Sabeer Bhatia

Pioneer of web-based e-mail

Sabeer Bhatia has done the unconventional ever since he decided to study abroad at the age of 19; two years into undergraduate education at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, he qualified for a transfer scholarship at Caltech, considered to be the world's most competitive scholarship. After graduating from Caltech in 1989, he pursued an MS in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University.

At the age of 27, Bhatia was no longer interested in working for others, and together with Smith, began chasing what many people in Silicon Valley deemed a “crazy idea” – a free e-mail service. They raised about $300,000 for their venture - Hotmail. Within a year, Hotmail had one million subscribers. So revolutionary was it that Microsoft bought it for $400 million after 18 months.

Did you know?

* He was rejected by 20 venture capitalists before Draper Fisher Juvetson bought his idea.

* The original spelling was HoTMaiL

Award

TR100 by the MIT, given to 100 young innovators who are expected to have the greatest impact on technology.

Qualifications

BTech, BITS Pilani

BSc(Honours) California Institute of Technology, US

MS Electrical Engineering (Stanford)