John Hanke

John Hanke (born 1967) is an American technology executive. Following Google's acquisition of his company Keyhole, Hanke led Google's Geo product division, which includes Google Earth, Google Maps, StreetView, SketchUp, and Panoramio. Within Google, he founded and led an internal startup, Niantic Labs, which he spun out in 2015. He is currently the founder and executive chairman at Niantic Spatial.

Early life and startups Born in 1967, Hanke was raised in the small central Texas town of Cross Plains and graduated from Cross Plains High School in 1985.

After Niantic's games business was purchased by Scopely in 2025 for $3.85 billion total value to investors, he took the company's core platform technology and remaining team to form Niantic Spatial, a startup focused on utilizing geospatial AI. He transitioned out of his role as CEO in March 2026, remaining as executive chairman.