Bradley Joseph Horowitz: A Journey of Tech Innovation and
Entrepreneurship
Biography of Bradley Joseph Horowitz:
Early Years & Academic Pursuits
Bradley Joseph Horowitz was born on May 8, 1965, in
Dearborn, Michigan. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
from the University of Michigan in 1989. He then joined MIT’s Media Lab, where
he studied computer vision, image processing, and graphics, completing a Master’s
in Media Arts & Sciences in 1991. Though he began a Ph.D. program, he left
in 1993 to cofound a startup. During his academic period, he published work on
non-rigid structure from motion and fractal image compression, and accumulated
over a dozen patents in related areas.
Bradley Joseph Horowitz: A Journey of Tech Innovation and Entrepreneurship / Biography of Bradley Joseph Horowitz#age#net worth#investor#startup
Building Virage: The Startup Chapter
In 1993, Horowitz co-founded Virage, Inc. along with
Jeff Bach, Chiao-fe Shu, and Ramesh Jain. As CTO, he led the development of
technologies to analyze raw video and extract metadata, enabling semantic
indexing of media content. Virage went public via an IPO in 2000 and in 2003
was acquired by Autonomy. During this period, Horowitz also amassed patents in
media analysis and indexing.
Yahoo Era: Innovation & Incubation
In 2004, Horowitz joined Yahoo as Director of Media
Search. He initiated the “Hack Yahoo” program, which evolved into public Hack
Days events. He advanced to Vice President of Advanced Development,
where he helped establish Yahoo Research Berkeley and the Brickhouse incubator.
He also played a role in Yahoo’s strategic acquisitions—such as Flickr,
MyBlogLog, and Jumpcut—strengthening its media and social portfolio.
Joining Google & Leading Consumer Products
Horowitz moved to Google in 2008 as Vice President of
Product for consumer applications. Over time, he oversaw product teams for
Gmail, Google Docs & Drive, Calendar, Google Talk, Voice, Picasa, Blogger,
among others. In 2011, he teamed with Vic Gundotra to envision and launch Google+.
Later, in March 2015, he took leadership of Google Photos and Streams.
In addition, Horowitz has been actively involved in internal
Google initiatives: he has had roles with Google for Startups, and was
tied to Area 120, Google’s internal incubator.
Board Roles, Investing & New Positions
Horowitz is a longtime angel investor and technology
advisor. He has served on the boards of Singtel, Issuu, Lyst, and other
organizations. In September 2024, he was appointed to the Board of
Directors of Circle, the digital currency and financial technology company.
He is also a General Partner at Wisdom Ventures,
where he helps back founders and early-stage ventures.
Personal Life & Interests
Horowitz is married to Irene Au, a prominent designer
who held executive design roles at Netscape, Yahoo, Google, and Udacity. She is
now a design partner at Khosla Ventures. Beyond his work, Horowitz also
serves on the Visiting Committee of the MIT Media Lab, fostering
academia–industry collaboration.
Recent Update & Outlook
- In
2024, he joined Circle’s board, indicating a growing interest in
fintech and blockchain domains.
- His
role at Wisdom Ventures continues to grow as he backs new startups and
invests in technology aligned with human values.
- At Google, his influence over core consumer products and contributions to internal innovation programs remain a significant part of his legacy
