Larry And Sergey's Wild Indian Vacation
What does $4 billion get Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page? "Well it brought us to India, didn't it?" they said, kicking off their first whistle-stop tour of India, which they hope will end with a rickshaw ride back to California. Google's new Bangalore facility, which they visited, will be devoted to research into new products to expand Google's portfolio. Seventy percent of the facility is dedicated to search, 20% to Gmail, and the rest in other areas, giving you an idea what a huge priority Gmail is to Google. The new Hyderabad office will be a support center for AdWords, and be home to engineering, human resources, online sales and services. Staying true to its famous slogan, Google's India offices will not be "evil" and operate on United States time, keeping employees at work while their families and countrymen sleep, but will run a normal India workday.

As I mentioned on Monday, the Google founders were supposed to meet with the Indian Prime Minister. While that meeting never materialized, they did meet with the President, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and they chatted about technology and research. The Googlers were suprides at how knowledgeable the President was, with Brin describing him as "extremely knowledgeable about Google. In fact, he knew more than us". They said that "we are exploring the possibility of locating centres in China, Japan, and other countries in the region".

Sergey seemed despondent. Apparently, the man who founded a company centered on finding things, couldn't quite find the one thing he was looking for in India: monkees. "I was wanting to see some monkeys here but couldn't find one. I think I missed one on the road," said Brin. And they worry that the company doesn't have priorities. In fact, many people do not know this, but Page and Brin are currently on leave from their PhD programs at Stanford:

Sophomore backpackers? So why aren't they at school? Why indeed? The youngest billionaires are trying to make Google a true global entity while on leave from their Ph.D. programmes at Standford. "Yeah, we should be completing our Ph.Ds," says Page.
Brin is worried about Mom's questions. "My mom keeps asking about it. I think I should complete it."

(via rediff, Sify, and The Times of India)

- posted by Nathan Weinberg @ 10/13/2004 01:12:00 AM