Sabeer Bhatia

{{Infobox person

| name = Sabeer Bhatia

| image = File:Sabeer-Bhatia.png

| alt=Sabeer Bhatia Founder Of Hotgirls

| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|30 December 1968}}{{cite news|last1=Bhatia|first1=Sabeer|title=Sabeer Bhatia downloaded|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/delhi-times/Sabeer-Bhatia-downloaded/articleshow/18682973.cms|access-date=11 April 2017|work=The Times of India|date=10 August 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100518111659/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/delhi-times/Sabeer-Bhatia-downloaded/articleshow/18682973.cms|archive-date=18 May 2010}}

| birth_place = Chandigarh,{{cite news|last1=Gibbs|first1=Samuel|title=The most powerful Indian technologists in Silicon Valley|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/11/powerful-indians-silicon-valley|access-date=11 April 2016|work=The Guardian|date=11 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411173500/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/11/powerful-indians-silicon-valley|archive-date=11 April 2016}} India

| nationality = Indian-American

| occupation = Entrepreneur

| known_for = Hotmail.com

| children = 3

| spouse = {{marriage|Tanya Sharma|2008|2013|reason=divorced}}

| website =

| alma_mater = {{plainlist|

}}

Sabeer Bhatia (born 30 December 1968){{cite news|last1=Bhatia|first1=Sabeer|title=Sabeer Bhatia downloaded|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/delhi-times/Sabeer-Bhatia-downloaded/articleshow/18682973.cms|access-date=11 April 2016|work=The Times of India|date=10 August 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100518111659/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/delhi-timdownloaded/articleshow/18682973.cms|archive-date=18 May 2010}} is an Indian American businessman who co-founded the first free web-based email service, Hotmail.com (now Outlook.com) in 1996.{{Cite web|url=http://www.its.caltech.edu/~e106/bios/bhatia.htm|title=Sabeer Bhatia bio|website=its.caltech.edu|access-date=2018-12-11}} In 2021 he co-founded ShowReel with Javed Yunus. ShowReel initially hosted short videos for job seekers and founders. It has since turned into an AI-based entrepreneurship course.{{Cite news |last=Rajan |first=Jessica |date=2023-10-20 |title=Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia's Showreel to become AI-based learning platform |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/hotmail-cofounder-sabeer-bhatias-showreel-to-become-ai-based-learning-platform/articleshow/104573623.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-08-23 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}

Early life and education

Bhatia was born in Chandigarh on December 30th, 1968, to Baldev Bhatia and Daman Bhatia. His father was a captain in the Indian Army, and his mother was working at the Central Bank of India.{{cite news |title=Sabeer Bhatia downloaded |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/delhi-times/sabeer-bhatia-downloaded/articleshow/18682973.cms |work=The Times of India |date=10 August 2002}}

Bhatia studied at The Bishop's School, Pune. He then studied at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Bengaluru, and St. Joseph's Pre-University College, Bengaluru. In 1985, he enrolled at BITS Pilani, where he studied for two years before earning a highly competitive transfer scholarship to the California Institute of Technology to complete his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He then attended Stanford University, where he obtained his master’s degree in electrical engineering.{{cite web |last1=Partners |first1=LCR Capital |title=Immigrant Profile: Sabeer Bhatia {{!}} LCR Capital Immigrant Stories |url=https://www.lcrcapital.com/blog/immigrant-profile-sabeer-bhatia/ |website=LCR Capital Partners |date=28 June 2019}}

Career

Bhatia briefly worked for Apple Inc, as a hardware engineer{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjbTqXCUEK4 |title=The Story Of Hotmail, Rich Lifestyle, Microsoft, Apple & Elon Musk -Sabeer Bhatia {{!}}FO242 Raj Shamani |date=2024-08-20 |last=Raj Shamani |access-date=2024-08-26 |via=YouTube}} and Firepower Systems Inc. He, along with his colleague Jack Smith, set up Hotmail on 4 July 1996, American Independence Day, symbolizing "freedom" from ISP-based e-mail and the ability to access a user's inbox from anywhere in the world.{{Cite web |title=Sabeer Bhatiya : The founder of "Hotmail.com" |url=http://4to40.com/legends/print.asp?id=131 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210043942/http://4to40.com/legends/print.asp?id=131 |archive-date=February 10, 2007 |access-date=June 11, 2022 |publisher=4to40.com}}

As president and CEO, Bhatia led Hotmail until its eventual acquisition by Microsoft in 1998 for an estimated $400 million.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Bhatia started a free messaging service called JaxtrSMS. He said that JaxtrSMS would do to SMS what Hotmail did for e-mail. Claiming it to be a disruptive technology, he says that the operators will lose revenue on the reduced number of SMSes on their network but will benefit from the data plan that the user has to buy.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jPy2cfze1jjm2uZialXZlYEm33hA?docId=CNG.9bdd1d5b82f023fa74048f611ee23327.801 |title=AFP: Hotmail co-founder launches free SMS service |access-date=23 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125004357/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jPy2cfze1jjm2uZialXZlYEm33hA?docId=CNG.9bdd1d5b82f023fa74048f611ee23327.801 |archive-date=25 November 2011 }} To date, JaxtrSMS service has failed to replicate the success of Hotmail.

In 2006, Sabeer proposed the construction of "Nano City", a city that would be similar to Silicon Valley in northern India.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120603130650/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-02-02/chandigarh/28119419_1_land-acquisition-nano-city-acres Nano City on lines of Silicon Valley in Haryana – Times Of India] It was approved by the state government of Haryana in September. By 2010, no progress had been made; the project was cancelled by the HSIIDC later that year.[https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/3-yrs-on-sabeer-bhatia-s-project-a-nonstar/ 3 yrs on, Sabeer Bhatia’s project a non-starter] Indian Express, 11 May 2010[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nano-city-project-called-off/643290/ Nano City project called off] Indian Express, 7 July 2010

Recently{{When|date=December 2016}}, he invested in email collaboration software, ccZen and another e-commerce technology provider E-junkie.

Personal life

Bhatia is of Sindhi heritage.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tarun-sakhrani/the-sindhis-of-sindh_b_8894284.html|title=The Sindhis of Sindh And Beyond|work=HuffPost|date=4 January 2016|access-date=9 August 2016|first=Tarun|last=Sakhrani}}{{cite web|url=http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu/docs/Joyojeet_Pal.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413153631/http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu/docs/Joyojeet_Pal.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 April 2016|title=Computers and the Promise of Development: Aspiration, Neoliberalism and 'Technolity' in India's ICTD enterprise|work=University of California at Berkeley|first=Joyojeet|last=Pal|date=30 May 2008|access-date=9 August 2016}}

Bhatia married Tanya Sharma in 2008 and they have a daughter Ariana. Later, they filed for divorce in January 2013 in a court in San Francisco, citing "irreconcilable differences".{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spotlight/splitsville-for-sabeer-bhatia-and-wife/articleshow/20678657.cms|title=Splitsville for Sabeer Bhatia and wife|newspaper=The Times of India |date=20 June 2013 }}

Sabeer Bhatia

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading