Around 200 students staged a pro-Palestinian walkout during Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s keynote address at Stanford University’s 135th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, June 14, protesting the technology giant’s business ties with the Israeli government.
The demonstration took place before more than 20,000 attendees, including approximately 3,600 graduates. Organised by Students for Justice in Palestine and No Tech for Apartheid, the protest centred on Project Nimbus, a USD 1.2 billion cloud-computing contract signed between Google and Israel in 2021.
Videos circulating on social media showed students leaving the commencement venue carrying Palestinian flags and protest banners while chanting “Free Palestine” as Pichai continued delivering his address. Many protesters also wore keffiyehs in a show of solidarity with Palestinians.
The walkout was aimed at Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a cloud services agreement that has faced criticism from pro-Palestinian activists. Demonstrators argue that the contract supports Israeli government operations amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
The protest was among the latest campus demonstrations in the United States linked to the conflict, which has fuelled debates over the role of technology companies in government and defence-related projects.
Despite the disruption, Pichai continued with his speech, focusing on resilience, optimism and lessons from his personal and professional life.
“It’s easy to look at the news of the day and think that we’re living in uniquely challenging times. We don’t get to choose the world we graduate into, but we do get to choose how we frame our circumstances,” he told graduates.
Pichai reflected on his upbringing in Chennai, recalling how his family waited years for amenities such as a telephone, television and refrigerator. He also credited his parents for supporting his ambitions, noting that his father spent a year’s salary on his first plane ticket to the United States.
The Google chief executive spoke about leaving Stanford’s doctoral programme and entering the workforce earlier than expected, saying success did not come immediately and that it took years to find his footing.
The walkout prompted reactions from several prominent Indian-American figures.
Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla criticised the protesters on social media, calling their actions “biased, idiotic, short-sighted and very selfish”.
Former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also condemned the demonstration. Sharing footage of the walkout online, he described it as an example of “extreme ignorance” and said students had missed an opportunity to hear directly from one of the world’s most successful technology leaders.
“You are living in the age of Artificial Intelligence, not in the age of ignorance,” Chandrasekhar wrote.
The incident highlighted continuing divisions on American campuses over the Gaza conflict and corporate involvement in government-related technology projects.
