Anna Patterson

Founder of Gradient Ventures, Gradient Ventures

Search every verified Anna Patterson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Anna Patterson, a vice president of engineering at Google, described her path into computer science as stemming from a desire to create, similar to her early interest in painting. She stated that one of the things that led her into the field was the ability to "make things that really change people's lives." Patterson recounted that she joined Android when it had fewer than 100 employees, noting that it "really felt like a startup" and that it "wasn't clear that it was the rocket ship that it became." She said she felt "very fortunate" to have started with the platform when it was small. Patterson also discussed her work in search, stating that "every time you type in a query, you're using my code" and that this means she is "reaching billions of people a day." She reflected on her earlier career, including founding a startup called Zift during the dot-com crash, and her decision to re-enter the workforce by assessing her strengths and weaknesses. Patterson also mentioned that she met her husband and Sergey Brin during her time at Stanford.