Andrew McLaughlin is Chief Operating Officer at SandboxAQ.
A 2022 spin-out from Google, SandboxAQ combines AI Large Quantitative Models (LQMs) and deep expertise in physics, biology, and chemistry to address challenging problems in a range of areas, including life sciences and healthcare (drug development and medical diagnostic devices), materials science and manufacturing (rapid prototyping of new materials and chemicals), magnetic navigation (GPS-free geolocation using quantum sensors), and cybersecurity (e.g., post-quantum cryptography and critical infrastructure protection).
Andrew is a co-founder and partner at Higher Ground Labs, a startup accelerator and venture investor that backs and builds for-profit startups that strengthen democratic institutions and help pro-democracy candidates win election campaigns and policy fights. Since 2017, HGL has seed-invested in more than 65 startups, led numerous Series A rounds and follow-on financings, and accelerated portfolio growth, scaling, revenue, and product development. In 2023, HGL launched a pioneering AI Lab, focusing on marshaling AI to bolster democracy and the rule of law.
From 2019 to 2023, Andrew McLaughlin served as founding President & COO of Assembly OSM, a fast-growing, venture-backed startup working to transform the way we construct urban buildings. Using advanced digital design and an innovative manufacturing-based direct-to-fabrication-and-assembly delivery system, Assembly is building greener, higher-quality, more affordable high-rise housing in dramatically less time than conventional construction. Andrew continues as an advisor to Assembly OSM.
Andrew is a venture partner at betaworks, a technology and media startup studio and venture investor based in NYC.
Board, Public Service, Volunteer, and Academic Roles
Andrew is a member of the board of directors of Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native company that provides engineering, design, and innovation services to clients like Google, Electronic Arts, Santander, Novartis, Autodesk, and FIFA. With approximately 30,000 employees across 25 countries, Globant helps organizations reinvent themselves through its deep and capable Studio Networks.
Andrew is a member of the board of directors and the executive committee of the Starknet Foundation. Starknet is a permissionless, decentralized Layer 2 (L2) Validity Rollup intended to scale Ethereum while retaining Ethereum’s security and decentralization.
He co-chairs the board of Access Now, a global nonprofit devoted to defending and extending the digital rights of activists, journalists, and citizens at risk around the world.
Andrew has been a Future Tense Fellow at the New America Foundation; an advisor to Data & Society, a research institute focused on social, cultural, and ethical issues arising from data-centric technological development; and a member of the Advisory Council of the Open Technology Fund. He is also a member of the Digital Strategy Committee of the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Community Advisory Council, and New York Public Radio’s Digital Task Force.
Andrew is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Steering Committee for the Transatlantic Digital Debates, a fellowship program of GPPi and the New America Foundation.
Prior Professional Roles
In 2017–2018, Andrew was the founding executive director of the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale, a university-wide initiative to support students across disciplines to tackle real-world problems in innovative ways.
As a full partner at betaworks from 2012 to 2016, Andrew was an operator, company and product builder, business strategist, and early-stage tech investor. He served as CEO of two betaworks companies, Digg and Instapaper, and in 2016 worked at Medium, leading teams across corporate development, new business initiatives, editorial, outreach, and enterprise services.
From 2012 to 2019, Andrew served on the board of Chartbeat, a real-time data analytics service. From 2011 to 2012, he was EVP of Tumblr, leading international, community, outreach, editorial, marketing, and support teams.
From 2009 to 2011, Andrew served as Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States on President Obama's senior White House staff. He advised on Internet, technology, and innovation policy, covering areas such as open government, cybersecurity, privacy, spectrum policy, entrepreneurship, and open technology platforms.
From 2003 to 2009, Andrew was Google’s first Head of Global Public Policy, addressing issues like freedom of expression, censorship, surveillance, privacy, and online child protection. He established and managed a 50-person worldwide team and co-led Google’s Africa strategy and operations.
From 1999 to 2003, Andrew helped launch and manage ICANN, the Internet's technical coordinating organization, serving as Vice President, Chief Policy Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. Earlier, Andrew was a lawyer at Jenner & Block, focusing on appellate and constitutional litigation, including the landmark Supreme Court case Reno v. ACLU.
Prior Board, Public Service, and Volunteer Roles
From 2018 to 2022, Andrew was on the board of the Electric Coin Company, which develops technology for Zcash, a decentralized, privacy-protective digital currency. He served on the Obama-Biden and Biden-Harris presidential transition teams, focusing on technology, innovation, and cybersecurity appointments.
He has served on the boards of Code for America, the Sunlight Foundation, and Public Knowledge, as well as on the Commission on Innovation of the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Prior Academic Roles
In 2011–2012, Andrew was a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, teaching a course on "Freedom of Speech in a Digitally Interconnected World." He was also a non-resident fellow at Stanford Law's Center for Internet & Society and at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy.
From 2014 to 2015, he was a senior fellow in cybersecurity and Internet governance at Columbia University. From 1998 to 2005, Andrew was a Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, teaching and working on Internet and telecom law reform projects globally.
Recognitions
In 2000, *Time Magazine* named Andrew one of its "Digital Dozen" for the new century. In 2001, he was named a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. He is also a fellow of the Young Leaders Forum of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Education
Andrew holds a B.A. in history from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
