Sebastian Thrun

Sebastian Thrun is a scientist, educator, inventor, and entrepreneur, founding several companies, including Google X, Udacity, and Kitty Hawk. Thrun is a professor at Stanford University. He is known for his research on AI, robotics, education, human-computer interaction, and medical devices. Thrun led the Stanford Racing Team that won the DARPA Grand Challenge with their robot “Stanley.” While at Google X, he led projects, including Self-Driving Car, and Google Glass, and more.

Thrun has been named the 5th Most Creative Person in Business (Fast CompanyFast Company), among the 50 Smartest People in Tech (FortuneFortune), and highlighted in the 50 Best Inventions of 2010 (TimeTime). He has received numerous awards and honors, including the inaugural Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Education and the Max Planck Research Award. He was elected into the National Academy of Engineering and the German Academy of Sciences at age 39thirty-nine. Google Scholar ranks Thrun's h-index as number 143 in the world in all of computer science.

Sebastian Thrun was born in Solingen, Germany, in 1967. He attended the University of Hildesheim, graduating in 1988 with a "VordiPlom" (first diploma) in computer science, economics, and medicine. Thrun went on to study at the University of Bonn, completing a "Diplom" in computer science and statistics in 1993. He remained at the University of Bonn, completing a PhD in computer science and statistics, publishing his thesis titled "Explanation-Based Neural Network Learning: A Lifelong Learning Approach" in July 1995. His PhD advisors were Armin Bernd Cremers and Tom Michael Mitchell. After completing his education at the University of Bonn, Thrun emigrated to the United States.

Thrun took a position as a computer science researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in 1995, becoming assistant professor in 1998. In 2001, he became an associate professor of computer science, robotics, and automated learning.

Thrun became a tenured associate professor of computer science at Stanford University in 2003. In 2004, he became director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL). Throughout the years at Stanford, Thrun has become an associate professor of electrical engineering (2006), a full professor of computer science and electrical engineering (2007), a research professor of computer science (2013), and an adjunct professor in computer science and electrical engineering (2016). While the director of SAIL, Thrun led the Stanford Racing Team to victory at the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005. The winning robot, Stanley, was developed for high-speed desert driving without human intervention. Its software system relied predominately on state-of-the-art AI technologies, including machine learning and probabilistic reasoning.

Thrun joined Google in 2007. While working at Google, he founded Google X, the company's hardware innovation shop, and Waymo, the company's self-driving car team (previously called the Google Chauffeur Project).

While director of Google X, Thrun worked on a number of projects including:

Founded in 2011, Udacity began with Stanford lecturers Thrun and Peter Norvig wanting to offer their "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence" course online for free. Thrun became CEO of the company, which has grown into an e-learning company with over 160,000 students enrolled in more than 190 countries enrolled. Thrun stepped down as CEO in 2019, remaining as a member of the board.

Originally founded in 2010 by Stanford aerodynamicist Ilan Kroo, Larry Page rebranded the company as Kitty Hawk in 2016, putting Thrun in charge as CEO and founder. Kitty Hawk developed electric aircraft, with the goal of making air taxis.

We have made the decision to wind down Kittyhawk. We’re still working on the details of what’s next,.

The company had operated mostly in secret, developing its aircraft. Kitty Hawk built and flew 111 aircraft, conducting over 25,000 successful crewed and uncrewed flights wit+hwith its fleet. Its flyer program was shuttered in June 2020 with around 70seventy employees gettingbeing laid off. "Cora," a two-person autonomous flying taxi that, was first revealed in 2018 and was spun off in late 2019 in a joint venture with Boeing, now called Wisk. Thrun held the position of CEO until December 2022.

Thrun was part of the founding team of Cresta in 2017, a company with the goal of using AI to help employees learn high-value skills. Thrun remains a member of Cresta's advisory board. In 2017, he also co-foundedcofounded Crossing Minds, an eCommercee-commerce personalization platform powered by AI.

On October 3, 2023, Thrun announced he was launching Sage AI Labs, a well-funded startupstart-up with industry partners, with his previous student Bret Kuprel. The stealth startupstart-up will be operating in the autonomous robotic agents space.

Sebastian Thrun is a scientist, educator, inventor, and entrepreneur, founding several companies including Google X, Udacity, and Kitty Hawk.

Sebastian Thrun is a scientist, educator, inventor, and entrepreneur, founding several companies including Google X, Udacity, and Kitty Hawk. Thrun is a professor at Stanford University. He is known for his research on AI, robotics, education, human-computer interaction, and medical devices. Thrun led the Stanford Racing Team that won the DARPA Grand Challenge with their robot “Stanley.” While at Google X he led projects including Self-Driving Car, Google Glass, and more.

Thrun has been named the 5th Most Creative Person in Business (Fast Company), among the 50 Smartest People in Tech (Fortune), and highlighted in the 50 Best Inventions of 2010 (Time). He has received numerous awards and honors including the inaugural Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Education and the Max Planck Research Award. He was elected into the National Academy of Engineering and the German Academy of Sciences at age 39. Google Scholar ranks Thrun's h-index as number 143 in the world in all of computer science.

Sebastian Thrun was born in Solingen, Germany in 1967. He attended the University of Hildesheim, graduating in 1988 with a "VordiPlom" (first diploma) in computer science, economics, and medicine. Thrun went on to study at the University of Bonn, completing a "Diplom" in computer science and statistics in 1993. He remained at the University of Bonn, completing a PhD in computer science and statistics, publishing his thesis titled "Explanation-Based Neural Network Learning: A Lifelong Learning Approach" in July 1995. His PhD advisors were Armin Bernd Cremers and Tom Michael Mitchell. After completing his education at the University of Bonn, Thrun emigrated to the United States.

