At Google, she also oversaw its fledgling Google Video initiative, which soon faced extreme competition.
“Another site launched YouTube and it started growing faster—a lot faster—and all of a sudden, we saw our newfound success slipping away,” she recalled. “And just after we thought we were winning, we found out that we were losing. “
Wojcicki said she had to make a “tough call”—keep building out Google Video and “hope we catch up” or “admit our failure” and try to buy YouTube.
In 2006, a year after the video sharing platform was launched, Google acquired it for $1.65 billion.
In 2014, Wojcicki was appointed CEO of YouTube, a position she held until 2023, when she stepped down, announcing in a statement that she planned to “start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about” and “take on an advisory role across Google and [parent company] Alphabet.”
