This is a list of companies founded by Stanford University alumni. This list is not exhaustive, as it only includes notable companies of which the founding and development history is well recorded by reliable sources. In particular, subsidiaries are listed with their owners in parentheses.
Stanford University is one of the most successful universities in creating companies, attracting funding, and licensing its inventions to existing companies. It is often held up as a model for technology transfer.Timothy Lenoir. Inventing the entrepreneurial university: Stanford and the co-evolution of Silicon Valley pp. 88-128 in Building Technology Transfer within Research Universities: An Entrepreneurial Approach Edited by Thomas J. Allen and Rory P. O'Shea. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing is responsible for commercializing developments. The university is described as having a strong venture culture in which students are encouraged, and often funded, to launch their own companies.
According to PitchBook, from 2006 to 2017, Stanford produced 1,127 company founders as alumni or current students, more than any other university in the world; and these founders created 957 companies, second only to UC Berkeley in the world. In addition, according to a Stanford alumni survey conducted in 2011, some 39,900 companies founded by Stanford alumni were active, and companies founded by Stanford alumni altogether generated more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenue and had created 5.4 million jobs, roughly equivalent to the 10th-largest economy in the world (2011).
In this list, founders of a company which merged with other companies to form a new company are counted as founders of the new company. However, founders of a company which later dissolved into several successor companies are not counted as founders of those successor companies; this same rule applies to spin-off companies. Finally, a defunct company is a company that stopped functioning completely (e.g., bankrupt) without dissolving, merging or being acquired.
Top companies by revenues
Fortune Global 500 (2017) This list shows companies in Fortune Global 500 founded or co-founded by Stanford alumni. The cut-off revenue for 2017 Fortune Global 500 companies was $21,609M in 2016. CompanyRegionFortune Global 500 (2017)Revenue in US$ millions (2016)TypeCategoryYear foundedComments1Alphabet Inc.United States6590,272PublicConglomerate20152Cisco Systems, Inc.United States18749,247PublicHardware19843HP Inc.United States19448,238PublicTechnology19394NikeUnited States33132,376PublicAthletic equipment19645TSMCTaiwan36929,388PublicSemiconductor19876Capital OneUnited States39527,519PublicFinance1988
Fortune 1000 (2017) This list shows companies in Fortune 1000 (only for companies within the U.S.) founded or co-founded by Stanford alumni. The cut-off revenue for 2017 Fortune 1000 companies was $1,791M in 2016. CompanyFortune 1000 (2017)Revenue in millions (2016)TypeCategoryYear foundedComments1Alphabet Inc.2790,272PublicConglomerate20152HP Inc.6148,238PublicTechnology19393Cisco Systems, Inc.6049,247PublicHardware19844Nike8832,376PublicAthletic equipment19645Capital One10027,519PublicFinance19886Gap Inc.17815,516PublicClothing/accessories1969–Trader Joe's*20813,300PrivateGrocery1958† 7Micron Technology22612,399PublicSemiconductor19788PayPal**26410,842PublicFinancial services1998 (Confinity) 1999 (X.com)9Netflix3148,831PublicEntertainment199710Expedia3178,774PublicTravel199611Charles Schwab Corporation3577,644PublicFinance197112Nvidia3876,910PublicTechnology199313NetApp4685,546PublicTechnology199214Yahoo!***4985,169AcquiredTechnology199415Intuit5274,831PublicSoftware198316Electronic Arts5564,396PublicVideo game198217Akamai Technologies8512,340PublicInternet/technology1998–Bain & Company****8642,300PartnershipConsulting1973† 18Cypress Semiconductor9591,923PublicSemiconductor1982 *: Trader Joe's does not reveal its annual revenue. Its revenue is estimated by Supermarket News.
**: Merger of different companies, at least one of which was founded by Stanford alumni.
***: Yahoo! was acquired by Verizon in 2017 and is no longer an independent company. However, it is still listed in Fortune 1000 by Fortune for 2017.
