Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin
Born	Sergey Mikhailovich Brin 21 8, 1973
Birthplace	Moscow, Soviet Union
Nationality	American
Occupation	Computer scientist, businessman
Known for	Co-founding Google, former president of Alphabet Inc.
Education	University of Maryland, College Park (B.S.); Stanford University (graduate studies)
Awards	MIT Technology Review TR100 Innovator, Marconi Foundation Prize, National Academy of Engineering member

Sergey Mikhailovich Brin (Template:Lang-ru; born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and businessman who co-founded Google alongside Larry Page in 1998. Born in Moscow during the Soviet era, Brin immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six, eventually rising to become one of the most influential figures in the history of the technology industry. Together with Page, he developed a novel search engine algorithm while both were graduate students at Stanford University, a project that grew from an academic research endeavor into one of the most valuable corporations in the world. Brin served as president of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, until stepping down from the role on December 3, 2019, though he remains a co-founder, controlling shareholder, and board member of Alphabet. As of early 2026, his net worth was estimated at approximately $253 billion, placing him among the wealthiest individuals in the world. In December 2023, Brin came out of retirement to contribute to artificial intelligence research at Alphabet, a return that has drawn attention both within and beyond the technology sector.

Early Life

Sergey Mikhailovich Brin was born on August 21, 1973, in Moscow, then part of the Soviet Union. His father, Mikhail Brin, was a mathematician, and his grandfather had also studied mathematics, establishing a family tradition in the discipline. The Brin family was of Jewish heritage, and they faced the restrictions and antisemitic pressures common to Jewish academics in the Soviet Union during that era.

In 1979, when Sergey was six years old, the Brin family emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States. The family settled in the United States, where Mikhail Brin eventually became a mathematics professor at the University of Maryland. Growing up in an academic household, Sergey was exposed to mathematics and scientific thinking from an early age. His father's and grandfather's careers in mathematics had a formative influence on his intellectual development and later academic pursuits.

Brin's experience as an immigrant from the Soviet Union shaped his worldview and, by many accounts, contributed to his sensitivity toward issues of censorship and access to information — themes that would later become central to Google's mission. His early education in the United States prepared him for advanced study in both mathematics and computer science, subjects in which he showed aptitude from a young age.

Education

Following his father's and grandfather's footsteps, Brin studied mathematics as well as computer science at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He was a recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which supported his subsequent graduate studies.

In September 1993, Brin enrolled at Stanford University to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science. It was at Stanford that he met Larry Page, who had also enrolled in the computer science doctoral program. The two developed a close intellectual partnership that would lead to the creation of their search engine project. Brin ultimately discontinued his doctoral studies to focus on building Google, leaving Stanford without completing his Ph.D.

In a 2026 interview, Brin reflected on his decision to study computer science, acknowledging that his academic background had been instrumental but also noting that the technology industry had evolved significantly since his time at Stanford. He remarked that Google now hires many employees without traditional degrees, stating that some individuals "just figure things out on their own."

Career

Development of BackRub and Google's Founding

While at Stanford University, Brin and Larry Page collaborated on a research project to develop a new approach to web search. Their system, initially called "BackRub," analyzed the relationships between websites by examining backlinks — the links pointing to a given page from other pages — as a way of determining the relative importance and relevance of web content. This approach, which Brin and Page formalized as the PageRank algorithm, represented a significant departure from the keyword-matching techniques used by existing search engines at the time.

The BackRub project quickly gained popularity among users at Stanford, demonstrating the utility of their approach to web search. As the project grew, Brin and Page recognized its commercial potential and made the decision to leave their doctoral studies to pursue the venture full-time. In 1998, they formally incorporated Google, setting up their initial operations in the garage of Susan Wojcicki in Menlo Park, California.

The name "Google" was derived from "googol," the mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, reflecting the founders' ambition to organize the vast amount of information available on the internet. From the start, Brin played a central role in the company's technical development and strategic direction.

Growth of Google

Google grew rapidly from its founding in 1998, attracting early venture capital investment and expanding its search capabilities. Brin and Page's PageRank algorithm proved effective at returning relevant search results, and Google quickly displaced established competitors to become the dominant search engine on the internet. The company's initial public offering (IPO) in August 2004 was one of the most anticipated technology offerings of that era, and it made both Brin and Page billionaires.

Throughout Google's growth period, Brin was involved in a wide range of the company's projects and strategic initiatives. He was known for his interest in ambitious, research-driven projects that went beyond the company's core search business. Google expanded into email (Gmail), mapping (Google Maps), mobile operating systems (Android), web browsers (Google Chrome), video sharing (YouTube), and numerous other products and services during the years Brin was active in its leadership.

Brin also played a role in Google's approach to organizing and making accessible the world's information, a mission statement that guided the company's expansion into book digitization and other large-scale information projects.

Google X and Moonshot Projects

Brin became closely associated with Google X (later renamed X Development), the company's semi-secret research and development facility dedicated to pursuing ambitious "moonshot" projects. Under Brin's oversight, Google X developed a range of experimental technologies, including self-driving cars (which later became Waymo), Google Glass (a wearable augmented reality device), and Project Loon (an initiative to provide internet access via high-altitude balloons).

