Thomas Neff

Questioner
DISC Type : c

Head of Systems Research & Engineering at Luma AI

Greater Graz, Austria

Overview

Thomas Neff leads Systems Research and Engineering at Luma AI, focusing on making large-scale training and inference for generative AI models more efficient. A PhD graduate from Graz University of Technology, his work has been central to shipping core products like Dream Machine and the 3D generation model, Genie.

Outside of his core research, Thomas has a passion for game development and music. He created an award-winning application for the Pebble smartwatch, showcasing his skills beyond large-scale AI. He is also active in growing the AI community, encouraging connections as Luma expands to new cities like London and Seattle.

Unique fact: Thomas is the creator of "Greeneys Run, " an award-winning game he developed for the Pebble Timeline Challenge.

Personality Overview

Value Seeker

Not Easily Convinced

Systematic

While they don't hesitate to ask questions, they are generally risk-averse and tend to be late adopters.  They prefer to analyze every situation thoroughly.
 They are more likely than others to negotiate on pricing and terms.

Topics They Care About

Efficient ML Systems
He leads efforts at Luma to scale training and inference workloads to thousands of GPUs, a topic he recently presented at the PyTorch conference.
Generative AI Models
He contributed significantly to building and shipping multiple generative models at Luma, including Genie (text-to-3D) and Dream Machine (generative video).
Real-Time Graphics
His PhD research focused on real-time graphics and neural rendering, and he built Luma's Unreal Engine 5 integration for 3D capture technologies.

Media Appearances

Thomas has no verified media appearances

Work History

9-2024
Head of Systems Research & Engineering at Luma AI
11-2022 - 10-2024
Research Scientist (Founding Team) at Luma AI
6-2022 - 9-2022
Research Scientist Intern at Meta
3-2019 - 2-2023
PhD Student / University Assistant (Real-Time Graphics, Machine Learning) at Graz University of Technology
6-2018 - 3-2019
PhD Student / Project Assistant at Graz University of Technology

Education

6-2018 - 2-2023
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD from Technische Universität Graz
2015 - 2018
Master's degree from Technische Universität Graz

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 11 Location : Greater Graz, Austria Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Head of Systems Research & Engineering at Luma AI
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Insights For Selling To Thomas

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Tell them that you will come back if you don’t have a good answer for a question
  • Back up any claims with data and numbers
  • Emphasize on objective proof of ROI, help them do a thorough evaluation

DONT's

  • Don’t depend too much on anecdotal evidence, it reduces their confidence
  • Avoid phrases like ‘do not worry about’, ‘no one compares to’ etc.
  • Avoid rushing them, be polite and patient

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Thomas is

  • Confidence that the product provides ROI, effective pricing and process adherence matter the most to them.

  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Thomas

  • It doesn’t come naturally to them but they can say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Thomas move?

  • They can move at a reasonable pace while making their decisions if they have the necessary information.

  • Can Thomas take some risk or not?

  • They can take risk if they are convinced that they have analyzed the circumstances well.


You And Thomas

Personality Compatibility


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