# Craig Walker

> Craig Walker is the co-founder and CEO of Dialpad. A former corporate attorney and venture capitalist, he led Dialpad Communications before its sale to Yahoo, co-founded GrandCentral before its acquisition by Google, and helped build Google Voice. His current company develops cloud communications and AI tools for business conversations.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Dialpad
- **Organizations:** Dialpad, GrandCentral Communications, Google, Dialpad Communications, Yahoo, Google Ventures (now GV), Sterling Payot Capital, TeleSoft Partners, Gunderson Dettmer, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison
- **Education:** BA, University of California, Berkeley, MBA, Georgetown University, JD, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- **Known for:** Led Dialpad Communications through a turnaround before its 2005 acquisition by Yahoo., Co-founded GrandCentral, acquired by Google in 2007 and developed into Google Voice., Co-founded the company behind UberConference, winner of TechCrunch Disrupt New York in 2012.

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Became CEO of Dialpad Communications during the dot-com downturn.
- **2005** — Dialpad Communications acquired by Yahoo; co-founded GrandCentral with Vincent Paquet.
- **2007** — Google acquired GrandCentral; Walker joined Google and worked on Google Voice.
- **2010** — Left Google and became entrepreneur-in-residence at Google Ventures; began the venture that became today’s Dialpad.
- **2012** — Team launched UberConference and won TechCrunch Disrupt New York.
- **2018** — Dialpad acquired TalkIQ to add real-time speech recognition and AI.
- **2024** — Dialpad announced more than $300 million in ARR and the acquisition of Surfboard.
- **2026** — Dialpad partnered with Cal Athletics on jersey sponsorship and AI for fan experience.

## Achievements

- Led Dialpad Communications through a turnaround before its 2005 acquisition by Yahoo.
- Co-founded GrandCentral, acquired by Google in 2007 and developed into Google Voice.
- Co-founded the company behind UberConference, winner of TechCrunch Disrupt New York in 2012.
- Led Dialpad as it reported surpassing $300 million ARR in October 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Cal Athletics announced Dialpad as jersey patch sponsor across 30 sports and its Official AI Platform for Fan Experience.
- **2026-01** — Appeared on Binary to Billions with Rob Scott to discuss his career and long-term product development.

## Links

- Website: https://www.dialpad.com/blog/authors/craig-walker/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cwalker123
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/cwalker123

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/craig-walker
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15