&w=3840&q=100)
Inside Google's $100 mn gamble to retain YouTube CEO Neal Mohan in 2011
Within Silicon Valley's high-stakes arena, retaining top talent often requires bold moves — and Google's $100 million bet on Neal Mohan is a textbook example. More than a decade ago, the tech giant shelled out a massive stock package to stop Mohan from jumping ship to rival X. The revelation surfaced recently on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast, where Mohan appeared as a guest.
Kamath recalled reading about the extraordinary counteroffer made by Google in 2011. 'I remember reading this thing about Google offering you $100 million not to quit. Not today, but 15 years ago, which was a lot of money,' Kamath said. Mohan did not deny the claim.
Inside the $100 million deal
At the time, Mohan was a central figure in Google's advertising and YouTube product strategy. Twitter, aiming to strengthen its product leadership, had approached Mohan for the position of Chief Product Officer. The offer was reportedly championed by David Rosenblatt, Mohan's former boss at DoubleClick and a board member at X.
Sensing the risk of losing a valuable resource, Google swiftly responded with a counteroffer — restricted stock units worth over $100 million that would vest over several years. The offer was made even before an official one came through from X, according to a 2011 TechCrunch report. The move underscored Mohan's growing influence and the strategic importance Google placed on keeping him.
Interestingly, Mohan was not the only Google executive X was eyeing. Sundar Pichai, then leading Chrome and Chrome OS, was also approached. Google responded with a $50 million stock grant to retain him.
From startup roots to Silicon Valley leadership
Neal Mohan's career trajectory reveals why Google was so determined to keep him. A Stanford University graduate in electrical engineering, Mohan started as a senior analyst at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in 1994. In 1997, he joined NetGravity, which was later acquired by DoubleClick.
At DoubleClick, Mohan rose to become vice-president of business operations. He was instrumental in reshaping the company during tough times, and when Google acquired it in 2007 for $3.1 billion, Mohan transitioned into a senior role in Google's ad division.
By 2011, he was already shaping YouTube's product roadmap and had become indispensable to Google's product development efforts. The $100 million retention deal turned out to be a prudent investment — his work proved pivotal in shaping YouTube's future.
Rise of a quiet tech leader
Mohan's impact continued to grow after the failed X move. In 2015, he was appointed Chief Product Officer at YouTube, and by 2023, he had succeeded Susan Wojcicki as CEO of the platform.
Despite his low public profile, Mohan remains one of the most influential figures in tech. Beyond his executive role, Mohan is also an Advisory Council Member at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Who is liable if a friendly chatbot ‘abets' suicide?
A US judge has admitted a case against American firm over charges that its chatbot drove a teenager to suicide. The ruling will be closely watched for its potential to establish developer and corporate liability for 'friendly" but 'addictive" chatbots. Also Read | YouTubers vs ANI: Fair-use in the spotlight What's this case all about? In May, a US judge allowed a wrongful death lawsuit against and Google to proceed, rejecting claims that chatbot conversations were protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees free speech but not when it causes harm. The judge noted that the companies 'fail to articulate why words strung together by an LLM (large language model) are speech". The judge added that the chatbot could be considered a 'product" under liability law. and Google must respond by 10 June. Google was made party as it has licensing rights to the startup's technology. Also Read | Dr AI is here, but will the human touch go away? Why exactly is this app being sued? allows users to interact with life-like AI 'characters", including fictional and celebrity personas that mimic human traits like stuttering. On 14 April 2023, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III began using the app, mainly engaging with Game of Thrones bots like Daenerys and Rhaenyra Targaryen. He became obsessed, expressing his love for Daenerys. He withdrew socially, quit basketball, and upgraded to the premium version. A therapist diagnosed him with anxiety and mood disorder, unaware of his chatbot use. On 28 February 2024, days after his phone was confiscated, he died by suicide. Also Read | Can dissenters aid shareholder democracy? Is this the first legal suit against an AI chatbot? In March 2023, a Belgian man died by suicide after prolonged conversations with an AI chatbot named Eliza on the Chai AI app, but no case was filed. The National Eating Disorders Association also shut down its chatbot after it began offering harmful weight loss advice. Separately, tech ethics groups have filed a complaint against an AI companion app, Replika. Don't AI chatbots help users cope with stress? AI chatbots are being increasingly used as mental health tools, with apps like Wysa (India), Woebot, Replika and Youper offering support based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). These bots aid in mood tracking and coping, and include disclaimers that they are not substitutes for professional care. Yet, as experts note, bots can fake intimacy but don't have real feelings. Although users value their availability and human-like interactions, this can foster over-attachment and blur reality. Are there regulatory safeguards? claims that its language model version for users under 18 aims to reduce exposure to sensitive or suggestive content. The EU's AI Act classifies certain AI systems as 'high risk" when used in sensitive areas like mental health. China enforces platform accountability for AI-generated content. The US and India rely on case law and product liability, but have no regulator. As AI becomes more autonomous and mental health bots avoid oversight by using disclaimers, new legal frameworks will be essential.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Sovereign clouds are gathering; these two are the first off the block
