Around 200 students at Stanford University staged a protest during the university’s 2026 graduation ceremony as Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the stage.
As Pichai was introduced, the students stood up from their seats, waved Palestinian flags, blew whistles, and chanted slogans in protest. Many were also seen wearing keffiyehs, a traditional scarf, as support for Palestinians.
Videos from the ceremony showed students leaving the stadium in their graduation gowns and caps. Some could also be heard booing as they walked out, while Pichai, a Stanford alumnus, continued delivering his speech.
“I must warn you all, this is only the second commencement speech that I have ever given. The first was literally in my backyard,” Pichai can be heard saying.
Stanford grads walk out as Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes the stage as commencement speaker. No mention of AI, unlike other uni speakers getting booed down this year. Story for @sfgate shortly pic.twitter.com/qvS2rJ91Ip
— Matt Brown (@maattttbrown) June 14, 2026
The walkout was organised by Students for Justice in Palestine and No Tech for Apartheid as a protest against Google’s contracts with the IDF, Department of Homeland Security, and ICE.
The protest was linked to Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud-computing deal between Google and the Israeli government. Pro-Palestinian activists have criticised the deal and accused Google of supporting Israel through its technology services.
After leaving the ceremony, many students attended a separate event called the “People’s Commencement.” The event featured Mahmoud Khalil as the keynote speaker, according to SFGate.
US immigration authorities detained Khalil for more than 100 days over his involvement in pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University in 2024.
During his address, Pichai did not talk about artificial intelligence (AI) which is one of the main concerns today as many students are worried about AI replacing jobs.
Pichai may have avoided discussing AI because other tech leaders have recently faced criticism and boos from students when talking positively about AI.
Earlier this year, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and other technology executives were booed at university events after promoting AI, at a time when many graduates were struggling to find jobs and were concerned about layoffs in the tech sector.
Last month, on the tech podcast Hard Fork, Pichai was asked how he would deal with possible boos from students during a speech at Stanford University.
Pichai said he remains confident about young people and their future. He said that even students who are critical of AI will help shape how the technology develops in the coming years.
“I’ve always been extraordinarily optimistic about the next generation. AI doesn’t change that. These graduates are actually both going to be a big part of driving that progress and also dealing with the impact,” he said.
