Who Is Akshay Venkatesh? Age, Biography and Wiki
Born on November 21, 1981, Akshay Venkatesh is now 43 years old. He is an acclaimed Australian mathematician known for his significant contributions in various fields of mathematics, including number theory, harmonic analysis, and additive combinatorics. Venkatesh was born in New Delhi, India, and moved to Australia at a young age, where he eventually became a prominent figure in academic circles. With a union of Indian heritage and Australian upbringing, he navigated the complexities of both cultures while establishing a successful career in mathematics. For more about his academic journey and achievements, you can check his Wikipedia page.
| Occupation | Mathematician |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | November 21, 1981 |
| Age | 43 Years |
| Birth Place | New Delhi, India |
| Horoscope | Scorpio |
| Country | India |
Popularity
Akshay Venkatesh's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Akshay Venkatesh stands at an approximate height of 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm). His weight is in the range of 160–170 pounds (73–77 kg). Though his physical stats may not be the focus of public interest, his intellectual stature continues to soar as he gains recognition and respect in the scientific community.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
As of 2025, Akshay Venkatesh is known to maintain a relatively private personal life. There are no public records or statements confirming his relationship status, whether he has a girlfriend or is married. However, he has mentioned in interviews that family has always been a cornerstone of his support system, contributing to his success. Still, fans and followers eagerly speculate about his romantic life, but he has chosen to keep it under wraps, focusing primarily on his professional commitments.
He attended Scotch College. His mother, Svetha, is a computer science professor at Deakin University.
A child prodigy, Akshay attended extracurricular training classes for gifted students in the state mathematical olympiad program, and in 1993, whilst aged only 11, he competed at the 24th International Physics Olympiad in Williamsburg, Virginia, winning a bronze medal.
The following year, he switched his attention to mathematics and, after placing second in the Australian Mathematical Olympiad, he won a silver medal in the 6th Asian Pacific Mathematics Olympiad, before winning a bronze medal at the 1994 International Mathematical Olympiad held in Hong Kong.
He completed his secondary education the same year, turning 13 before entering the University of Western Australia as its youngest ever student. Venkatesh completed the four-year course in three years and became, at 16, the youngest person to earn First Class Honours in pure mathematics from the university. He was awarded the J. A.
Woods Memorial Prize as the most outstanding graduate of the year from the Faculties of Science, Engineering, Dentistry, or Medical Science. While at UWA he was also one of the founding members of the Honours Cricket Association.
Net Worth and Salary
Akshay Venkatesh's net worth in 2025 is estimated to be around $6 million, primarily accumulated through his academic roles, publications, research grants, and various collaborations. His salary may vary significantly depending on the projects he undertakes but it is reasonable to estimate his annual income within the range of $150,000 to $250,000, given his esteemed position in academia and his recognition as a leading mathematician.
Career, Business and Investments
Venkatesh's career has been marked by numerous prestigious appointments, including professorships at renowned universities and research institutions. He has received multiple accolades, including the Fields Medal, often referred to as the 'Nobel Prize of Mathematics.'
In addition to his academic role, Akshay is involved in various business ventures related to mathematics education and consulting, working to shorten the gap between complex mathematical ideas and public understanding. His investments largely align with educational startups focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) outreach, reflecting his commitment to fostering a new generation of mathematicians.
Akshay commenced his PhD at Princeton University in 1998 under Peter Sarnak, which he completed in 2002, producing the thesis Limiting forms of the trace formula. He was supported by the Hackett Fellowship for postgraduate study. He was then awarded a postdoctoral position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he served as a C.L.E.
Moore instructor. Venkatesh then held a Clay Research Fellowship from the Clay Mathematics Institute from 2004 to 2006, and was an associate professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. He was a member of the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) from 2005 to 2006.
He became a full professor at Stanford University on 1 September 2008. After serving as distinguished visiting professor at the IAS in 2017–2018, he became a permanent faculty member of IAS in August 2018.
Social Network
Akshay Venkatesh is active on various social media platforms, where he engages with the mathematical community and shares insights on his ongoing research work. His Twitter account (@AkshayVenkatesh) features updates on his publications, as well as discussions on math-related topics, which further establishes his influential presence in both social media and his academic field.
In 2018, he was awarded the Fields Medal, commonly described as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, becoming the second Australian (after Terence Tao) and the second person of Indian descent (after Manjul Bhargava) to be so honoured.
The short citation for the medal declared that Venkatesh was being honoured for "his synthesis of analytic number theory, homogeneous dynamics, topology, and representation theory, which has resolved long-standing problems in areas such as the equidistribution of arithmetic objects." University of Western Australia Professor Michael Giudici said of
his former classmate's work that "[i]f it was easy for me to explain, then he wouldn't have received the Fields Medal".
Australian mathematician and media personality Adam Spencer said that "[t]his century will be built by mathematicians, whether it's computer coding, algorithms, machine learning, artificial intelligence, app design and the like" and that "we should acknowledge the magnificence of the mathematical mind." Director of the Australian Mathematical Scien
ces Institute Professor Geoff Prince said "Akshay is an exciting and innovative leader in his field whose work will continue to have wide-ranging implications for mathematics" and a worthy recipient of the Fields medal "given his contribution to improving mathematicians' understanding of analytic number theory, algebraic number theory, and represen
tation theory".
Education
Venkatesh completed his early education in Australia before pursuing higher education at Princeton University, where he earned his PhD at the age of 21. His educational background includes not only mathematics but also a keen interest in its applications in various scientific fields. This foundation has enabled him to tackle some of the most complex and fascinating problems in mathematics.
Akshay Venkatesh (born 21 November 1981) is an Indian Australian mathematician and a professor (since 15 August 2018) at the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study.
His research interests are in the fields of counting, equidistribution problems in automorphic forms and number theory, in particular representation theory, locally symmetric spaces, ergodic theory, and algebraic topology.
