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John Hanke is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Niantic Labs, the gaming company behind Pokémon Go. Before Niantic Labs, Hanke was an innovator at Google, recognized after one of his start-ups, Keyhole, a geospatial data company, was discovered. In 2004, Google Acquired Keyhole. The same year, Hanke joined Google and assisted in developing Google Earth and Google Maps. In 2011, Hanke developed Niantic Labs.
Hanke earned his Bachelor's degree in 1989 from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from UC Berkeley in 1996. His professional experience includes US State Department Foreign Service in Burma, cofounding three tech start-ups (Archetype Interactive, Big Network, and Keyhole), and founding Niantic.
On July 6, 2016, Niantic Labs launched Pokémon Go. The company is now valued at over $3 billion. Niantic Labs also developed Harry Potter: Wizards Unite during his time at Google.
