Forbes 30Under30 2021
20, Head of Engineering, Pagaya
When Adam Shem-Ur started working at Pagaya three years ago, he was 17 years old and the promising startup developing AI-based investment management technology had just completed a funding round worth 75 million dollars. It was the company's largest and most significant funding round thus far, and a huge load was placed on Adam's shoulders.
"I started off being responsible for the company's research infrastructure," he recounts. "I built the infrastructure for the researchers, was responsible for studying and cooperating with technology companies, so as to improve the productivity of the company's research, while cutting down times, simplifying machine learning systems, transitioning to the cloud, assimilating new technologies, and moving products to production."
In essence, he managed a team of tens of employees, before even celebrating his 20th birthday!
Within a year, Shem-Ur was already heading the engineering at Pagaya and was responsible for all of the company's engineering efforts, including research infrastructure and the operational environment. "I established the engineering department, which grew from a single team of three employees to three engineering teams of over 20 employees, enabling the company's growth through technology," he attests.
In this role, he was responsible for recruiting and establishing the engineering department, writing, planning and recreating systems, and building the company's data infrastructure and internal tools. In a company where a critical part of its operations is based on collecting, building, and analyzing data and massive databases – Shem-Ur functions as a very essential cog in the well-oiled machine.
Today, after three years, he is one of the prominent and promising names making waves in the Israeli high-tech scene. Those who needed additional proof received it recently, after the company announced another funding round – this time for slightly over $100 million, in a round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. The latest funding completed the young company's total fundraising to approximately $150 million, making Pagaya one of the sure candidates to become a unicorn in the near future, and it appears that Shem-Ur has played an instrumental role in that achievement.
Additionally, Adam is a member of Ascola – the alumni network of the Maimonides Foundation's Future Scientists Center, operated in partnership with the Prime Minister's Office. He completed the Odyssey program at Tel Aviv University.