Gururaj Deshpande | |
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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]
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.
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]
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]
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]