Neither a billionaire entrepreneur nor a powerful top tech executive, but Rajeev Motwani left an incredible stamp on the rise of today’s world by mentoring two geniuses who went on to create one of most essential tools used by all of us today: the Google search engine. Motwani was the classmate of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan during his school days before becoming a distinguished IIT alumnus, a decorated academic and an angel investor before his untimely demise.
Born in Jammu, Motwani was raised in New Delhi and went to the St Columba’s School, that same school that counts the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, popular politician Rahul Gandhi and Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud among its distinguished alumni. As per one of his acquaintances, he had great admiration for the actor and would say, “That guy (Shah Rukh) is brilliant and will be the No.1 in anything he takes up.”
After schooling, Motwani landed a seat at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, from where he graduated in computer science. He then went to the US for further education and earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the Indian professor called the brain behind Google. Motwani was the “unofficial mentor” of Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page in the early stages. From helping them in building the technology to finding financial support, he was crucial. Sergey Brin called him his “friend and teacher”. “... his legacy and personality lives on in the students, projects, and companies he has touched. Today, whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it,” the billionaire Google founder had added.
Apart from Google, Motwani also sat on boards of companies like Kaboodle, Mimosa Systems, Baynote, Adchemy, NeoPath Networks and Vuclip. The Stanford University professor was also a special advisor to Sequoia Capital. He won the Godel Prize in 2001. Motwani’s promising career and life was cut short when he tragically passed away due to “accidental drowning” in his home in 2009, leaving behind his wife Asha Jadeja Motwani and daughters Naitri and Anya. He was just 47 years old at the time.
