Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison is Oracle's co-founder and CTO, and the company builds data centers for AI workloads. He left college after his adoptive mother's death and moved to Berkeley in 1966 for computer-related work. He founded Software Development Labs in 1977; Oracle V2 debuted in 1979, and he served as CEO through 2014. At Stargate's January 2025 launch, he described Oracle's Texas data-center work; TIME placed him among the Leaders on its 2026 TIME100 AI list.
- Now at
- Oracle
Timeline
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1966
Early computer work
He leaves college after his adoptive mother's death and moves to Berkeley in 1966, where he takes computer-related jobs.
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1977–1979
Building Oracle's database
In 1977, he co-founds Software Development Labs with two Amdahl colleagues. The company builds a CIA database system called Oracle, and Oracle V2 debuts in 1979.
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2014–2025
From CEO to CTO
He ends his CEO tenure in 2014 after leading Oracle since its founding; by 2025, he is the company's chairman and CTO.
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January 2025
Stargate data centers
At the January 2025 Stargate announcement, he says Oracle has worked with OpenAI and reports that the first data centers are under construction in Texas.
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August 2026
TIME100 AI Leaders
TIME includes him among the Leaders on its 2026 TIME100 AI list and identifies him as Oracle's Executive Chairman and CTO.
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As of October 2026
Oracle executive chair and CTO
As of October 2026, he is Oracle's Executive Chair of the Board and Chief Technology Officer.
Sources and credits
Photo: Oracle PR Hartmann Studios, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.
- Larry Ellison: From College Dropout to Billionaire Oracle Founder
- Ellison, Larry | Encyclopedia.com
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- TIME names 100 most influential people in AI for 2026
- Larry Ellison steps back from the Oracle spotlight as the AI pivot takes over
- Larry Ellison Cancels His Plan to Sell Oracle Stock