Sebastian Thrun

Sebastian Thrun is the Founder of the enterprise artificial intelligence company Cresta and the Co-founder of the online education platform Udacity. Previously, he founded and directed Google X, the advanced corporate research and development division responsible for incubating large-scale technological innovations and complex hardware projects. During his extensive tenure at Google, Thrun led the initial development of the company's driverless car project, which eventually spun out as the independent entity Waymo, and he also spearheaded the creation of Street View. Transitioning into the digital education sector, he partnered with Peter Norvig to launch Udacity after their initial free artificial intelligence course attracted an enrollment of over 160,000 students from more than 190 different countries. His professional background primarily centers on advancing applied artificial intelligence, pioneering autonomous transportation systems, and expanding global access to advanced technical education.