
The Indian Who Helped Build Silicon Valley
From Grand Tamasha by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
April 22, 2026 · 60 min · Season 15 · Episode 13
About this episode
Kanwal Rekhi discusses his journey from India to becoming a key figure in Silicon Valley and the Indian diaspora.
Kanwal Rekhi was the first Indian-American founder & CEO to take a venture-backed company public on the NASDAQ. He also co-founded and built The Indus Entrepreneurs—or TiE—into the largest global network of Indian entrepreneurs. He writes about his life in his new memoir, which traces his remarkable journey from a modest upbringing in India to becoming one of the most influential figures in the Indian diaspora in the United States. Kanwal joins Milan to discuss his lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, his modest upbringing and challenging early family life, and his role in building the modern Internet.
People in this episode
Guest: Kanwal Rekhi
Topics covered
- entrepreneurship
- Indian diaspora
- Silicon Valley
- memoir
Keywords
- venture-backed
- The Indus Entrepreneurs
- TiE
- NASDAQ
- Internet
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Silicon Valley, India, the United States
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