Susan Wojcicki, a key figure in Google's history, has passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the news on Saturday. Wojcicki played a foundational role in shaping YouTube’s trajectory. Pichai expressed his deep sadness at the loss of his dear friend Susan after her two-year battle with cancer. He described her as core to the history of Google and acknowledged the significant impact she had on the world.
Pichai further stated that Wojcicki was an incredible person, leader, and friend, and that her legacy will be deeply missed by all who knew her. As one of Google’s earliest employees, Wojcicki received a 'Google Founders Award’ for her contribution to the development of AdSense, which significantly impacted Google’s advertising efforts.
Interesting facts about Susan Wojcicki
- During her tenure as CEO of YouTube, Wojcicki played a pivotal role in the platform's growth into a global powerhouse, influencing millions of content creators and billions of viewers.
- Wojcicki’s legacy extends beyond the products she helped develop, as she was also a strong advocate for women in tech, serving as a role model for aspiring leaders worldwide.
- In February 2023, Wojcicki announced her decision to step down after 25 years at the Google-owned company, and Indian-American Neal Mohan was appointed as the new YouTube CEO.
- Throughout her career, Wojcicki managed marketing, co-created Google Image Search, led Google's first Video and Book search, played a key role in the creation of AdSense, was involved in the YouTube and DoubleClick acquisitions, and served as SVP of Ads.
Meanwhile, John Schulman, a co-founder of OpenAI, has left the company to join rival Anthropic. In a post on social media platform X, he mentioned that he is making this move to deepen his focus on AI alignment and to return to hands-on technical work in a new chapter of his career. Additionally, OpenAI's President and co-founder Greg Brockman shared that he will be taking a sabbatical until the end of the year, as stated in a post on X.
ALSO READ: Draft Broadcast Services Bill 2024: What is it and why it has raised concerns of freedom of speech?
Inputs from IANS
