# John Hanke > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Hanke > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Hanke.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanke > Source revision: 1354693185 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American technology executive (born 1967)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{infobox person | name = John Hanke | image = John Hanke by Gage Skidmore.jpg | alt = | caption = Hanke at the 2016 [San Diego Comic-Con](/source/San_Diego_Comic-Con) | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1967}} | birth_place = Cross Plains, Texas | alma_mater = [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley)
[University of Texas at Austin](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin) | occupation = Businessman and entrepreneur | known_for = {{Plain list| * [Keyhole Corporation](/source/Keyhole_Corporation) * [Google Earth](/source/Google_Earth) * [Niantic, Inc.](/source/Niantic%2C_Inc.) * [Niantic Spatial](/source/Niantic_Spatial) }} }} '''John Hanke''' (born 1967) is an American technology executive. Following Google's acquisition of his company [Keyhole](/source/Keyhole%2C_Inc), Hanke led [Google](/source/Google)'s Geo product division, which includes [Google Earth](/source/Google_Earth), [Google Maps](/source/Google_Maps), [StreetView](/source/StreetView), [SketchUp](/source/SketchUp), and [Panoramio](/source/Panoramio). Within Google, he founded and led an internal startup, Niantic Labs, which he spun out in 2015. He is currently the founder and executive chairman at [Niantic Spatial](/source/Niantic_Spatial). == Early life and startups == Born in 1967, Hanke was raised in the small central Texas town of [Cross Plains](/source/Cross_Plains%2C_Texas) and graduated from [Cross Plains High School](/source/Cross_Plains_High_School_(Texas)) in 1985. He attended the [University of Texas, Austin](/source/University_of_Texas%2C_Austin) and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1989. In his first post-college role, he spent four years with the [United States Foreign Service](/source/United_States_Foreign_Service) in [Washington, DC](/source/Washington%2C_DC), and overseas in [Myanmar](/source/Myanmar) working on foreign policy issues. He moved across the country to attend the [Haas School of Business](/source/Haas_School_of_Business) at the [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley). He joined Steve Sellers and his video game design startup Archetype Interactive, which was developing ''[Meridian 59](/source/Meridian_59)'', one of the first commercial [massively multiplayer online role-playing game](/source/massively_multiplayer_online_role-playing_game)s (MMORPG). They sold the firm to [The 3DO Company](/source/The_3DO_Company) on the day he graduated from Berkeley with an MBA. Hanke and Sellers created another entertainment startup, The Big Network, which was acquired in 2000 by [eUniverse](/source/eUniverse) for $17.1 million. == Keyhole == Hanke became the co-founder and CEO of geospatial data visualization firm [Keyhole](/source/Keyhole%2C_Inc) in 2001. Early funding was provided by the corporate venture group within [Sony](/source/Sony), the [CIA](/source/Central_Intelligence_Agency)'s venture capital firm [In-Q-Tel](/source/In-Q-Tel), and the technology company [NVIDIA](/source/Nvidia). The startup was able to garner significant attention from its mapping technology use early in the [Iraq War](/source/Iraq_War). Keyhole's mapping technology was also noted by Google co-founder [Sergey Brin](/source/Sergey_Brin), and Google acquired Keyhole in 2004 in a deal worth $35 million in stock. == Google == Hanke joined Google as a part of Keyhole's acquisition, and he became the vice president of product management for Google's Geo division. During this period, he oversaw the transformation of Keyhole's technology into [Google Earth](/source/Google_Earth) and [Google Maps](/source/Google_Maps) in 2005. He also negotiated an agreement with Apple to include Google Maps on the iPhone. Other products followed, including [StreetView](/source/StreetView), [SketchUp](/source/SketchUp), and [Panoramio](/source/Panoramio). His team would later found Niantic. == Niantic == In 2010, Hanke was given resources to staff an augmented reality gaming unit within Google and the new internal startup was dubbed Niantic Labs. Returning to his gaming roots, the company crafted an [augmented reality](/source/augmented_reality) location-based multiplayer game called ''[Ingress](/source/Ingress_(video_game))''. The game had a million players within a year of its 2013 release, and seven million by 2015. Hanke led Niantic's split from Google in late 2015 and raised $30 million from Google, Nintendo and Pokémon. He stayed as the company's CEO and guided the firm through the release of ''[Pokémon Go](/source/Pok%C3%A9mon_Go)'' in July 2016, which has generated over $8.8 billion in revenue.{{Cite web |last=Astle |first=Aaron |date=2025-07-07 |title=Pokémon Go celebrates ninth anniversary and $8.8bn in gross player spending |url=https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pokmon-go-celebrates-ninth-anniversary-and-88bn-in-gross-player-spending/ |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=www.pocketgamer.biz |language=en}} After Niantic's games business was purchased by [Scopely](/source/Scopely) in 2025 for $3.85 billion total value to investors, he took the company's core platform technology and remaining team to form [Niantic Spatial](/source/Niantic_Spatial), a startup focused on utilizing geospatial AI.