****: Bain & Company are not listed in Fortune 1000. Its revenue is provided by Forbes.
Former Fortune-listed companies For each company, only the latest rankings (up to three years) are shown in this list. CompanyFortune Global 500Fortune 1000TypeCategoryYear founded1Google162 (2014)189 (2013)277 (2012)46 (2014)55 (2013)73 (2012)SubsidiaryTechnology19982Sun Microsystems - - -204 (2010)187 (2009)184 (2008)AcquiredTechnology19823Atari - - -400 (1989)483 (1988) -AcquiredVideo game19724Silicon Graphics - - -876 (2003)738 (2002)625 (2001)DefunctTechnology19815LinkedIn - - -945 (2015) - -AcquiredSocial media20026Fairchild Semiconductor - - -984 (2008)963 (2007)886 (2005)AcquiredSemiconductor1957
Timeline Index This index also contains companies listed in section "Notable defunct & dissolved". YearCompanies founded1932Draper Laboratory1939HP Inc. (Hewlett-Packard)1948Varian Associates1957Fairchild Semiconductor1958Trader Joe's1964Nike1965Dolby Laboratories1969Gap Inc.1971Charles Schwab Corporation1972AtariKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers1973Bain & Company1978Micron Technology1981LogitechSilicon Graphics1982Cypress SemiconductorElectronic ArtsSun Microsystems1983IntuitLattice Semiconductor1984Bain CapitalCisco Systems, Inc.Hellman & Friedman1986Farallon CapitalPixar1987TSMC1988Capital OneD. E. Shaw & Co.1990iRobot19913DOIDEO1992NetApp1993Nvidia1994CycorpYahoo!1995WebEx1996Alta PartnersExpediaExtreme Networks1997Netflix1998Akamai TechnologiesConfinity (PayPal) GoogleVMware1999SparkNotesViking Global InvestorsX.com (PayPal)2000Pandora RadioStubHub2001OkCupidTwo Sigma2002Clarium CapitalCoverityLinkedInSpaceX2004Palantir TechnologiesRedfinTruliaTesla, Inc.2005Eye-FiFounders FundLooptTechCrunchWorkday, Inc.YouTube2006YoukuZillow2007BonobosGlassdoorSunrun2008ClouderaYammer2009Ginkgo BioworksWhatsApp2010InstagramObihai Technology2011GustoSnapchatStitch FixSapphire Ventures2012CourseraOmaze2013Robinhood2015Alphabet, Inc.Draper JamesOpenAI2016The Boring Company2017Brex
Before 1960 CompanyTypeStockCategoryYear foundedTotal foundersFounder/co-founder from StanfordDraper LaboratoryNon-profitDefense & security19321 Charles Stark Draper (B.A)Fairchild Semiconductor(NASDAQ: ON)Semiconductor19578 Co-founder Victor Grinich (PhD)HP Inc./Hewlett-PackardPublicNYSE: HPQTechnology19392 William R. Hewlett (B.A, PhD) David Packard (B.A, M.S)Trader Joe'sPrivateGrocery19581 Joe Coulombe (M.B.A)
1960–1979 CompanyTypeStockCategoryYear foundedTotal foundersFounder/co-founder from StanfordAtari(EPA: ATA)Video game19722 Nolan Bushnell (M.B.A Attendee)Bain & CompanyPartnershipConsulting1973Unknown Co-founder Patrick F. Graham (M.B.A)Charles Schwab CorporationPublicNYSE: SCHWFinance19711 Charles R. Schwab (B.A, M.B.A)Dolby LaboratoriesPublicNYSE: DLBAudio electronics19651 Ray Dolby (B.S.E.E.)Gap Inc.PublicNYSE: GPSClothing/accessories19692 Co-founder Doris F. Fisher (B.A)Kleiner Perkins Caufield & ByersPrivateFinance19724 Co-founder Brook Byers (M.B.A)Micron TechnologyPublicNASDAQ: MUSemiconductor19784 Co-founder Ward Parkinson (M.S)NikePublicNYSE: NKEAthletic equipment19642 Co-founder Phil Knight (M.B.A)
1980–1999 CompanyTypeStockCategoryYear foundedTotal foundersFounder/co-founder from StanfordAkamai TechnologiesPublicNASDAQ: AKAMInternet/technology19984Co-founder Jonathan Seelig (B.S)Alta PartnersPrivateVenture capital19964Co-founder Guy P. Nohra (B.S)Bain CapitalPrivateInvestment management19843 Co-founder Mitt Romney (undergraduate attendee) Co-founder T. Coleman Andrews III (M.B.A)Capital OnePublicNYSE: COFFinance19882 Co-founder Richard Fairbank (B.A, M.B.A)Cisco Systems, Inc.PublicNASDAQ: CSCOHardware19842 Leonard Bosack (M.S) Sandy Lerner (M.S)Confinity & X.com (now