Google Maps Creator Moving to Greece to Start Hi-Tech Project

Google Maps creator Lars Rasmussen has announced he is moving to Greece in January 2021 to create a new start-up enterprise.

Rasmussen, of Danish origin, who is currently based in New York, says he is moving to Athens with his team to further develop a new project called Weav, described as the only running app that automatically keeps the music you hear in sync with your footsteps in real time.

The tech maven’s move to Greece with his Greek wife, high-tech executive Elomida Visviki, is seen as an important development for the country, which has been trying to attract high-flying digital nomads and cutting-edge technology companies.

Rasmussen had a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis by teleconference at the end of November. Shortly afterward, he made the announcement of his impending move, adding that he will be hiring local talent in the country.

“Elomida and I arrive early January and are giddy with excitement,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Enticing brains” to Greece

Rasmussen noted that “Greece lost 500,000 big brains in the wake of the financial crises a decade back. Now making an impressive and concerted effort to entice them back.”

He added: “Will hopefully attract an additional 500,000 non-Greek brains to live & work in paradise!”

In a recent interview with Greek daily Kathimerini he dismissed the common stereotypes, according to which Greeks are not known for working hard.

“Working with Greeks around the world, but also in our team, my experience is completely different,” he stated.

“Not only are they very hardworking, but they are trustworthy and have a lot of dedication to their work. Greece now has a better name than Sydney had 20 years ago when we were designing Google maps there,” he told the Greek newspaper.

From Google to Facebook

Rasmussen is the co-founder and CTO of Weav Music Inc in New York City.

He holds a PhD in theoretical computer science from UC Berkeley, and was most recently a director of engineering for Facebook in London.

In early 2003, he and his brother Jens co-founded a mapping-related startup called Where 2 Technologies, which was acquired by Google in October of 2004.

He became the lead engineer on the team that created Google Maps and worked out of Google’s Sydney-based office until joining Facebook in late 20

Comments

Μπέος: «Εύστοχα χαρακτηρίστηκε φτύσιμο στα μούτρα των μελών της ΕΕΑ»

Καρφιά προς την Επιτροπή Επαγγελματικού Αθλητισμού έριξε με δήλωσή του στα social media ο Αχιλλέας Μπέος. Με αφορμή την απόφαση του CAS για την υπόθεση ΠΑΟΚ-Ξάνθης, ο δήμαρχος Βόλου θυμήθηκε τις ενέργειες της επιτροπής στην περίπτωση του Ολυμπιακού Βόλου το 2011 όταν εκείνος ήταν ο ισχυρός άνδρας της ομάδας. Επίσης εξέφρασε την απορία του για το ότι κανείς μέχρι σήμερα δεν έχει υποβάλλει την παραίτησή του. Αναλυτικά όσα έγραψε ο Αχιλλέας Μπέος: «Η απόφαση του Διεθνούς Αθλητικού Δικαστηρίου (CAS) για την υπόθεση των ΠΑΟΚ–Ξάνθης, αναμφίβολα είναι ένα ηχηρό χαστούκι γι αυτό που στην Ελλάδα ονομάζουμε Επιτροπή Επαγγελματικού Αθλητισμού, που υποτίθεται αξιολογεί, κρίνει και αποφασίζει αντικειμενικά και με βάση το ισχύον Δίκαιο και στην πραγματικότητα αποδεικνύεται ένα εργαλείο άσκησης μικροπολιτικής και ικανοποίησης αθέμιτων επιθυμιών και επιδ...

The Fascinating History of Thessaloniki’s Iconic White Tower

The White Tower. Credit: ΣΟΛΑΚΙΔΗΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΙΟΣ /Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 4.0 Residents of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, often use its White Tower as a point of reference when giving directions in the beautiful seaside city. That’s because the tower is by far Thessaloniki’s most iconic monument. The ancient city, located in northern Greece, has a rich history stretching from antiquity to the modern era, but is most noted for its importance during the Byzantine period. During that time, Thessaloniki was a competitor with the great city of Constantinople in terms of its wealth and influence. The White Tower was a witness to many of the city’s most important historical events, and its role in Thessaloniki changed as did the ownership of the city itself throughout the millennia. Studying the history of the White Tower means learning the history of Thessaloniki. The Tower’s strategic location along the Thermaic Gulf made it perfect for guarding the city from thre...

