# Karl Sun

> Karl Sun is the co-founder and board chair of Lucid Software, the Utah company behind Lucidchart and Lucidspark. A former Google patent and business development leader with engineering and policy degrees from MIT and a Harvard law degree, he helped build Lucid from its early student-apartment operation and served as CEO until handing the role to Dave Grow in April 2022. His public writing and interviews emphasize hiring, collaboration and company culture.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Board Chair at Lucid Software
- **Organizations:** Lucid Software, Google, Google.org, Perkins Coie, SSP International, The Nature Conservancy, Utah chapter, Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Educational Council
- **Education:** BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MS in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, JD, Harvard Law School
- **Known for:** Established Google’s patent department and helped launch its China office., Co-founded Lucid Software and led it as CEO through April 2022., EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017, Utah Region, Business Services category.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2002** — Practiced law, including at Perkins Coie’s Silicon Valley office.
- **2002** — Joined Google as head of patents and established its patent department.
- **2005** — Became head of business development for Google’s China division.
- **2007** — Moved to Utah while still working for Google.
- **2009** — Concluded his Google tenure after work on renewable energy investments at Google.org; became involved with Ben Dilts’s early Lucidchart product.
- **2010** — Co-founded Lucid Software with Ben Dilts and served as CEO; recruited Dave Grow to help build the business.
- **2017** — Received EY Entrepreneur Of The Year in the Business Services category for the Utah Region.
- **2021** — Led Lucid when it announced more than $500 million in secondary investment at a $3 billion company valuation.
- **2022** — On April 13, handed the CEO role to Dave Grow and continued as board chair.
- **2026** — Appeared with Ben Dilts and Dave Grow on The Kickstart Podcast to revisit Lucid’s founding and growth.

## Achievements

- Established Google’s patent department and helped launch its China office.
- Co-founded Lucid Software and led it as CEO through April 2022.
- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017, Utah Region, Business Services category.
- Lucid announced a $3 billion valuation in a June 2021 secondary transaction during his CEO tenure.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — The Kickstart Podcast published a conversation with Karl Sun, Ben Dilts and Dave Grow on March 26, revisiting Lucid’s origins, hiring and growth.

## Links

- Website: https://lucid.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlsun

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/karl-sun
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21