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Google CEO Sundar Pichai has overseen major contributions to the technology platform since the early 2000s. Now that he’s apparently in Donald Trump‘s orbit of major tech figureheads, Americans – and the rest of the world — are curious to learn more about Pichai’s career.
Below, Hollywood Life has compiled five facts about Pichai and his time at Google.
Sundar Pichai Is the CEO of Alphabet Inc.
Since Alphabet Inc. oversees Google, Pichai is the CEO of both Google and Alphabet. Google Inc. lasted as its own standalone company from 1998 until it went through a restructuring in 2015.
Sundar Pichai Is From India
Pichai was born and raised in India. He eventually moved to the U.S. to pursue his career in technology.
Sundar Pichai Is Married With Kids
The Google exec is married to Anjali Pichai, and the spouses share two children together. Though Pichai is a major tech figurehead, his family has maintained a low-key lifestyle.
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Sundar Pichai Oversaw Google Maps’ Early Days
After he joined the Google team in 2004, Pichai oversaw the development of several creations under the platform, including Gmail and Google Maps. In February 2020, Pichai penned a public note reflecting on Google Maps’ path.
“Not only do maps make it easier to get around; they also can give you a sense of identity when you see your street on the map for the first time,” Pichai wrote on Google Maps’ 15th anniversary. “That was one of the revelations of MapMaker. Launched by two Google engineers in 2008, it was a way for people to add streets and local landmarks to improve the experience of Google Maps, starting in India. It quickly evolved to help map floods in the Philippines and Pakistan, and later to allow people in the U.S. add a new road to their neighborhood.”
At the time, Pichai indicated that Google Maps’ “legacy” continued with Local Guides, Google’s “active community of more than 120 million users who help keep the map factual and up to date by contributing reviews, photos and local expertise.”
Elsewhere in his blog post, Pichai pointed to one of the “next frontiers for Maps,” which was to help “billions of people who live without a physical address get a digital one.” He went on to explain that with a digital address, “more people will be able to access things like banking and emergency services, receive personal mail and deliveries, and help people find and patronize their businesses.”
Five years later, Google Maps made headlines around the world when it updated the Gulf of Mexico’s name to read the Gulf of America for Maps users located in the U.S. People in other countries aside from the U.S. and Mexico could see that the gulf was changed to read “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).” The update aligned with the Trump administration’s move to change the body of water’s name.
Sundar Pichai Attended Trump’s 2025 Inauguration
In January 2025, Pichai was one of the many tech titans to attend the second presidential inauguration of Trump. In addition to him, Tesla founder and X owner Elon Musk and Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg were also in attendance.
