| Gururaj Deshpande ಗುರುರಾಜ್ ದೇಶಪಾಂಡೆ |
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|---|---|
| Born | Hubli, Karnataka, India |
| Residence | Chelmsford, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | USA |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Queen's University University of New Brunswick IIT Madras |
| Occupation | Chairman of Sycamore Networks, Sandstone Capital, A123 Systems, HiveFire, Tejas Networks |
| Net worth | US$7.6 billion (2010)[1] |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Spouse | Jayshree Deshpande |
| Website | |
| sycamorenet.com Deshpande foundation.org |
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Gururaj Deshpande (Kannada: ಗುರುರಾಜ್ ದೇಶಪಾಂಡೆ) ("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,[2] the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT and the Deshpande Foundation.[3]
Presently, Deshpande is the Chairman of A123Systems, Sycamore Networks, Tejas Networks, HiveFire, Sandstone Capital, Sparta Group,[4] and sits on the Board of Airvana.[2][5]
Deshpande is also a Life Member of the MIT Corporation, the Board of Trustees of MIT.[6]
In July 2010, Deshpande was appointed by President Barack Obama to the Co-Chairmanship of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a group established to support the US President's innovation strategy.[4][7]
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Born in Hubli, Karnataka, Deshpande was born to a Deshastha Brahmin family. His father was a labor commissioner with the Indian government.[8]
He graduated with a Bachelors of Technology in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He completed his Ph.D. in Data Communications from Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada.
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; in 1987, he sold the company for $15 million.[1]
In 1990, Deshpande co-founded Cascade Communications, whose products were important in routing the early internet, initially serving 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.[5]
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.[1]
In 2000, he founded telecom equipment company, Tejas Networks, along with US-based ASG-Omni in Bangalore.[9]
He is also Chairman of A123Systems,[10] which manufacturers 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.[5]
Desh, along with his wife Jayashree, donated $20 million to launch the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation (DCTI) at MIT.[11]
He is married to Jayashree 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[1][5]