Kris Gopalakrishnan was one of the seven people who laid one of the foundation stones of the multibillion dollar Indian IIT industry years ago in 1981. The company they founded eventually became IT giant Infosys. It today has a market cap in excess of Rs 599000 crore and some of its co-founders like NR Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani have gone on to become famous tech visionaries.
A Master of Science from IIT Madras, Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan had once revealed how Infosys was just a “one-room office” during the early days of struggle. The co-founders lived hand-to-mouth for around a decade when building their business. Gopalakrishnan had revealed how whoever came first or had customer meetings got the office space and the rest of the co-founders had to hang around outside as there was not enough space to sit.
Gopalakrishnan retired from Infosys back in 2014 after holding various significant positions over the years including that of the company CEO and Vice Chairman. He has been an active investor since then and has backed several startup businesses. Gopalakrishnan founded a business incubator firm called Axilor Ventures.
Gopalakrishnan has actively given money to fund research in educational institutions including his alma mater IIT Madras. Gopalakrishnan has contributed at least Rs 752 crore to various institutions like IIT and IISc in major grants. One of the major focus areas in his philanthropy is brain research.
Kris Gopalakrishnan’s successful journey as the founder of one of the most successful companies in India made him one of the richest alumni of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The 68-year-old self-made businessman commands a net worth of $3.2 billion (Rs 26,471 crore).