PayPal)Public (merged)NASDAQ: PYPLFinancial services1998 (Confinity) 1999 (X.com)5 Co-founder Elon Musk (Graduate Attendee) Co-founder Ken Howery (B.A) Co-founder Peter Thiel (B.A, J.D)CycorpPrivateArtificial intelligence19941 Doug Lenat (PhD)Cypress SemiconductorPublicNASDAQ: CYSemiconductor19821 T. J. Rodgers (M.A, PhD)D. E. Shaw & Co.PrivateFinance19881 David E. Shaw (PhD)Electronic ArtsPublicNASDAQ: EAVideo game19821 Trip Hawkins (M.B.A)ExpediaPublicNASDAQ: EXPETravel19961 Rich Barton (B.S)Extreme NetworksPublicNASDAQ: EXTRNetworking/technology19963Co-founder Stephen Haddock (B.S, M.S)Farallon CapitalPrivateInvestment management19861 Tom Steyer (M.B.A)Google(NASDAQ: GOOGL)Technology19982 Larry Page (M.S) Sergey Brin (M.S)Hellman & FriedmanPrivatePrivate equity19842 Co-founder Tully Friedman (B.A)IDEOPrivateDesign19913 Co-founder David Kelley (M.S)ImmersionPublicNASDAQ: IMMRVirtual reality / haptics1993 Founder Louis B. Rosenberg (B.S, M.S, Ph.D)IntuitPublicNASDAQ: INTUSoftware19832 Co-founder Tom Proulx (B.S)iRobotPublicNASDAQ: IRBTTechnology19903 Co-founder Rodney Brooks (PhD)Lattice SemiconductorPublicNASDAQ: LSCCSemiconductor19833Co-founder Rahul Sud (PhD)LogitechPublicNASDAQ: LOGITechnology19813 Co-founder Daniel Borel (M.S) Co-founder Pierluigi Zappacosta (M.S)NetAppPublicNASDAQ: NTAPTechnology19922 Co-founder James K. Lau (M.S)NetflixPublicNASDAQ: NFLXEntertainment19972 Co-founder Reed Hastings (M.S)NvidiaPublicNASDAQ: NVDATechnology19933 Co-founder Jensen Huang (M.S)Pixar(NYSE: DIS)Computer animation19862 Co-founder Alvy Ray Smith (PhD)SparkNotes(NYSE: BKS)Publisher19994 Co-founder Sam Yagan (M.B.A)Spectrum AstroPrivateSpace1988 W. David ThompsonSun Microsystems(NYSE: ORCL)Technology19824 Co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim (PhD) Co-founder Scott McNealy (M.B.A) Co-founder Vinod Khosla (M.B.A)TSMCPublicNYSE: TSMSemiconductor19871 Morris Chang (PhD)Viking Global InvestorsPrivateHedge fund19991 Ole Andreas Halvorsen (M.B.A)VMwarePublicNYSE: VMWTechnology19985 Co-founder Scott Devine (M.S, PhD) Co-founder Edouard Bugnion (M.S, PhD)WebEx(NASDAQ: CSCO)Telecom19952 Co-founder Min Zhu (M.S)Yahoo!(NYSE: VZ)Web service19942 Jerry Yang (B.S, M.S) David Filo (M.S)
2000–present +CompanyTypeStockCategoryYear foundedTotal foundersFounder/co-founder from StanfordAlphabet, Inc.PublicNASDAQ: GOOGLConglomerate20152 Larry Page (M.S) Sergey Brin (M.S)Bonobos(NYSE: WMT)Apparel retail20072 Andy Dunn (M.B.A) Brian Spaly (M.B.A)Clarium CapitalPrivateFinance20022 Co-founder Peter Thiel (B.A, J.D)ClouderaPublicNYSE: CLDRSoftware20084 Co-founder Amr Awadallah (PhD)CourseraPublicNYSE: COURTechnology/education20122 Co-founder Daphne Koller (PhD)Coverity(NASDQ: SNPS)Security/technology20023 Co-founder Andy Chou (PhD) Co-founder Seth Hallem (B.S)Draper JamesPrivateClothing20151 Reese Witherspoon (undergraduate attendee)Eye-FiPrivateComputer hardware20054Co-founder Yuval Koren (M.S)Founders FundPrivateFinance20053 Co-founder Peter Thiel (B.A, J.D)Freelancer(ASX:FLN)Crowdsourcing20091 Matt Barrie (M.S.)Ginkgo BioworksPrivateBiotechnology20095Co-founder Austin Che (B.S)GlassdoorPrivateOnline review20073 Co-founder Robert Hohman (M.S) Co-founder Rich Barton (B.S)Instagram(NASDAQ: FB)Social media20102 Kevin Systrom (B.S) Mike Krieger (B.S, M.S)LinkedIn(NASDAQ: MSFT)Social media20025 Co-founder Reid Hoffman (B.S) Co-founder Allen Blue (B.A) Co-founder Eric Ly (B.S) Co-founder Konstantin Guericke (B.S, M.S)LooptPrivateMobile services20053 Sam Altman (undergraduate attendee) Nick Sivo (on-leave) Alok Deshpande (undergraduate attendee)Palantir TechnologiesPrivateTechnology20045 Co-founder Peter Thiel (B.A, J.D) Co-founder Alexander C. Karp (J.D) Co-founder Joe Lonsdale (B.S)