Inside the Magnificent Minoan Palace of Knossos in Crete

The Minoan palace at Knossos. Credit: Gary Bembridge /Wikimedia Commons/ CC-BY-2.0 The Palace of Knossos, located about five kilometers (three miles) south of Heraklion on Kephala hill, was the largest of all the Minoan palaces in Crete. It was also at the core of the highly sophisticated civilization that flourished on the island over 3,500 years ago. The discovery of the Minoan Palace of Knossos The discovery and subsequent excavation of the palace dates back to the beginning of the twentieth century. Before then, Knossos had only served as a place mentioned in Greek mythology. The first modern scholar to take a serious interest in the area was the German Heinrich Schliemann, who in 1870 had excavated the site believed to be Troy. Schliemann was certain that a major Minoan palace lay hidden near Heraklion, but the Ottoman authorities who still ruled the island at the time denied any permission to dig there. Years afterward, the British archaeologist Arthur Evans, inspired b...

Ten Unforgettable Things to Do Around Syntagma Square in Athens

Syntagma Square, Athens. Credit: Public Domain Syntagma Square has literally been the very heart of Athens ever since the city became the capital of the modern Greek state. With the Greek Parliament building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier looming over it, it is rich with history and is the place where most major events of the last two centuries have taken place. Its name in Greek means “Constitution Square,” a name granted by Greece’s first modern royal, King Otto, on September 3, 1843, after an uprising of the people. This was a smart political move, since the royal palace overlooked the square. In 1934, the royal palace was turned over to the Greek Parliament, and ever since that time, Syntagma Square has been the place where all public protests and demonstrations have taken place. Syntagma Square home to historic demonstrations and protests In December of 1944, just after the departure of the occupying Nazi troops, a people’s rally at the square was marred b...

Άποψη ΚΥΡ

Άποψη Κ Μητρόπουλου

Άποψη

Θεσσαλονίκη: Εκατοντάδες μερίδες φαγητού σε αστέγους από τοπική επιχείρηση εστίασης

Στη Θεσσαλονίκη, μια επιχείρηση εστίασης αποδεικνύει εμπράκτως τι σημαίνει ευαισθησία και κοινωνική ευθύνη. Πρόκειται για το εστιατόριο του Στέφανου Σαράτση που έχει αρχίσει αυτή την προσπάθεια τους τελευταίους δύσκολους μήνες. Συμπαραστάτες του γνωστοί και άγνωστοι πολίτες που βοηθούν όσο μπορούν.

Ξέφυγαν εντελώς οι Τούρκοι απόστρατοι -Ονειρεύονται απόβαση σε ελληνικά νησιά Ο ναύαρχος ε.α. του τουρκικού Ναυτικού Τζιχάτ Γιαϊτζί, γνωστότερος ως εμπνευστής του παράνομου τουρκολιβυκού μνημονίου για την ΑΟΖ, δήλωσε, ότι χάρη στην συμφωνία αυτή η Λιβύη πήρε τέσσερα νησιά από την Ελλάδα και δεκάδες τ.χλμ. θαλάσσιων εκτάσεων, χωρίς όμως να αναφέρει ποια νησιά ήταν αυτά που αποκάλεσε μεν ελληνικά, αλλά τώρα είναι… λιβυκά! Ο Γιαϊτζί, γνωστός «μαϊντανός» των τουρκικών ΜΜΕ «εξήγησε», κατά τη διάρκεια συνέντευξής του στο κανάλι Al-Jazeera Mubasher, ότι «αυτή η συμφωνία παρείχε στη Λιβύη "39 χιλιάδες χιλιόμετρα υδάτινης επιφάνειας, μαζί με 4 ελληνικά νησιά"», προσθέτοντας ότι «εάν η Λιβύη είχε υπογράψει τη συμφωνία...

Qoutes

Search This Blog