Gururaj Deshpande
Gururaj Deshpande | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | IIT Madras Queen's University |
| Occupation(s) | Chairman of Sycamore Networks, A123 Systems, Tejas Networks |
| Spouse | Jayshree Deshpande |
| Website | sycamorenet.com |
Gururaj Deshpande ("Desh" Deshpande) is an Indian American venture capitalist and entrepreneur, who is best known for co-founding the Chelmsford, MA-based internet equipment manufacturer Sycamore Networks,[1] the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT and the Deshpande Foundation.[2]
Presently,[when?] Deshpande is the Chairman of A123Systems, Sycamore Networks, Tejas Networks, HiveFire, Sandstone Capital, Sparta Group,[3] and sits on the Board of Airvana.[1][4]
Deshpande is a life member of the MIT Corporation, the Board of Trustees of MIT,[5] and sits on the board of the MIT School of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council (DAC).[6]
Early life and education
[edit]Gururaj Deshpande was born in Hubli, Karnataka in India. His father was a labor commissioner with the Indian government.[7]
He graduated with a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He completed his PhD in Data Communications from Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada and a Master of Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Career
[edit]Deshpande started his career at Codex Corporation, a Motorola subsidiary located in Ontario, Canada which manufactured modems, before moving to the U.S. in 1984. Later, he co-founded Coral Networks, a router developer. He left the company prior to its sale in 1993 to SynOptics. He sold the company for $15 million.[8]
Deshpande knew Peter Brackett PhD, a professor of electrical engineering at Queen's university in Ontario for a few years in between industry positions. Brackett offered Deshpande a job at Codex. Brackett also sponsored him for Canadian residency.[9]
In 1990, Deshpande co-founded Cascade Communications, whose products were important in routing the early internet, initially as its president and later executive vice president; he hired Dan Smith as CEO. He sold Cascade to Ascend Communications for $3.7 billion in 1997.[4]
Subsequently, with the help of MIT researchers, he launched Sycamore Networks in 1998. Sycamore Networks went public in October 1999, and raised a market cap of $18 billion. With his 21% shareholding in hand, this IPO made Deshpande one of the wealthiest self-made businessmen in the world. In 2000, he was featured on the Forbes 400 listing of Richest Americans.[10]
He is also chairman of A123Systems,[11] which manufactures high-power lithium-ion batteries, which went on NASDAQ in October 2009, and raised $438 million and trading at a 50% premium on the day of listing.[4]
In July 2010, Deshpande was appointed by President Barack Obama to co-chair the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.[3]
Philanthropy
[edit]Deshpande, along with his wife Jaishree, donated $20 million to launch the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation (DCTI) at MIT.[12]
In 2012, he founded the Dunin-Deshpande Queen's Innovation Centre at Queen's University. Its mission is to catalyze entrepreneurial mindsets and fostering a culture of innovation across Queen's University, the Kingston community, and globally. It encourages and supports entrepreneurial initiatives through incubators, workshops, programs, courses, and pitch competitions.[13]
Deshpande was the chairman of Akshaya Patra USA from 2008 to 2020.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Deshpande is married to Jaishree Deshpande née Kulkarni, who is the sister of Sudha Murthy (wife of Infosys founder Narayan Murthy) and Caltech astrophysicist Shrinivas Kulkarni. She is the co-founder of the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT. The couple have two children and live in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, US. They also maintain a residence in their native Hubli, India.[4][10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Board of Directors Sycamore Networks website.
- ^ MIT. "Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation".
- ^ a b "Locke Announces National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Members". United States Department of Commerce. 13 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d Venkatesha Babu (18 December 2009). "Gururaj Deshpande: The serial entrepreneur". Mint.
- ^ "Corporation Membership: Desh Deshpande HM". MIT Corporation website.
- ^ "MIT School of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council"; Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Engineering Dean's Advisory Council. Accessed Sept. 11, 2019.
- ^ "Gururaj Deshpande - The billionaire next door", OneIndia Jobs, as retrieved by the Wayback Machine on 17 March 2012.
- ^ network world, Dec 1993[vague]
- ^ Chennai36, courtesy The Philanthropy Roundtable, 4 Feb 2014, (http://chennai36.iitm.ac.in/innovation-for-the-real-world/)
- ^ a b "Deshpande, Gururaj, E. on Forbes 400". Forbes. 2000. Archived from the original on 14 August 2009.
- ^ "Board of Directors". A123Systems website. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ "MIT unveils new center supporting technological innovation in New England". Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation website. 3 January 2002.
- ^ "Dunin-Deshpande Queen's Innovation Center - Deshpande Foundation". 19 December 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ "Akshaya Patra USA | Unlimited Food for Education". Akshaya Patra Foundation USA. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.