India's push for a digital infrastructure isolated from global networks is fuelling a boom in sovereign cloud services, creating a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for local tech players. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Google's India unit are emerging as early movers in this arena, attracting steady interest from government agencies keen to secure sensitive data on domestic platforms. Several government entities are already moving to these homegrown cloud solutions, four people familiar with the matter said. TCS, with its recently launched SovereignSecure Cloud, is leading the pack among Indian firms. Google's local arm is also gaining traction, offering specialized sovereign cloud platforms with its Google Distributed Cloud. Hiranandani Group firm Yotta Data Services too plans to build a sovereign cloud. To be sure, these contracts aren't too big, though they present a large opportunity for the future. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, an early adopter, spent ₹92 crore overall in FY25, of which around ₹30 crore was for the cloud contract, one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity. TCS did not respond to emailed questions, but a senior executive associated with its sovereign cloud product said one of the reasons behind the product was to "capitalize on the opportunity" amid growing concerns about sovereignty and security of data. Also read | TCS launches India-focused sovereign cloud to boost domestic revenue "We (TCS) believe that we have a completely indigenous built cloud service offering where everything from the hardware to the software is built by an Indian company," the executive said on the condition of anonymity. "This should assure any concerns the government could have when any department or wing of the government agrees to migrate their data to the cloud." Mitesh Agarwal, managing director for solutions and technology, Asia-Pacific at Google, confirmed that the company has already onboarded sovereign cloud clients in India. 'We provide AI models within the sovereign shores of India—for instance, we have Gemini 1.5, where the entire end-to-end data processing happens within our data centres in India itself," Agarwal said. He added that the company makes this offering through a platform called Google Distributed Cloud, which caters to the need for completely isolated cloud storage and computing for sensitive agencies. 'Most sovereign cloud projects would amount to annual revenue of around $2-5 million. While this is not a lot, in the next five years, thousands of such projects are expected to come up from government agencies and private companies alike. This can create multi-billion-dollar revenue streams for the infrastructure providers," one of the officials cited above said on the condition of anonymity. Read this | Yotta goes low on pricing to spur demand for its AI cloud service Sovereign cloud refers to a digital platform based entirely within the country to store and process data, as well as run applications. From the code base to the physical data centres, everything is fully located fully in India—separating them from any accessibility from outside the country. Building such platforms was presented as an early concept about three years ago. In 2023, Monaco in Europe became the first adopter of such a platform by technology services provider VMWare. Since then, the technology has found more takers, as countries grow more protectionist. In India, adoption is being led by government bodies. 'Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission is one such government project that is adopting sovereign cloud services right now. Similarly, Employees Provident Fund Organisation, Passport Seva and Aadhaar's governing body have their own projects, and they are in the process of adopting sovereign cloud into their operations right now," a second official added. 'Adopting sovereign cloud platforms is not a matter of replacing global cloud services from the US Big Tech. There are certain sensitive data requirements for which you need cloud services offered by Indian companies. This would ensure that this data is stored in India, without the risk of it being shared with other geographies by any particular party. This, however, does not mean that every cloud deployment and contract will be replaced, and hyperscalers will have enough space to provide their services to the Indian government agencies and ministries," the official said. And read | India befriends Big Tech as Trump tariffs knock on door, aided by a string of biz-friendly moves
The Hindu
10 hours ago
- The Hindu
Delhi HC passes order protecting personality rights of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
The Delhi High Court has passed an order protecting the personality rights, and publicity rights of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of Isha Foundation, and restrained various rogue websites from misusing his personality traits by deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI). The court passed the interim order in favour of Mr. Vasudev in his suit seeking protection for his personality rights from infringement by rogue websites and unknown entities. It said Mr. Vasudev had acquired uniqueness in his personality in relation to his voice, name, signature, image, likeness, vocal, articulation style, and his unique attire, looks or appearance. The court said the objectionable content was not only abusing Mr. Vasudev's personality rights, the defendants had gone a step further and employed modern day technology to modify his images, voice, likeness, and videos for commercial gains. 'If allowed to continue in the manner, it will soon spread like a pandemic with wide, uncontrollable repercussions, especially since it is a social media platform(s) herein happen to be the internet portal(s). If not stopped, the chances that (the wrong) message will spread like wildfire with hardly any water left to douse it,' the court said. The court ordered the suspension of accounts and the takedown of YouTube channels that exclusively pertained to content infringing upon Mr. Vasudev's personality rights, and directed that their basic subscriber information be disclosed. The court directed the Department of Telecommunications, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, to issue notifications or directions to social media platforms to block or suspend various websites, social media accounts, and channels infringing Mr. Vasudev's exclusive rights. It said that with the immense degree of freedom enjoyed by developers and innovators globally now, especially those intellectual property rightsholders such as Mr. Vasudev, were prone to or may be exposed to or vulnerable to the actions of the 'rogue websites', and more so if such rightsholders were not accorded proper protection from them. 'This so-called dangerous edge has become even sharper with the fast-paced evolution of certain 'hydra-headed' websites, which, even if blocked/ deleted, have the incredible potential to resurface in multitudes as alphanumeric or mirror websites with only minor, mechanical changes,' the court said. 'Such 'hydra-headed' websites, under the garb of privacy, are able to mask their registration/contact details perfectly, making it virtually impossible to locate and contact their operators to, if necessary, demand cessation of infringing contents,' the court said in its May 30 order.
