Kavitark Ram Shriram (born 1956/57) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is a founding board member and one of the first investors in Google.[2][3] He worked earlier in Amazon. Shriram came to Amazon.com in August 1998, when the company acquired Junglee, an online comparison shopping firm of which Shriram was president. Before Junglee and Amazon, Shriram was a member of the Netscape executive team, joining them in 1994, before they shipped products or posted revenue.[3]
Ram Shriram | |
|---|---|
 Shriram (2021) | |
| Born | 1956 or 1957 (age 67–68)[1] Madras, India |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | University of Madras |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Vijay Shriram |
| Children | 2 |
According to Forbes, as of September 2020, his net worth was $2.3 billion.[4]
Early life
editShriram holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Loyola College, Chennai, University of Madras.[1][5]
Career
editShriram started his career with Bell-Northern Research.[6]
In 1994, he became a vice president of Netscape.[6] Later, he also served as a president of Junglee.[6]
Shriram started Sherpalo, a venture capital firm that invests in promising new disruptive technologies, in January 2000.[6]
In 2020, Ram Shriram was selected for the Ellis Island medal of honor.[7]
Philanthropy
editShriram and his wife have donated funds through education-focused Dhanam Foundation.[6] They have funded Shriram Family Professorship in Science Education and the Shriram Family Fellowship in Science Education at Stanford Graduate School of Education.[6][8] They have also funded $57 million to establish Shriram Center for Bioengineering & Chemical Engineering at Stanford University.[6]
In 2014, the Shriram along with his wife donated $61 million to the newly established Stanford Department of Bioengineering.[9]
Personal life
editHe is married to Vijay Shriram.[6] They have two daughters, Jhanvi and Ketaki, graduates of Stanford University and founders of Palo Alto–based AI startup Krikey.[10][1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Forbes profile: Kavitark Ram Shriram". Forbes. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ "Future of Internet is bright in India". NDTV. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ a b "2 Indians in Forbes' richest Americans list". rediff. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ "The Forbes 400 2020: The Richest People in America". www.forbes.com. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ "ALPHABET INC. - DEF 14 A". www.sec.gov.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Ram and Vijay Shriram". Inside Philanthropy. 30 May 2022.
- ^ Reporter, India-West Staff. "Prominent Indian Americans Ram Shriram, Chandrika Tandon Named Ellis Island Medal Recipients". India West. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ Stanford, © Stanford University; Notice, California 94305 Copyright Complaints Trademark (9 June 2014). "Bioengineering and chemical engineering building at Stanford named for gifts from Ram and Vijay Shriram". Stanford University.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Stanford, © Stanford University; Notice, California 94305 Copyright Complaints Trademark (9 June 2014). "Bioengineering and chemical engineering building at Stanford named for gifts from Ram and Vijay Shriram". Stanford University. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Tan, Andrew (22 April 2019). "Post-Stanford, sisters found augmented reality startup". stanforddaily.com. The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 25 February 2023.