Sundar Pichai's 2026 Commencement Address at Stanford University

Sundar Pichai gave an amazing commencement address at the Stanford University class of 2026. I strongly suggest you read it, but I wanted to share a few moments in his speech, from his own personal life story, that really spoke to me. 

The current trend of tone-deaf trend of commencement speeches is mentioning AI and the embrace of its distribution. We know how that turned out for Eric Schmidt. Sundar understands AI's importance and how "truly immaterial" it is to what truly matters. Here's where Sundar semi-mentions it: 

I know today is about giving you all advice. But 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 is the last two letters of my last name, after all.

In all honesty, that topic is truly immaterial to what I want to share with you. The most timeless advice, I’ve learned, is technology agnostic. It’s about you, the life you want to build for yourself, and the choices that help you pursue that life.

Sundar seemingly understands that the sheer mention of "AI" in these sort of settings aren't welcome. You have to read the room. But more importantly, Sundar focuses on what matters, which he places into three meaningfully human and special topics in his speech: 

CHOOSE OPTIMISM

WORK ON HARD THINGS

DO WHAT EXCITES YOU

I can't stress enough how good his speech was and how even if you aren't a recent graduate, it's a great reminder as I've been 10+ years in the workforce, post-graduation. All three points and stories told to support them are inspiring, but here's what really stuck with me: 

 This might not ring true to you at this moment. The world is going through a lot: global conflicts, economic anxiety, a rewiring of technology, information overload, all at a fast pace.

It’s easy to look at the news of the day and think that we’re living in uniquely challenging times. For me, it’s helpful to remember that each generation has faced hardship in their own way. We don’t get to choose the world we graduate into; but we do get to choose how we frame our circumstances.

This was something my parents instilled in me at a young age. I grew up in the vibrant city of Chennai, India. It was a comfortable life for the most part, but in those early years we had some challenges. We worried about severe drought and whether the water trucks would arrive in time. And for us technology came slowly. We had to wait years to get a telephone, a tv, a refrigerator. Each changed our lives in meaningful ways.

My parents never let the constraints limit my imagination of what was possible; it’s the reason I even let myself dream I could one day work in a far away place called Silicon Valley.

When the call from Stanford came, my father spent the equivalent of a year’s salary to buy my ticket. It was my first time on a plane.

When I landed in California, it wasn’t exactly as I had imagined. I remember that first drive down 280 coming from the airport with my host family.

If you’re not from here, California is advertised as being really lush and green. But when I looked out the window, it was more…brown. I guess I said this out loud, I’m not sure why. My host, Mrs. Jane Earl, gently corrected me. “We prefer to call it golden,” she said.

And that’s exactly what I mean by choosing optimism. It’s about reframing for the positive: Where I saw brown, she saw golden. This slight change of perspective had a huge ripple effect on how I thought about the world around me.

Lush forestry wasn’t all that was mis-advertised, if I’m being honest. The ocean looks warm and inviting on the brochure. A Stanford professor even emailed me before I accepted and used the beautiful beaches as a selling point.

So the first time I went to the beach in Santa Cruz, I ran fully into the water. It was not warm.

I’ve since learned that the Atlantic can be warmer — which, by the way, is the only reason Stanford joining the ACC makes any sense at all.

Despite the brown hills and cold ocean, it seemed like almost everyone I encountered had a generally positive outlook on life. Maybe it’s because you can wear shorts all year, I don’t know.

I found myself adopting this California optimism. And it helped me navigate one of my bigger pivots during my time at Stanford: I came here fully intending to get my PhD, and to move into academics. Life had other plans, and I needed to get a job sooner. So I left my doctorate program. Stanford was generous to offer me the chance to fulfill the requirements for a master’s.

I could have seen it as the end of a dream. But thanks to Mrs. Earl, I was able to see that particular brown hill as golden. In that moment, I chose optimism.

Sundar hasn't teased any exit from this role as the CEO of Alphabet and Google, but if he were to make an exit soon, this speech that he gave will truly stick with me as his Magnum Opus.