PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jianchang Mao

Also known as J. Mao, Mao Jianchang, Jianchang (JC) Mao

Jianchang Mao is a computer scientist whose research spans machine learning, pattern recognition, and computational advertising. He studied physics and electronics at East China Normal University, completed a computer science PhD at Michigan State in 1994, and worked at IBM and Verity. From 2004 to 2012, he held leadership roles in Yahoo advertising, then held senior roles in Bing advertising and Microsoft advertising engineering before serving as vice president of Google Assistant Engineering from April 2021 to April 2023. At Fellows Fund, he served as a Venture Partner and Advisor from May 2023 to July 2024, became General Partner and Distinguished Fellow in July 2024, and took on a Generalist investor role in June 2026. As of October 2026, he is a General Partner and Distinguished Fellow there.

Now at
Fellows Fund
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Timeline

  1. By 1994

    Physics and a computer science PhD

    Mao grows up in Zhejiang, China, earns a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's degree in electronics at East China Normal University, then studies neural networks, pattern recognition, and machine learning under Anil K. Jain at Michigan State University. He earns a computer science PhD there in 1994.

  2. 1994–2000

    Research at IBM Almaden

    At IBM Almaden Research Center, he serves as a research staff member from 1994 to 2000.

  3. 2000–2004

    Enterprise search at Verity

    At Verity, he serves as director of emerging technologies and principal architect from 2000 to 2004. The company works in enterprise search.

  4. 2004–2012

    Yahoo advertising science

    From 2004 to 2012, he holds leadership roles at Yahoo. At Yahoo Labs, he is vice president and head of Advertising Sciences, overseeing research and development of advertising technologies. In 2012, he coauthors a study that evaluates visual features of display ads for click-through-rate prediction, ranking, and performance classification.

  5. 2012–2021

    Microsoft and an IEEE Fellowship

    In 2012, he becomes an IEEE Fellow for contributions to pattern recognition, search, content analysis, and computational advertising, and joins Microsoft as head of Bing Ads Relevance and Revenue. In January 2014, he becomes a Distinguished Engineer and general manager of Bing Advertising Marketplace & Serving, then Corporate Vice President for Bing Advertising Marketplace & Serving, AI & Research from April 2016. From October 2018 to April 2021, he serves as Corporate Vice President for Microsoft Advertising Products and Engineering; in 2018, he receives the Claud R. Erickson Distinguished Alumni Award, Michigan State's highest alumni honor.

  6. April 2021–April 2023

    Google Assistant Engineering

    He serves as Vice President of Google Assistant Engineering from April 2021 to April 2023.

  7. May 2023–July 2024

    Venture Partner at Fellows Fund

    From May 2023 to July 2024, he serves as a Distinguished Fellow, Venture Partner and Advisor at Fellows Fund.

  8. Since July 2024

    General Partner at Fellows Fund

    In July 2024, he becomes General Partner and Distinguished Fellow at Fellows Fund. In June 2026, he becomes a Generalist investor at the fund. As of October 2026, he holds both roles.

Career

  1. Since 2023Fellows FundDistinguished Fellow, Venture Partner, and Advisor, General Partner and Distinguished Fellow
  2. 2021–2023GoogleVice President of Google Assistant Engineering
  3. 2012–2021MicrosoftHead of Bing Ads Relevance and Revenue, Distinguished Engineer and General Manager of Bing Advertising Marketplace & Serving
  4. 2004–2012YahooVice President and Head of Advertising Sciences
  5. 2000–2004VerityDirector of Emerging Technologies and Principal Architect
  6. 1994–2000IBM ResearchResearch Staff Member

Education

  1. 1994Michigan State UniversityPhD in Computer Science
  2. East China Normal UniversityBachelor's degree in Physics

From the biography.

  1. Google alumni have founded or led 133 other organizations, more than any other AI labIncludes Jianchang Mao. We estimate that alumni of 17 major AI labs went on to found or lead 350 other organizations, including 226 they founded, and we trace 472 career moves directly between 23 labs since 2010.
  2. Among employers with 30+ full-time cases, OpenAI leads primary technical role H-1B pay at $310,000, and Amazon, Google and Microsoft file 57% of all casesIncludes Microsoft. Across 440,669 certified US H-1B filings from 44 employers (FY2020–FY2026), OpenAI leads primary technical role base pay at $310,000 and xAI leads overall base pay at $290,000.
  3. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Includes Google. Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.
  4. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Google. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Jianchang Mao yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Jianchang Mao en.wikipedia.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Alumni | College of Engineering | Michigan State University engineering.msu.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. The Impact of Visual Appearance on User Response in Online Display Advertising arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Jianchang Mao's email & phone number - General Partner & Distinguished Fellow at Fellows Fund | SignalHire signalhire.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Fellows Fund Publishes In-Depth Enterprise AI Report Featuring Insights from 20 AI Fellows fellowsfund.substack.com. Checked 21 October 2026.