Google's ‘Next Billion Users’ head Caesar Sengupta to leave in April

Caesar Sengupta, who has been leading Google’s efforts in payments and building products for the next generation of internet users, has resigned after about 15 years at the US search giant.

FILE PHOTO: Caesar Sengupta VP, Next Billion Users, briefing the New TEZ app, before the launch of the Google Digital Payment app at Taj Palace Hotel, in New Delhi, India on Monday, September 18, 2017. ( Photo by Sonu Mehta/ Hindustan Times) (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

Caesar Sengupta, who has been leading Google's efforts in payments and building products for the next generation of internet users, has resigned after about 15 years at the U.S. search giant.

Sengupta has been based in Singapore and most recently worked as vice president and general manager of payments and the Next Billion Users initiative at Google. After starting at Google in 2006, he worked on digital payment services and ChromeOS.

“After 15 years with Google, Caesar Sengupta has made a personal decision to leave the company and start something entrepreneurial outside of Google,” the company said in a statement. “Through his time at Google, Caesar has played a key role in starting, building and leading initiatives such as ChromeOS, Next Billion Users and Google Pay. We are excited to see what he builds next and wish him the best in his new journey.”

Sengupta said in a LinkedIn post Monday that he has “decided to venture out and start on a new mission.” He added he hasn't decided what he will start next, but he's “uncomfortably excited about the future.” His last day at Google is April 30.

In 2015, he began leading the Next Billion Users initiative to bring in new users around the world. Between 2015 and 2020, more than 1.5 billion people began using the internet for the first time. Another billion more are set to join them online by 2025, Sengupta wrote in a blog post.

The executive also led Google's strategic investments in startups including Indonesian ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek and India's Glance and Dunzo.

“I remain very positive about Google's future but it's time for me to see if I can ride without training wheels,” he wrote.