10 Google alumni who founded companies
Each of these Google alumni who founded companies worked at Google, in engineering, product or business roles, before starting the company they run now as founder or co-founder. A reader can learn how people who worked at Google went on to build companies, from the founders themselves.
Professionals to explore
Allan MacKinnon
LinkedInExperience: Founder and CEO · Dispatch3 Inc.
Allan MacKinnon was Staff Software Engineer at Google from 2016 to 2023, and has been Founder and CEO of Dispatch3 Inc. since 2023. The profile says Dispatch3 is developing a GPU-accelerated consumer-facing product.
Astrid Atkinson
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder & CEO · Camus Energy
Astrid Atkinson was Senior Director of Software Engineering, Google Product Infrastructure at Google from 2017 to 2019, and has been Co-Founder & CEO of Camus Energy since 2019.
Babak Pahlavan
LinkedInExperience: Founder/CEO/CPO · NinjaTech AI
Babak Pahlavan was Senior Director of Product Management - Google Core at Google from 2019 to 2022, and has been Founder/CEO/CPO of NinjaTech AI since 2022.
Drishan Arora
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder & CEO · Deep Cogito
Drishan Arora was Senior Software Engineer at Google from 2016 to 2024, and has been Co-Founder & CEO of Deep Cogito since 2024.
George Portillo
LinkedInExperience: CEO, Technical Co-Founder · Sushidata
George Portillo was UX Engineering Lead at Google from 2015 to 2022, and has been CEO, Technical Co-Founder of Sushidata since 2024. George Portillo describes pioneering UX/UI for conversational sales and support at Google and building the current cloud.google.com homepage.
Hantz Févry
LinkedInExperience: Founder & CEO · Geolava
Hantz Févry was Product Manager at Google from 2019 to 2021, and has been Founder & CEO of Geolava since 2024.
Madhav Datt
LinkedInExperience: Co-Founder & CEO · Polynomic
Madhav Datt was Product Manager at Google from 2021 to 2023, and has been Co-Founder & CEO of Polynomic since 2025.
Neil Gyte
LinkedInExperience: CEO & Co-Founder · metabolicWise
Neil Gyte was Director & Global Head of New Products, Strategic Partnerships & Industry Solutions, GMP at Google from 2021 to 2024, and has been CEO & Co-Founder of metabolicWise since 2025.
Nils Graef
LinkedInExperience: Founder, CEO · OpenMachine
Nils Graef was Architecture & Design Engineer for ML Accelerators at Google from 2015 to 2020, and has been Founder, CEO of OpenMachine since 2022. Nils Graef describes designing AI chips at Google (TPUs), Groq, Apple and now OpenMachine.
Reiner Pope
LinkedInExperience: Founder and CEO · MatX
Reiner Pope was Senior Staff Software Engineer at Google Research at Google from 2021 to 2022, and has been Founder and CEO of MatX since 2022. The profile describes the work at MatX as making faster chips for LLMs.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's role at Google, such as engineering, product or partnerships, to the part of the path from employee to founder you want to understand. Check when each company was started to judge how recent the person's experience of the early stage is.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01What from your work at Google turned out to be most useful when you started your own company?
- 02How did you decide what problem your company would work on?
- 03What did you have to learn quickly that your Google role had not prepared you for?
Reaching Google alumni who founded companies
How can I contact one of these Google alumni who founded companies?
Pick one of the 10 people on this page and choose "Book a paid call", or describe your project to find others. You offer a fee for a 15-minute call or a written answer, Instant Expert finds the person's work email and sends the invitation, and they decide whether to accept. The list covers 10 companies, including Dispatch3 Inc., Camus Energy and NinjaTech AI, based on profile data retrieved on October 25, 2026. Being listed here doesn't mean someone has agreed to take calls.
How much does it cost to reach Google alumni who founded companies?
You choose the offer, starting at $5 per person. The offer is what the person receives, and Instant Expert's fee is added on top, so a $100 offer costs you $125. The fee is 20% of what you pay. You're charged only when the person books the call or sends the answer.
What if they don't reply?
You pay nothing. Instant Expert sends follow-up reminders, and if the person hasn't booked or answered within 7 days, the request expires and any hold on your card is released. You can invite several of the 10 people on this list at once and cap your total spend, so you pay only for the ones who accept.
Can an AI agent ask one of these Google alumni who founded companies a question?
Yes. An agent with a USDC wallet on Base can ask one question without an Instant Expert account. It names the person, for example by the LinkedIn URL on this page, and pays per ask over x402 (HTTP 402). The person answers in writing or by voice note, and if nobody answers within 7 days, the payment goes back to the wallet automatically. Claude and ChatGPT can do the same through the Instant Expert connector: setup is at /docs/mcp for Claude and /docs/chatgpt for ChatGPT. x402 docs
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.