highperformr logo

Anna Patterson

founder, Cuil
Menlo Park, California,United States
Find Anna Patterson's Email
Find Anna Patterson’s Phone

Anna Patterson's Overview

Total Experience0 years
CompanyCuil
CountryUnited States

Dr. Anna Patterson is a highly influential figure in the fields of artificial intelligence and search engine technology. She currently serves as a VP of Engineering in AI at Google and is a Founder and Managing Partner at Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund. Patterson earned her PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University. Her career includes co-founding the search engine Cuil and making significant contributions to Google Search, including leading the development of TeraGoogle, which vastly increased the size of Google's web index. She is recognized for her deep technical expertise, leadership in AI innovation, and her role in mentoring and investing in promising AI startups.

Professional Summary

Anna Patterson's work history includes a series of influential roles in various companies. Here is a detailed list of his professional journey:

Cuil - founder ( to Present)

Notable Achievements

Founder and Managing Partner, Gradient Ventures

Established Gradient Ventures in 2017, Google's venture fund dedicated to investing in and supporting early-stage AI startups, fostering innovation in the artificial intelligence ecosystem.

VP of Engineering, AI at Google

Leads significant artificial intelligence initiatives and engineering teams at Google, driving the development and integration of cutting-edge AI technologies across various Google products and services.

Co-founder of Cuil

Co-founded the search engine Cuil in 2007, which aimed to provide a more comprehensive and contextually organized search experience than existing engines at the time.

Development of TeraGoogle

Played a pivotal role in the architecture and development of TeraGoogle, Google's large-scale search indexing system, significantly expanding the capacity and reach of Google's web index in the early 2000s.

Grace Hopper Technical Leadership Award

Recipient of the Grace Hopper Technical Leadership Award in 2016, recognizing her significant contributions to search technology and her leadership in the tech industry.

PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University

Completed her doctoral studies at Stanford University, a leading institution for computer science research, which laid the foundation for her impactful career in technology.

Educational Background

Buying Intent Signals for Anna Patterson

Highperformr Signals uncover buying intent and give you clear insights to target the right people at the right time — helping your sales, marketing, and GTM teams close more deals, faster.

Notable news
Hiring actively
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance

Company Overview

Cuil
Total employees40
HeadquartersMenlo Park
Founded2006

Cuil (pronounced 'cool') was a search engine developed by former Google engineers Anna Patterson, Russell Power, and Louis Monier, with Tom Costello as CEO. Founded in 2006 and launched publicly in July 2008, Cuil aimed to challenge Google by offering a larger web index, organizing search results by concept, and presenting them in a magazine-style layout with multiple columns and images. It also emphasized user privacy by not storing user search activity. Despite initial hype and significant funding, Cuil struggled with search result relevance, accuracy, and server uptime. The company ceased operations and its website went offline on September 17, 2010.

Cuil Funding Information
$33M - Total Funding Raised
$25M - Most recent funding amount
2 - Number of funding rounds
28 Jul, 2008 - Latest funding round
Lead Investors:
Greylock Partners
Benchmark Capital
Madrone Capital Partners

Highperformr's free tools for company research

Find contact info

Get verified emails, phone numbers, and LinkedIn profile details

Find similar contacts

Discover contacts with similar roles, seniority, or companies

Perform deep contact research

Uncover insights like skills, work history, social links, and more

Discover, research and enrich contacts with Highperformr — Smarter, Faster

Explore contacts in-depth — from verified emails and phone numbers to LinkedIn activity, job changes, and more — all in one powerful view.

Highperformr AI helps you surface the right people and enrich your CRM with live, accurate contact insights so your teams can connect faster and close smarter.

  • Track signals like job change, promotion, and LinkedIn activity
  • Enrich contacts with verified email, phone, and social data instantly
  • Automate enrichment and updates with powerful workflows
  • Sync enriched contact info directly into your CRM and tools

Thousands of contacts — including decision-makers, influencers, and ICP matches — are just a search away.

Thousands of companies, including, are just a search away.