# Clay Bavor

> Clay Bavor is Co-Founder of Sierra, the AI customer experience company he launched in early 2023 alongside Bret Taylor. Before Sierra, Bavor spent 18 years at Google, where he rose from product manager to VP leading Google Labs — overseeing Google's AR/VR efforts (including Cardboard, Daydream, ARCore, Google Lens, and Project Starline), and before that running product and design for Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Workspace. Sierra has raised $1.585 billion in total funding, most recently a $950M Series E at a $15.8 billion valuation in May 2026, serving over 40% of the Fortune 50 with AI agents that resolve 50–90% of customer inquiries.

- **Role:** Co-Founder at Sierra
- **Organizations:** Sierra, Google
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, Princeton University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Sierra, which reached $150M ARR in 8 quarters from founding, Sierra serves more than 40% of the Fortune 50, Sierra raised $1.585B total funding at $15.8B valuation as of May 2026

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Joined Google as a product manager after graduating from Princeton
- **2005-2015** — Led product management and design for Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Workspace (Apps for Enterprise)
- **2014** — Oversaw Google Cardboard launch as VP of Product Management
- **2015** — Named VP of Virtual Reality at Google; started and led Google's AR/VR effort
- **2015-2021** — Led Google's AR/VR division including Cardboard, Daydream, ARCore, Google Lens, and Google Maps Live View
- **2021** — Became VP of Google Labs, consolidating AR/VR, Project Starline, and Area 120 under one team reporting to Sundar Pichai
- **2021-2023** — Led Google Labs, overseeing cutting-edge projects including Project Starline holographic videoconferencing
- **2023-02** — Announced departure from Google after 18 years; announced co-founding of Sierra with Bret Taylor
- **2023-03** — Co-founded Sierra, an AI customer experience platform
- **2024** — Sierra raised $350M at $10B valuation
- **2026-05** — Sierra raised $950M Series E at $15.8B valuation, led by GV and Tiger Global

## Achievements

- Co-founded Sierra, which reached $150M ARR in 8 quarters from founding
- Sierra serves more than 40% of the Fortune 50
- Sierra raised $1.585B total funding at $15.8B valuation as of May 2026
- Led Google's AR/VR division for nearly 7 years, shipping Cardboard, Daydream, ARCore, Google Lens
- Oversaw product and design for Gmail, Google Drive, and Workspace tools used by billions of people
- Led Google Labs reporting directly to CEO Sundar Pichai
- Pioneered Project Starline holographic videoconferencing at Google
- Named to Fortune 40 Under 40 list (2016)
- Google Lens launched under his leadership and became a core Google product

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Sierra raised $950M Series E at $15.8B valuation led by GV and Tiger Global, with Benchmark, Sequoia, and Greenoaks participating.
- **2025-12** — Bavor told Axios he sees potential AI bubble signals but remains convinced in the underlying transformative potential of the technology.
- **2025** — Clay Bavor spoke at Princeton University's AI Lab Founders Talk Series, returning to his alma mater to discuss Sierra's approach to AI agents.
- **2024** — Sierra raised $350M at a $10B valuation, reaching significant enterprise scale with Fortune 50 customers.

## Links

- Website: https://sierra.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claybavor
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/claybavor

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/clay-bavor
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27