Stanford graduates walk out as Sundar Pichai addresses commencement amid pro-Palestinian protest

Around 200 Stanford students walked out of their commencement on Sunday as Google CEO Sundar Pichai began delivering his keynote address, protesting Google's ties to Israel.

Sundar Pichai, a Stanford alumnus, faced protests from a section of graduates over Google's contract with the Israeli government.

Stanford University's commencement ceremony took an unexpected turn on Sunday when hundreds of graduating students staged a walkout during the keynote address by Google CEO and Stanford alumnus Sundar Pichai.Stanford grads walk out as Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes the stage as commencement speaker. No mention of AI, unlike other uni speakers getting booed down this year. Story for @sfgate shortly pic.twitter.com/qvS2rJ91Ip— Matt Brown (@maattttbrown) June 14, 2026The protest unfolded shortly after Pichai was introduced to address the Class of 2026 at Stanford Stadium. According to media reports, around 200 students stood up from their seats, waving Palestinian flags, blowing whistles and chanting slogans of 'Free Free Palestine' before walking out of the venue. Many protesters wore traditional Palestinian keffiyehs over their graduation gowns.Videos of the protest quickly circulated on social media, drawing widespread attention beyond the university campus. One clip shared by X user Matt Brown showed graduates leaving the ceremony as Pichai began speaking, with the post later gaining significant traction online.Protest during the commencement addressThe walkout was organised by student groups including Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine and No Tech for Apartheid.According to the media reports, the protesters raised concerns about Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud computing and artificial intelligence contract jointly awarded to Google and Amazon by the Israeli government. Demonstrators alleged that the technology could be used for surveillance and military operations linked to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.This was indicative of a larger discussion that was ongoing at universities and in the tech industry about the involvement of major tech companies in government and military contracts.Pichai delivers addressIn spite of the protest, Pichai went ahead with his commencement address without responding to the protest at all.Notably, Pichai chose to steer clear of talking about artificial intelligence, an issue that has become a central focus of many university commencement addresses this year, as per media reports. On the contrary, he spoke mostly about his personal experiences while a student at Stanford and lessons he learned.At one point, Pichai joked about the expectations surrounding his speech. "People have also been giving me a lot of advice on what to say. Actually, it's been the same advice and it's about what not to say. People thought it would be really difficult for me. It's the last two letters of my last name after all," he said, drawing laughter from the audience.Lessons for graduatesThroughout his address, Pichai encouraged graduates to focus less on perfection and more on long-term growth. Drawing from his own journey, from growing up in Chennai to studying at Stanford and eventually leading one of the world's largest technology companies, he offered three guiding principles.Pichai urged students to maintain a positive outlook even during uncertain times. Referencing his childhood in India, he spoke about growing up during periods of water shortages and limited access to technology. He recalled how his parents encouraged him to think beyond those constraints and imagine opportunities that seemed far away at the time."We don't get to choose the world we graduate into, but we do get to choose how we frame our circumstances," he told the graduates.Work on hard problemsThe Google CEO also encouraged students to pursue challenging opportunities rather than taking the easiest path. The next idea revolved around his time early on at Google and the development of Chrome, which, according to many, was considered an ambitious goal.As per Sundar, having an ambitious target tends to draw in people who have talent, and although you may not always achieve everything you initially set out to, great accomplishments will follow anyway. Lastly, he made a point to emphasise doing what actually excites you.University response pendingStanford University has not announced any disciplinary measures related to the walkout.

As Pichai was introduced, the students stood up from their seats, waved Palestinian flags, blew whistles, and chanted slogans in protest. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai's Stanford graduation speech was disrupted as over 100 students walked out, chanting for a free Palestine. The protest highlighted concerns over Project Nimbus, a tech deal involving Google and the Israeli government. Pichai, who spoke about optimism, did not address the demonstration and later declined to comment when approached by a reporter.

The protest centred on Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud computing and artificial intelligence contract awarded jointly to Google and Amazon by the Israeli government in 2021.