Who Is Sabeer Bhatia? Meet Millionaire Co-Founded Hotmail, Sold It To Bill Gates For Rs. 3300 Crores

Sabeer Bhatia is one of the most influential entrepreneurs of the late 90s and is considered one of the biggest names in the technological space. Currently, he is in the news headlines for his remarks on Aadhaar Card. During his appearance on Prakhar Gupta's podcast, Prakhar Ke Pravachan, Sabeer Bhatia opened up about his views on the way the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDA) launched the Aadhar Card that reportedly cost 1.3 billion USD (Rs. 11,385 crore) to the Indian government. The tech entrepreneur said he would've built it in just 20 million USD (Rs. 136 crore).

Who is Sabeer Bhatia? Meet tech-entrepreneur, who co-founded Hotmail and sold it to Bill Gates for Rs. 3300 crores 

Sabeer Bhatia added that video and voice print technology would've been better than taking biometrics. The tech millionaire's views on the Aadhar Card are creating a lot of noise on social media at the moment. While some people liked his statement, there's a section on the internet which isn't too impressed with the technologist.

Amidst all the buzz around his comments on Aadhar Card and UIDA, it's fair to say that Sabeer Bhatia is once again all over the headlines, and it reminded industry experts of how he became a star overnight after cracking a multi-million dollar deal with Bill Gates. So, without further ado, let's talk about the genius of Sabeer Bhatia, whose inspiring story needs to be heard by every youngster in this country.

Sabeer Bhatia was born on December 30, 1968, in Chandigarh, into a Sindhi-Hindu cultured family. According to multiple reports, Sabeer's father, Baldev Bhatia, was an officer in the Indian Army and later served in the Ministry of Defence. Sabeer's mother, Daman Bhatia, was a respectful senior officer at the Central Bank of India. The tech entrepreneur completed his schooling at St. Joseph's Boys' High School in Bengaluru. For the graduation degree, Sabeer took admission to the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani.

Due to his impressive academic performance for two years, Sabeer Bhatia got a scholarship that transferred him to Caltech (California Institute of Technology). It was a huge feat in his life, and he utilised it to the fullest. Sabeer went to Caltech and completed the rest of his graduation there. After this, he took admission to the prestigious Stanford University in 1989 to pursue an M.S. degree in electrical engineering. During his time at Stanford, Sabeer worked on Ultra Low Power VLSI Design. After completing his master's, he joined Apple and worked there for one year.

After working at Apple and Firepower Sytems for some time, it was on July 4, 1996, when Sabeer Bhatia joined hands with his friend, Jack Smith and founded Hotmail. The duo launched it on America's Independence Day to symbolise that with the entry of their product, Hotmail, people could now seek freedom from ISP-based e-mail. Hotmail made it possible for users to access a user's inbox from anywhere in the world. It was a masterstroke and a big move in the world of technology. Within the first 3 months of its launch, Hotmail had 3 lakh subscribers. 

Here's why Sabeer Bhatia sold Hotmail to Microsoft's Bill Gates for Rs. 3300 crores after just over 18 months of its gigantic success

In an interview with Raj Shamani on his YouTube podcast, Sabeer Bhatia talked about his iconic deal with Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates, back in 1998. For the uninitiated, after running Hotmail for over 18 months, Bill Gates approached Sabeer and told him that he would like to buy Hotmail. Sabeer accepted his offer and sold Hotmail to Bill Gates for a jaw-dropping amount of Rs. 3300 crores. In a conversation with Raj Shamani, Sabeer revealed why he sold his brainchild, Hotmail, which has now been turned into Outlook. He said:

"Us samay bilkul paisey nahin bann rahe the. 1-2 VCs support kar rahe the par VCs kabhi bhi support kam kar sakte the. Aur agar hum Hotmail unko nahin bechte toh vo apni service shuru kardete. Ab aap he soch lijiye ki aapko thode paisey kamane hain aur Microsoft ke saath partner karna hain ya unke against compete karna hain. I was 29, 400 million isn’t a bad chunk of change."

What did Sabeer Bhatia do after selling Hotmail to Bill Gates and receiving Rs. 3300 crores?

In the same conversation with Raj Shamani, Sabeer Bhatia also revealed that he purchased a lot of expensive cars, invested in real estate, and fulfilled most of his materialistic desires. The millionaire revealed that he purchased a penthouse, a yacht, a Ferrari, a BMW, a Porsche, and so many expensive toys like these with the money he earned after selling Hotmail. He admitted that he felt 'invincible' at that time with that lot of money but immediately stated that it was the wrong approach. The millionaire admitted that he got a high from buying such super-expensive things, but the joy didn't last long.

After ending his journey with Hotmail, Sabeer Bhatia launched a messaging service, JaxtrSMS and an e-commerce firm called Arzoo Inc. In the year 2021, Sabeer once again created a buzz in the market by co-founding ShowReel, which is an AI-generated powered learning platform. However, it's fair to say that none of these touched the heights he achieved with Hotmail. However, he continues to lead headlines and inspire people with his take on technology.

What are your thoughts on Sabeer Bhatia's journey from co-founding Hotmail to selling it after just 18 months for Rs. 3300 crores? Let us know.

Also Read: Sabyasachi Mukherjee: From Washing Dishes In Goa To Making Global Brand Worth Rs. 500 Crores

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