Anthony Levandowski has an estimated net worth of -$20 Million. Anthony Levandowski is a well-known American-French engineer who has made considerable contributions to the field of self-driving cars.
Levandowski had a $100 million net worth just a few years ago. However, in March 2020, he filed for bankruptcy after the court found that Levandowski and his partner Lior Ron poached employees from Google. The court fined Levandowski to the tune of $179 million.
| Full Name | Anthony Levandowski |
|---|---|
| Net Worth | -$20 million (negative) |
| Age | 43 |
| Date of Birth and Place | 15 March 1980 / Brussels, Belgium |
| Profession | Engineer, Co-Founder of Pronto AI and Otto |
| Nationality | French-American |
| Marital Status | Married |
Who is Anthony Levandowski?
Anthony Levandowski, born on March 15, 1980, in Belgium, has had a very interesting technological journey. His passion for technology and robotics was very clear from a young age. He moved to California with his parents during his teenage years and later pursued a career in tech.
Levandowski began his academic journey at the prestigious University of California, Berkeley. He delved into Industrial Engineering and Operations Research there, eventually earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree.
At the starting point and one of the most important jobs in his career, he teamed up with fellow engineers from Berkeley and stepped forward on a driverless motorcycle at the DARPA Grand Challenge known as the Ghostrider. This project was deemed a tremendous success at the time and is still on display at the National Museum of American History.
A Silicon Valley engineer
After graduating from college, Silicon Valley was the first choice for a brilliant engineer like Levandowski. He worked at Google and 3com, contributing to projects such as Street View, Google Maps, and the autonomous car project named Waymo. Working with these tech giants, he contributed to developing the technology he was passionate about and made a million-dollar fortune.
Levandovski’s Otto-Uber and Pronto Adventures
With the strength of his experience and a strong network in Silicon Valley, he founded the autonomous truck company Otto in 2016. He was accompanied on this adventure by Lior Ron, Don Burnette, and Claire Delaunay, as well as 11 engineers leaving Google.
Otto was acquired by Uber Technologies just five months later. Levandowski, who switched to Uber, was later accused by Google of hacking Waymo servers and data theft. Uber’s autonomous truck program was also shut down during this accusation and court process.
Proton AI is another notable project started by Levandowski. In 2018, he set out to create a camera-based automated driving system for semi-trucks on highways. He invested $8.5 million of his own fortune in the company.
Proton AI is focusing on developing autonomous vehicles in areas such as quarries and mines. Levandowski also launched Pollen Mobile, an open-source wireless network, in February 2022. This network supported Pronto AI’s autonomous vehicles.
What is Anthony Levandowski’s net worth in 2023?
The net worth of Anthony Levandowski is estimated at -$20 million in 2023. Yes, you read that right. His interest in autonomous vehicle technologies, successful work at Google, and personal initiatives has made him over $100 million. However, in his lost court case against Google, he was ordered to pay $179 million in fines and later filed for bankruptcy.
Anthony Levandowski’s career and net worth milestones
It is clear that there are dozens of variables on the path to Anthony Levandowski’s personal wealth and success. His achievements in Silicon Valley, his work at Google, his founding of Otto, Proton, and more.
Here are the 5 most important events in Levandowski’s career:
- Co-Founding Google’s Self-Driving Program: Levandowski played a critical role in co-founding Google’s self-driving car program in 2009, which later became Waymo. This made him popular in autonomous vehicle technology and opened doors to many new initiatives.
- Co-Founding and Selling Otto to Uber: He founded the autonomous truck company Otto in 2016 and soon sold it to Uber. He made a name for himself in the transportation industry and made significant contributions to self-driving technology.
- Cross-country Drive of Prius: Levandowski co-founded Pronto 2018, an autonomous trucking company that completed a cross-country drive. In this way, it showed that autonomous vehicles and self-driving technology could be applied worldwide.
- Legal Troubles: Levandowski was sued for unauthorized access to Waymo’s trade secrets after leaving Google. Although controversial, this had a substantial negative impact on his career and led to Levandowski’s bankruptcy.
- Pardon by President Donald Trump: During the final hours of his presidency, President Trump issued a complete pardon to Anthony Levandowski about a legal dispute between Google’s self-driving car division and Uber, which involved accusations of trade secret theft.
The bottom line
Anthony Levandowski has made enormous contributions to autonomous vehicle technology. With his contributions to self-driving car technology, he played a vital role in shaping the industry. He made most of his personal fortune by selling the Otto company to Uber for $680 million. Despite all these successes, he filed for bankruptcy due to the lawsuit against him for trade secrets theft and employee poaching.
If you want to learn more about the net worths of prominent individuals, check our articles on famous investor Michael Burry and comedian Tracy Morgan.
About the Author: Nathan Rivers
