Sam Damashek

Sam Damashek is the Founder of Zoa Research, an artificial intelligence technology startup backed by Y Combinator in its Summer 2024 cohort. Prior to launching his current venture, he served as the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Paradome. Damashek previously spent three years as a quantitative trader on the options trading desk at Jane Street, dividing his tenure between two years in New York City and one year in Hong Kong. During his time at the proprietary trading firm, he developed algorithmic trading strategies utilizing applied machine learning and established the Asia options satellite development team. Damashek earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. His professional background centers on building quantitative forecasting models, designing reinforcement learning environments, and deploying applied machine learning systems for advanced trading applications.