San Francisco AI Exec Had Kids' Tuition Paid by Jeffrey Epstein

Researcher Joscha Bach accepted tens of thousands from disgraced financier to cover living costs and children's private school fees.

Feb. 3, 2026 at 6:39pm by Ben Kaplan

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A prominent San Francisco artificial intelligence researcher, Joscha Bach, accepted tens of thousands of dollars from disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to cover living costs, including his children's tuition at a private school in Menlo Park. Bach, who runs the California Institute for Machine Consciousness, said the funding was necessary to support his family and continue his research, though he claims he was unaware of Epstein's crimes at the time.

Why it matters

The revelations about Epstein's financial ties to the Bay Area tech and academic elite raise further questions about the extent of his influence and the ethical standards of those who maintained relationships with him, even after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a child for prostitution.

The details

According to newly released documents, between 2013 and 2019, Epstein covered Bach's relocation, rent, medical expenses, school fees, salary gap, and conference travel costs. Bach said he had to accept the funding out of necessity, as he could not have supported his family of four in the U.S. on a postdoc salary alone. The payments continued even after Bach moved from Massachusetts to the Bay Area, with an Epstein accountant sending a $5,100 deposit for his children's tuition at the private Alto International School in Menlo Park in 2019.

  • In 2013, Epstein began supporting Bach's work at the MIT Media Lab and the Harvard Program for Evolutionary Dynamics.
  • In 2014, Bach discussed an invite to visit Epstein in the Caribbean via St. Thomas and asked for tickets to take his family to Europe.
  • In 2015, Bach wrote that his increased MIT salary covered '2/3 of our living expenses' and he would still need about $89,000 in funding from Epstein.
  • In March 2019, a few months before Epstein's final arrest, an Epstein accountant sent $5,100 as a deposit for Bach's children's tuition at the private Alto International School.
  • In early 2019, Bach got an O-1 visa, meant for those with 'extraordinary ability,' and took a position at a Bay Area tech company, 'finally allowing [him] to become financially independent.'

The players

Joscha Bach

A German academic who has long specialized in artificial intelligence and cognitive science. He currently runs the California Institute for Machine Consciousness as its executive director.

Jeffrey Epstein

A disgraced financier who was convicted of soliciting a child for prostitution in 2008 but remained close with titans of finance, tech and academia for years until his 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.

Alto International School

A private school in Menlo Park, California that merged into the Silicon Valley International School in 2021.

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What they’re saying

“Between 2013 and 2019, Epstein covered our living costs — relocation, rent, medical expenses, school fees, the salary gap, and conference travel.”

— Joscha Bach, Researcher (SFGATE)

“Accepting [his funding] was driven by necessity; the alternative was to abandon my research. I could not have afforded to support a family of four in America on a postdoc salary, and my wife's visa restricted her from working.”

— Joscha Bach, Researcher (SFGATE)

“To be clear: I have never been aware of any crimes of Epstein after his [2008] conviction, or observed him to engage in any illicit behavior, and the accusations after his second arrest came as a shock.”

— Joscha Bach, Researcher (SFGATE)

The takeaway

The revelations about Epstein's financial ties to the Bay Area tech and academic elite raise further questions about the ethical standards of those who maintained relationships with the disgraced financier, even after his 2008 conviction, and the extent to which his money influenced research and institutions.