Xu Cao

Bio

I am the co-founder of PediaMed AI, advancing AI technologies for pediatrics. Currently, I am a CS PhD student in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where I am fortunate to be advised by Prof. James M. Rehg and Prof. Jimeng Sun.

Before starting my Ph.D., I received my MS in Computer Science from Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University and BS in Data Science and Chemistry with the Top 1 in my major in Fudan University.

I gained industry experience as a Machine Learning Engineer at SambaNova Systems and Tencent, where I worked on cutting-edge AI solutions for autonomous driving and image/video generation. I was interning at NEC Labs America and Google AR. My research focuses on Vision Language Models (VLMs), AI alignment, and post-training techniques, with applications in Social AI, AR/XR, and healthcare.

I am actively seeking to establish collaborations with undergraduates on projects of mutual interest. I invite prospective partners to contact me to discuss potential synergies.

❗I am looking for full-time roles in Canada and the USA.