humanity.
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3
His surname is the same as his home city.
Connections
Related people
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Frequently asked
Who is Jaan Tallinn?
Jaan Tallinn is an Estonian programmer who, with Ahti Heinla and Priit Kasesalu, wrote the technology behind Kazaa and Skype. He is now a prominent investor in and funder of AI-safety research, having co-founded the Future of Life Institute and Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.
How old is Jaan Tallinn?
Jaan Tallinn is 54 years old, born on 14 February 1972 in Tallinn, Estonia.
Where is Jaan Tallinn from?
Jaan Tallinn was born in Tallinn, Estonia.
What is Jaan Tallinn known for?
Jaan Tallinn is best known for Kazaa and Skype engineering; co-founding the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and the Future of Life Institute.
What awards has Jaan Tallinn received?
Notable honours include Order of the White Star (2006).
References
- Jaan Tallinn — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jaan Tallinn (Q3156998) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Jaan Tallinn”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Jaan Tallinn.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/jaan-tallinn
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