{{Cite web |last=Director |first=Samuel Roberts Editorial |date=June 3, 2025 |title=Scopely officially closes $3.5 billion acquisition of Niantic's games business |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/scopely-officially-closes-35-billion-acquisition-of-niantics-games-business |access-date=November 26, 2025 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en}} He transitioned out of his role as CEO in March 2026, remaining as executive chairman. ==References== {{reflist|colwidth=25em|refs= {{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/07/26/monster-game/#52ad08e722c0|title=The Inside Story Of 'Pokémon GO's' Evolution From Google Castoff To Global Phenomenon|last=Mac|first=Ryan|date=August 23, 2016|work=Forbes|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=October 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009140902/http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/07/26/monster-game/#52ad08e722c0|url-status=live}} {{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/meet-john-hanke-the-eccentric-board-game-loving-visionary-who-ru/|title=Meet John Hanke, the eccentric, board game-loving visionary who runs the mysterious firm behind Pokémon Go|last=Shute|first=Joe|date=July 24, 2016|work=The Telegraph|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=August 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829171240/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/meet-john-hanke-the-eccentric-board-game-loving-visionary-who-ru/|url-status=live}} {{cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/27/how-john-hanke-the-mastermind-behind-pokemon-go-got-his-start.html|title=How the mastermind behind 'Pokemon Go' got his start|last=Ward|first=Marguerite|date=July 27, 2016|work=CNBC|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=October 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003195259/http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/27/how-john-hanke-the-mastermind-behind-pokemon-go-got-his-start.html|url-status=live}} {{cite news|url=http://www.reporternews.com/news/big-country/pokemon-go-company-led-by-cross-plains-hanke-37798b32-013e-26e8-e053-0100007f2939-386554831.html|title='Pokemon Go' company led by Cross Plains' Hanke|last=Chipp|first=Timothy|date=July 7, 2016|newspaper=Abilene Reporter-News|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=September 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917191429/http://www.reporternews.com/news/big-country/pokemon-go-company-led-by-cross-plains-hanke-37798b32-013e-26e8-e053-0100007f2939-386554831.html|url-status=live}} {{cite book|author=Jerome S. Engel|title=Global Clusters of Innovation: Entrepreneurial Engines of Economic Growth around the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgyZBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56|date=September 26, 2014|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-78347-083-9|pages=56–58}} {{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_21915927/mercury-news-interview-john-hanke-google-niantic-labs-maps-earth-streetview|title=Mercury News interview: John Hanke, vice president and head of Google's Niantic Labs.|last=Bailey|first=Brandon|date=November 4, 2012|newspaper=The Mercury News|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=July 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719142203/http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_21915927/mercury-news-interview-john-hanke-google-niantic-labs-maps-earth-streetview|url-status=live}} {{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2007/06/ff-maps/|title=Google Maps Is Changing the Way We See the World|last=Ratliff|first=Evan|date=June 26, 2007|magazine=Wired|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=August 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824011854/http://www.wired.com/2007/06/ff-maps/|url-status=live}} {{cite news|url=http://www.inc.com/dana-severson/what-overnight-success-pok%C3%A9mon-go-took-20-years-to-take-off-according-to-its-cr.html|title=What Overnight Success? Pokémon Go Took 20 Years to Succeed According to its Creator|last=Severson|first=Dana|date=July 22, 2016|newspaper=Inc.|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=July 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725081650/http://www.inc.com/dana-severson/what-overnight-success-pok%C3%A9mon-go-took-20-years-to-take-off-according-to-its-cr.html|url-status=live}} {{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/john-hanke-the-man-who-put-pok%C3%A9mon-go-on-the-map-1.2723057|title=John Hanke: The man who put Pokémon Go on the map|last=Bradshaw|first=Tim|date=July 15, 2016|newspaper=The Irish Times|accessdate=September 2, 2016|archive-date=September 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913111040/http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/john-hanke-the-man-who-put-pok%C3%A9mon-go-on-the-map-1.2723057|url-status=live}} {{Cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/euniverse-to-acquire-bignetworkcom-a-premier-online-entertainment-hub-74807842.html |title="eUniverse to Acquire BigNetwork.com, A Premier Online Entertainment Hub" |access-date=September 3, 2016 |archive-date=September 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915182727/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/euniverse-to-acquire-bignetworkcom-a-premier-online-entertainment-hub-74807842.html |url-status=live }} }} == Further reading == * {{Cite book |last=Kilday |first=Bill |title=Never lost again: the Google mapping revolution that sparked new industries and augmented our reality |date=2018 |isbn=978-0-06-267304-6 |edition=First |location=New York, NY |oclc=994315355}} == External links == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130729205940/http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail803.html Interview at Where 2.0 2005] * [http://www.businessinsider.com/pokemon-go-niantic-john-hanke-interview-2016-7 Why 'Pokémon Go' is Such a phenomenon - Business Insider, July 2016] {{Niantic}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanke, John}} Category:1967 births Category:American chief executives in technology Category:Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Google employees Category:Haas School of Business alumni Category:Living people Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Hanke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanke) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanke?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.