Sebastian Thrun - Pioneer of AI & Self-Driving Cars

The Visionary

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Thrun is a German-American professor, entrepreneur, and computer scientist. He is the founder of Waymo (then: Google Chauffeur), Google X, and the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab. He is also founder of Cresta, Kittyhawk, and Udacity. Thrun was a Google Vice President and Fellow and a tenured Stanford professor. He's widely known as the father of the modern self driving car. Detailed CV

35M+

Students on Udacity

2005

DARPA Grand Challenge Winner

400+

Research Publications

#17

Rank of Best Computer Scientists, Worldwide

5

Major "Unicorn" Companies Founded

4

Honorary Doctoral titles, plus one hard earned one

"In 10 years, there will be only two kinds of companies: those that use AI, and those that are out of business."

Journey Through Time

1967

Born in Solingen, West Germany

1995

Ph.D. in Computer Science and Statistics from the University of Bonn

1998

Developed Minerva, the robotic tour guide at the Smithsonian

2003

Joined Stanford University as Associate Professor, promoted to Full Professor in 2005

2004

Founded the modern Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL)

2005

Led Stanford Racing Team to win DARPA Grand Challenge with Stanley

2007

Sold Streetview to Google and launched in 10+ Countries

2008

Founded Groud Truth, Google's global digital mapping effort

2010

Founded Google X and the Google Self-Driving Car project (now Waymo)

2012

Founded Udacity, democratizing education worldwide

2015

Co-founded Kitty Hawk Corporation with Larry Page, developing flying cars

2017

Co-founded Cresta, the leader in AI for Contact Centers

2023

Sold Udacity to Accenture

2024

Sold Kittyhawk Cora to Boeing, now Wisk.aero

2025

Continues to innovate in AI, education, and autonomous transportation

Revolutionary Robots

From museum guides to desert racers, Thrun's robots have pushed the boundaries of what's possible.

Stanley

The autonomous vehicle that won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, completing a 132-mile desert course without human intervention. This achievement marked a pivotal moment in autonomous vehicle history.

Junior

Stanford's entry in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, Junior navigated complex urban environments, traffic rules, and other vehicles, securing second place in the competition.

Minerva

An interactive museum tour-guide robot that operated at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, interacting with thousands of visitors and pioneering social robotics.

Google Self-Driving Car

Thrun led the development of Google's autonomous vehicle project, which later became Waymo. This project has driven millions of miles autonomously on public roads.

Kitty Hawk Flyer

An electric flying vehicle developed by Kitty Hawk Corporation, representing Thrun's vision for the future of personal air transportation.

Probabilistic Robotics

Thrun's pioneering work in probabilistic approaches to robotics has influenced countless robots worldwide, establishing new paradigms for machine learning and navigation.

Awards & Recognition

🏆 DARPA Grand Challenge Winner

First team to complete the autonomous vehicle challenge, winning $2 million prize

🏆 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award

Honored for revolutionizing education and technology

🏆 Max-Planck Research Award

Prestigious award for outstanding achievements in research

🏆 Member, National Academy of Engineering

Inducted at Age 39, youngest ever

🏆 Member, German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

Inducted at Age 39

🏆 IEEE Fellow

Recognized for contributions to probabilistic robotics and AI

🏆 AAAI Fellow

Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Fellowship

🏆 Fast Company Most Creative People in Business #5

Named for transforming education through Udacity

🏆 Foreign Policy Global Thinker #4

Named for inventing self-driving cars

🏆 Time Magazine Best Inventions Hall of Fame

Named for inventing Google Streetview

🏆 The Telegraph: Top 100 Living Geniuses

Named #32 for the invention of Probabilistic Robotics

🏆 Wired Magazine 25

Named for top 25 icons for changing the world

📚 Author: "Probabilistic Robotics"

Co-authored the seminal textbook used by roboticists worldwide

Academic Positions

Stanford University: xProfessor of Computer Science and Founder of modern SAIL

Carnegie Mellon University: xAssociate Professor

University of Bonn: Ph.D. in Computer Science and Statistics

Academic Lineage Tracing back to Gauss and many others. See Genealogy

Global Impact

🎓 Revolutionizing Education

Through Udacity, Sebastian has made quality education accessible to millions worldwide, offering nanodegrees in cutting-edge fields like AI, self-driving cars, and data science. His vision of democratizing education has empowered students across 190+ countries.

🚗 Pioneering Autonomous Vehicles

Thrun's work on self-driving cars has laid the foundation for an entire industry. From winning DARPA challenges to leading Google's autonomous vehicle project (now known as Waymo), he has been at the forefront of making autonomous transportation a reality.

🤖 Advancing Artificial Intelligence

His contributions to probabilistic robotics, machine learning, and AI have influenced thousands of researchers and shaped the development of modern robotics. His textbook "Probabilistic Robotics" remains a cornerstone of the field.

✈️ Future of Transportation

As founder of Kitty Hawk Corporation, Thrun is working to make flying cars a reality, envisioning a future where personal air transportation becomes as common as driving.

"Nobody phrases it this way, but I think that artificial intelligence is almost a humanities discipline. It's really an attempt to understand human intelligence and human cognition."

🌟 Legacy

Sebastian Thrun's influence extends far beyond his inventions and companies. He has inspired a generation of engineers, entrepreneurs, and educators to think boldly about the future. His belief that technology can solve humanity's greatest challenges continues to drive innovation worldwide.