Thrun took a position as a computer scientistscience researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in 1995 becoming assistant professor in 1998. In 2001 he became associate professor of computer science, robotics, and automated learning.

Thrun became a tenured associate professor of computer at Stanford University in 2003. In 2004 he became director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL). Throughout the years at Stanford, Thrun has become an associate professor of electrical engineering (2006), a full professor of computer science and electrical engineering (2007), research professor of computer science (2013), and adjunct professor in computer science and electrical engineering (2016). While the director of SAIL, Thrun led the Stanford Racing Team to victory at the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005. The winning robot Stanley was developed for high-speed desert driving without human intervention. Its software system relied predominately on state-of-the-art AI technologies, including machine learning and probabilistic reasoning.

Thrun joined Google in 2007. While working at Google he founded Google X, the company's hardware innovation shop and Waymo, the company's self-driving car team (previously called the Google Chauffeur Project).

While director of Google X, Thrun worked on a number of projects including:

• Project Iris—glucose-sensing contact lenses
• Wing—drones for food delivery
• Loon—stratospheric balloons for telecommunication
• Google Brain—deep learning
• Google Glass—smart glasses

Founded in 2011, Udacity began with Stanford lecturers Thrun and Peter Norvig wanting to offer their "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence" course online for free. Thrun became CEO of the company, which grewhas grown into an e-learning company with over 160,000 students in more than 190 countries enrolled. Thrun stepped down as CEO in 2019, remaining as a member of the board.

In September 2022, KittyharkKitty Hawk announced it was shutting down on Twitter and LinkedIn, stating:

The company had operated mostly in secret developing its aircraft. KittyhawkKitty Hawk built and flew 111 aircraft, conducting over 25,000 successful crewed and uncrewed flights withwit+h its fleet. Its flyer program was shuttered in June 2020 with around 70 employees getting laid off. "Cora" a two-person autonomous flying taxi that was first revealed in 2018 was spun off in late 2019 in a joint venture with Boeing, now called Wisk. Thrun held the position of CEO until December 2022.

Thrun was part of the founding team of Cresta in 2017, a company with the goal of using AI to help employees learn high-value skills. Thrun remains a member of Cresta's advisory board. In 2017, he also co-founded Crossing Minds, an eCommerce personalization platform powered by AI.

On October 3, 2023, Thrun announced he was launching Sage AI Labs, a well-funded startup with industry partners, with his previous SAIL student Bret Kuprel. The stealth startup will be operating in the autonomous robotic agents space.

Sebastian Thrun is a scientist, educator, inventor, and entrepreneur, founding several companies including Google X, Udacity, and Kitty Hawk.

Sebastian Thrun was born in Solingen, Germany in 1967. He attended the University of Hildesheim, graduating in 1988 with a "VordiPlom" (first diploma) in computer science, economics, and medicine. Thrun went on to study at the University of Bonn, completing a "Diplom" in computer science and statistics in 1993. He remained at the University of Bonn, completing a PhD in computer science and statistics in 1995. After completing his education at the University of Bonn, Thrun emigrated to the United States.

Thrun took a position as a computer scientist researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in 1995 becoming assistant professor in 1998. In 2001 he became associate professor of computer science, robotics, and automated learning.

Founded in 2011, Udacity began with Stanford lecturers wanting to offer their "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence" course online for free. Thrun became CEO of the company, which grew into an e-learning company with over 160,000 students in more than 190 countries enrolled. Thrun stepped down as CEO in 2019, remaining as a member of the board.

Originally founded in 2010 by Stanford aerodynamicist Ilan Kroo, Larry Page rebranded the company as Kitty Hawk in 2016 putting Thrun in charge as CEO and founder. Kitty Hawk developed electric aircraft, with the goal of making air taxis.

In September 2022, Kittyhark announced it was shutting down on Twitter and LinkedIn, stating:

We have made the decision to wind down Kittyhawk. We’re still working on the details of what’s next,

The company had operated mostly in secret developing its aircraft. Kittyhawk built and flew 111 aircraft, conducting over 25,000 successful crewed and uncrewed flights with its fleet. Its flyer program was shuttered in June 2020 with around 70 employees getting laid off. "Cora" a two-person autonomous flying taxi that was first revealed in 2018 was spun off in late 2019 in a joint venture with Boeing, now called Wisk. Thrun held the position of CEO until December 2022.

On October 3, 2023, Thrun announced he was launching Sage AI Labs, a well-funded startup with industry partners, with his previous SAIL student Bret Kuprel. The stealth startup will be operating in the autonomous robotic agents space.

Sebastian Thrun, born on May 14, 1967, is a German computer scientist who holds German citizenship. He was educated at the University of Bonn and the University of Hildesheim. Thrun is known for founding several companies, including Udacity, Crossing Minds, X, and Cresta.

Thrun is currently the CEO of Udacity and Kitty Hawk, both of which are located in Mountain View, California. His doctoral advisor was Armin B. Cremers. Sebastian Thrun has advised several doctoral students, including Charles E. Rosenberg, John Langford, Frank Dellaert, David Stavens, Alexandre Robicquet, and Nicholas Roy.

Sebastian Thrun, born on May 14, 1967, is a German computer scientist who holds German citizenship. He was educated at the University of Bonn and the University of Hildesheim. Thrun is known for founding several companies, including Udacity, Crossing Minds, X, and Cresta.

Thrun is currently the CEO of Udacity and Kitty Hawk, both of which are located in Mountain View, California. His doctoral advisor was Armin B. Cremers. Sebastian Thrun has advised several doctoral students, including Charles E. Rosenberg, John Langford, Frank Dellaert, David Stavens, Alexandre Robicquet, and Nicholas Roy.