New Delhi: Sudha Murty is not only a successful businesswoman but also a prominent philanthropist who donates to charities and trusts. Her sister, Jaya Murthy’s husband Gururaj Deshpande is also engaged in social work. He is known for his business acumen and has made generous donations of Rs 208 crore.

He primarily donates to educational institutions and has recently established Deshpande Centre for Technological Innovation. Over the past few decades, Gururaj Deshpande has launched and sold several companies. 

Gururaj Deshpande’s background

Gururaj Deshpande has established several successful ventures in the business world. In the year 1993, he sold his first company Coral Networks for $15 million. Subsequently, he founded Cascade Communications in 1997 which was later sold for $3.7 billion. Presently, he is the Chairman of A123Systems, Sycamore Networks, Tejas Networks, HiveFire, Sandstone Capital, and Sparta Group. Additionally, he also serves as a board member in Airvana. 

Working for former US President

Gururaj Deshpande is considered a confidant of former US President Barack Obama. He was appointed as the co-chairman of the National Advisory Council of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in July 2010. This council was created to develop the innovation strategies. Through his organization, the Deshpande Foundation, he contributed significantly to farmers by construction over 5000 ponds across the country in the last five years.

Sycamore Networks

Gururaj Deshpande is associated with Sycamore Networks, a company based in Massachusetts, USA. The establishment specializes in the manufacturing of internet-related equipment. Additionally, Deshpande’s influence extends to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where the esteemed Deshpande Centre for Technological Innovation operates as a programme under his name. 

Research in Canada

Gururaj Deshpande was born in Hubli, Karnataka. His father serves as the Labour Commissioner in the Government of India. Deshpande graduated from IIT Madras and pursued his master’s degree and PhD from Canada. In the 1980s, Deshpande started his professional career at Codex Corporation, a subsidiary of Motorola.

Then, he laid the foundation of the manufacturing company Coral Network. He co-founded Sycamore Networks in association with an MIT researcher. He was also included in Forbes Magazine’s list of 400 Richest Americans.