These projects reflected Brin's interest in applying advanced technology to solve large-scale problems. While some of the Google X projects achieved commercial viability and were spun off into separate Alphabet subsidiaries, others — such as Google Glass in its original consumer-oriented form — were scaled back or restructured after encountering technical or market challenges.

Alphabet Inc. and Corporate Restructuring

In 2015, Google underwent a major corporate restructuring, creating a new parent company called Alphabet Inc. Brin assumed the role of president of Alphabet, while Page became its CEO. Under this structure, Google remained the largest subsidiary of Alphabet, but other projects and companies — including Waymo, Verily (life sciences), and X Development — were organized as separate entities under the Alphabet umbrella.

Brin served as president of Alphabet from 2015 until December 3, 2019, when he and Page both stepped down from their respective executive roles. Despite relinquishing their day-to-day management positions, Brin and Page retained their positions as co-founders, controlling shareholders, and members of Alphabet's board of directors. Their controlling interest in Alphabet's voting shares ensured that they continued to exert significant influence over the company's direction even after stepping back from executive management.

Return to Active Involvement and AI Research

In December 2023, Brin came out of retirement to contribute directly to artificial intelligence research at Alphabet. His return coincided with a period of intense competition and rapid advancement in the AI sector, with Google and its competitors racing to develop and deploy large language models and other AI systems.

Brin's decision to return to active work at Alphabet attracted significant attention in the business and technology press. Reports noted that his return reflected both the strategic importance of AI to Alphabet's future and Brin's personal interest in the technology. A 2026 article in Fast Company characterized his "unretirement" as illustrative of broader lessons about finding purpose and satisfaction after stepping away from professional life.

Political Activity and Wealth Tax Debate

In early 2026, Brin became involved in California political efforts amid a debate over proposed wealth taxes. In January 2026, The New York Times reported that Brin had donated $20 million to a new political campaign aimed at influencing the debate around a proposed California billionaire's tax. The Wall Street Journal reported that a Brin-backed group called "Building a Better California" was funding ballot measures intended to undercut the billionaire tax proposal.

Separately, Business Insider reported that an entity tied to Brin and Larry Page had moved an LLC out of California ahead of the proposed wealth tax. Additionally, Bloomberg reported in January 2026 that Brin was linked to the purchase of a $42 million mansion on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, with the acquisition occurring as the California tax proposal was under consideration.

Personal Life

In May 2007, Brin married Anne Wojcicki, the co-founder and CEO of the personal genomics company 23andMe. The wedding ceremony took place in the Bahamas. Wojcicki is the sister of Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube, in whose garage Google had been founded in 1998. The couple has two children together.

Brin and Wojcicki publicly disclosed in 2008 that Brin carried a mutation of the LRPK2 gene, which is associated with a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Brin stated that the discovery, facilitated through 23andMe's genetic testing services, had motivated him to take an active interest in Parkinson's research and to support efforts aimed at understanding and treating the disease.

Brin and Wojcicki later separated. Brin's personal real estate holdings have been the subject of media reporting, including a January 2026 Bloomberg report linking him to the purchase of a $42 million Lake Tahoe mansion on the Nevada side of the lake.

Recognition

Brin has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career in recognition of his contributions to technology and innovation.

In 2002, Brin was named to the MIT Technology Review TR100 list of top innovators under the age of 35. The award recognized the significance of the search technology he had co-developed with Larry Page.

In 2004, Brin and Page jointly received the Marconi Foundation Prize, awarded by the Marconi Society in recognition of significant contributions to communications technology. The award placed them in the company of previous recipients who had made foundational contributions to telecommunications and information technology.

In 2009, Brin was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors for engineers in the United States.

Brin and Page were also jointly listed on the Forbes list of the world's most powerful people.

Brin has also been recognized by the IE Business School for his contributions to entrepreneurship and innovation.

In addition, Brin has been recognized by local business communities. He was among 15 business leaders who received awards for their success in business and contributions to their communities, as reported in a 2007 press release.

Legacy

Sergey Brin's legacy is inextricable from the development of Google and its transformation into one of the largest and most influential technology companies in history. The search engine he co-created with Larry Page fundamentally changed how people access and interact with information on the internet. The PageRank algorithm, which formed the technical foundation of Google's search engine, represented an innovation in information retrieval that influenced the broader field of computer science and shaped the development of the modern internet.

Beyond search, Brin's involvement in Google X and its moonshot projects contributed to the development of technologies — most notably autonomous vehicles through Waymo — that have had far-reaching implications for multiple industries. His willingness to invest corporate resources in long-term, high-risk research projects established a model of corporate innovation that other technology companies have sought to emulate.

Brin's personal story — as an immigrant from the Soviet Union who co-founded one of the world's most valuable companies — has been cited in discussions of immigration policy and the role of immigrants in American innovation and entrepreneurship. His return to active involvement at Alphabet in late 2023, specifically to work on artificial intelligence, underscored the centrality of AI to the next phase of the technology industry and signaled his continued engagement with the field he helped shape.

As of early 2026, Brin remained one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, with an estimated net worth of approximately $253 billion, and continued to hold a controlling interest in Alphabet Inc. alongside Larry Page.