Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, delivered the commencement address at Stanford University on June 14, 2026. The speech was met with protests from a significant number of graduates who walked out during his address.
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai , delivers Stanford’s Commencement address on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. As Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the stage Sunday at Stanford’s commencement, scores of graduates stood, booed and walked out, turning a celebration for nearly 6,000 degree recipients into a protest over the tech giant’s work with Israel.
Pichai, a Stanford alumnus leading one of the world’s most powerful companies, appeared unfazed. His speech largely avoided the artificial intelligence debate that has shadowed other tech-heavy commencement addresses this season, instead offering graduates a familiar message about optimism, hard choices and pursuing work that excites them. Sunday morning began as a typical Stanford celebration, with thousands of onlookers braving the late spring sun beneath a cloudless sky.
Graduates walked in riding inflatable horses, wearing cardboard mock-ups of Lightning McQueen and Caltrain or, in the case of a few male graduates, only Stanford-red briefs and sunglasses beneath their graduation gowns. Graduates celebrate during the 135th Commencement ceremony at Stanford University on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif.
(Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Stanford University graduates walk out of the Commencement speech by Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Graduates enter Stanford Stadium for the 135th Commencement ceremony at Stanford University on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif.
(Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Graduates enter Stanford Stadium for the 135th Commencement ceremony at Stanford University on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Audience members watch as graduates enter Stanford Stadium for the 135th Commencement ceremony at Stanford University on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif.
(Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Graduates enter Stanford Stadium for the 135th Commencement ceremony at Stanford University on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) Graduates enter Stanford Stadium for the 135th Commencement ceremony at Stanford University on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)Graduates celebrate during the 135th Commencement ceremony at Stanford University on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Palo Alto, Calif.
(Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) It was all part of Wacky Walk, the decades-long Stanford tradition in which graduates wear costumes on their way to their commencement seats. Sundar himself has modeled thoughtfulness, humility, and determination in leadership and in making decisions of consequence to Google into the world. Pichai earned a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from Stanford in 1995 before joining Google in 2004, where he played a key role in the development of Google Chrome.
He later became CEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet. Even as Levin welcomed the CEO of “one of the most innovative companies in the world,” many students responded by booing. When Pichai took the stage, scores of students stood and walked out of the stadium, some chanting or booing as they left. The vast majority of students remained seated.
What I see in front of me is how graduation should be, Pichai said toward the beginning of his speech, even as students chanted “free, free Palestine” while they marched out. Graduates celebrate together with the people you love who have supported you on your journey
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