Steven Baker
About Steven Baker
Steven Baker started at Google in 2003 as an intern after earning a computer science degree at Cornell. SignalFire's team page describes him as a Google Fellow and former VP of Engineering. It says he was a Distinguished Engineer at Google, where he co-founded a large-scale open-domain question-answering system and led development of two major search ranking signals.
In 2015 he left Google with Srinivasan Venkatachary and Anand Shukla to found Laserlike. Baker was chief science officer. Laserlike built a mobile app that used machine learning to follow news and topics. Apple acquired the company in 2018, and the deal became public in March 2019. Baker joined Apple as a Distinguished Engineer in AI/ML, and the three founders went on to lead a search team at Apple.
Crunchbase still lists him as Distinguished Engineer in AI/ML at Apple, based in Palo Alto. A November 2022 AppleInsider report says the Laserlike founders left Apple to rejoin Google. Founders should check his current employer directly.
Crunchbase records one personal investment, one portfolio company and one exit. It lists no lead investments and no IPO exits. The investment is a Series A in TextRecruit, and Crunchbase also shows TextRecruit as his exit. The investment date and amount are not visible on the public page. He has no public record of a fund, syndicate or regular angel program.
TextRecruit is described on Crunchbase as a candidate and employee engagement platform that uses text, chat and AI to improve the hiring funnel. It is the only investment tied to his profile. No other AI investments are publicly documented.
Baker has not publicly stated a stage, sector, geography or check size. His one recorded round was a Series A. His technical background is in search ranking, question answering, natural language understanding and applied machine learning. That background is context only. It is not a stated investment thesis.
- TextRecruit: candidate and employee engagement platform using text, chat and AI for hiring. Crunchbase lists a Series A investment by Baker and records it as an exit. The date is not public.
- Laserlike (founded, not invested): news and topic discovery app he co-founded in 2015, acquired by Apple in 2018.
Investing activity
Steven Baker has made 1 investment according to Crunchbase across 1 portfolio company, and has seen 1 exit and founded 1 company.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Steven Baker
Is Steven Baker an active angel investor?
Public data shows very little activity. Crunchbase lists one investment, in TextRecruit, with no lead investments. Founders should not assume he invests regularly.
What is Steven Baker's check size?
No check size is public. Crunchbase does not show an amount for his investment.
What companies has Steven Baker founded?
He co-founded Laserlike in 2015 with two other former Google engineers and served as chief science officer. Apple acquired it in 2018.
What does Steven Baker know about AI and search?
He worked at Google from 2003 and became a Distinguished Engineer there. He later led Laserlike and then worked in AI/ML at Apple. His background covers search ranking, question answering and language understanding.
Where does Steven Baker work now?
Crunchbase lists Apple, where he joined in November 2018. A November 2022 AppleInsider report says he and fellow Laserlike founders left Apple to rejoin Google. Check his LinkedIn for his current role.
Where is Steven Baker based?
Crunchbase lists Palo Alto, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Is Steven Baker an angel investor?
Yes. Steven Baker invests personally as an angel and is Distinguished Engineer in AI/ML at Apple. Crunchbase counts 1 investment and 1 exit.
How can founders reach Steven Baker?
Founders on Lounge can see Steven Baker's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Steven Baker to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.