Jerry Yang is a famous American businessman and computer expert. He was born in Taiwan. He is best known for being one of the people who started Yahoo! Inc., a very important internet company. Jerry Yang is also a founding partner at AME Cloud Ventures, a company that invests in new technology businesses. As of July 2025, he is a billionaire.

Early Life and School
Starting a Career in Tech
Personal Life
Giving Back
See also

Early Life and School

Jerry Yang was born in Taipei, Taiwan, on November 6, 1968. His father passed away when Jerry was two years old. His mother was a professor who taught English and drama. Jerry has a younger brother named Ken.

In 1978, when Jerry was 10, his family moved to San Jose, California, in the United States. His grandmother and other family members helped take care of the boys. His mother taught English to other people who had recently moved to the US. When Jerry first arrived in America, he only knew one English word: "shoe." But he learned to speak English very well in about three years.

Jerry went to Ruskin Elementary School, Sierramont Middle School, and Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose. After high school, he went to Stanford University. He earned two degrees in electrical engineering in just four years. At Stanford, he met David Filo in 1989. In 1992, Jerry and David went to Japan for a six-month exchange program. There, Jerry met Akiko Yamazaki, who would later become his wife. She was also part of the exchange program.

Starting a Career in Tech

Jerry Yang started Yahoo! in 1994. He was the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Yahoo! from 2007 to 2009. He left Yahoo! in 2012. After that, he started his own company called AME Cloud Ventures. This company invests in new technology businesses. Jerry Yang also serves on the boards of several other companies. Many people in the tech world see him as a very important person who helped shape the internet.

The Yahoo! Story

While Jerry Yang and David Filo were studying at Stanford in 1994, they created an internet website. They called it "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web." It was like a directory that helped people find other websites. The website quickly became very popular. They soon changed its name to "Yahoo! Inc.." By the fall of 1994, Yahoo! had about 100,000 different visitors.

In April 1995, Yahoo! received a large investment of $2 million from a company called Sequoia Capital. Tim Koogle was hired as the CEO, and Jerry Yang and David Filo were both given the title "Chief Yahoo." Yahoo! received more funding later in 1995. In April 1996, Yahoo! became a public company, meaning its shares could be bought and sold on the stock market. At that time, it had 49 employees.

In 1999, Jerry Yang was recognized as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35 by MIT's Technology Review. Later, Terry Semel became CEO of Yahoo! in 2001. In 2007, Jerry Yang became the interim CEO.

Yahoo! and Alibaba

Jerry Yang met Alibaba founder Jack Ma in 1997 during his first trip to China. Jack Ma, who was a tour guide and former English teacher, showed Jerry around the Great Wall of China. They became friends and talked a lot about how the internet was growing. Jack Ma started Alibaba a few months later. A photo of Jerry and Jack at the Great Wall is still displayed in Alibaba's office in Hangzhou.

In 2005, Yahoo! bought a 40% share in Alibaba. This deal was worth $1 billion, plus Yahoo! China's assets, which were valued at $700 million. In 2012, Yahoo! sold some of its shares in Alibaba for $7.6 billion. The company made even more money, $9.4 billion, when Alibaba had its first public stock sale (IPO) in 2014. Many experts say that Yahoo!'s investment in Alibaba was one of the best investments an American company has ever made in China. They give Jerry Yang a lot of credit for this smart move.

Challenges in China

In 2005, Yahoo! faced criticism for cooperating with Chinese authorities. This cooperation led to the arrest of a Chinese journalist named Shi Tao in 2004. Shi Tao had used a Yahoo email address to share information with a pro-democracy website in the US. Yahoo! provided information that helped the Chinese authorities. Shi Tao was later found guilty of "divulging state secrets abroad."

Jerry Yang explained that companies doing business in China, or anywhere else, must follow local laws. However, Yahoo! and Yang were strongly criticized by groups like Reporters Without Borders.

In 2007, Jerry Yang spoke to a committee in the US Congress about Yahoo!'s role in the arrests of journalists in China. During the hearing, he apologized to Shi Tao's mother, who was also present. A week later, Yahoo! reached an agreement with the affected Chinese individuals and paid them compensation. Jerry Yang also created the Yahoo! Human Rights Fund. This fund helps provide support to people who speak out online.

Microsoft's Offer

In February 2008, Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo! for $44.6 billion. At that time, Yahoo! was trying to catch up to Google. Microsoft was looking for a better internet search strategy. The talks were difficult because Jerry Yang did not want to sell Yahoo!. The negotiations ended without a deal in May 2008. After this, Yahoo!'s stock price dropped. Jerry Yang and the company's board were criticized by investors for how they handled the talks.

Leaving Yahoo!

On November 17, 2008, it was announced that Jerry Yang would step down as CEO once a replacement was found. He remained CEO until 2009, when Carol Bartz took over. He went back to his previous role as "Chief Yahoo" and stayed on Yahoo!'s board of directors.

In January 2012, Yahoo! announced that Jerry Yang was leaving the company. He resigned from the board and all other positions at Yahoo!, Yahoo! Japan, and Alibaba Corp.

AME Cloud Ventures

After leaving Yahoo!, Jerry Yang became a mentor to new technology companies and an investor through his own firm, AME Cloud Ventures. The name "Ame" means "rain" in Japanese, which is a nod to his interest in cloud computing. AME Cloud Ventures mainly invests in companies that work with data. It has provided funding to more than 50 startups. Some of these include Evernote, Wattpad, Wish, and Zoom.

Board Positions

Jerry Yang has served on the boards of many important companies and organizations:

Yahoo! (1995–2012)
Cisco (2000–2012)
Alibaba Group (2006–2012; 2014–present)
Stanford University Board of Trustees (2005–2015; 2017–present); he was Chair from 2021 to 2025.
Workday, Inc. (2013–present)
Lenovo Group Limited (2013–2023)

Personal Life

Jerry Yang is married to Akiko Yamazaki. She was born in Japan and grew up in Costa Rica. They met in 1992 during a Stanford exchange program. Akiko also graduated from Stanford University. She works as a director with the Wildlife Conservation Network, which helps protect animals. Jerry Yang and his family live in Los Altos Hills, California.

Giving Back

Jerry Yang and his wife, Akiko Yamazaki, are very generous.

In February 2007, they gave $75 million to Stanford University, their old school. $50 million of this money was used to build the "Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building." This building is designed to be very energy efficient and is used for research, teaching, and labs.
In 2012 and 2013, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco showed some pieces from Jerry and Akiko's collection of Chinese calligraphy (beautiful Chinese writing). They started collecting these artworks in the late 1990s and have about 250 pieces.
In September 2017, Jerry and Akiko promised $25 million to the Asian Art Museum. This was the largest donation in the museum's history. A new part of the museum, named after them, opened in 2020.
In 2018, they loaned more than 50 Chinese ink paintings to Stanford's Cantor Arts Center for an exhibition called "Ink Worlds."
In 2020, Jerry Yang was featured in "Asian Americans," a TV series on PBS about Asian American history.
In 2021, he helped start The Asian American Foundation. This organization has $250 million to help fight racism against Asian Americans and provide services to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Jerry Yang is on the board of this foundation.
In 2023, Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki received an award at the Asia Game Changer Awards for their positive impact.

Jerry Yang facts for kids

Contents