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Shiv Nadar
HCL Technologies · Moolaipozhi, Tamil Nadu
Six friends, ₹187,000, and a dream of an Indian computer company in 1976 — when 'Made in India' meant nothing in tech. He out-innovated multinationals on home soil.
Engineering rigorReinventionPatron of the arts
Company
HCL Technologies
Journey
Moves that mattered.
- 1976Quit DCM Data Products with 6 friends to start HCL in a Delhi barsati.
- 1980Made India's first indigenous microcomputer — before IBM PC launched.
- 1991Pivoted from hardware to software services as economy opened.
- 2020Stepped down as chairman; HCL is now a $100B+ market-cap company.
Struggles
Hardware bets nearly killed the company twice. Globalisation forced a complete reinvention into services.
Family
Married to Kiran Nadar (art collector, founder of KNMA). One daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra — now HCLTech chairperson.
Related on Empire
Keep reading inside Empire.
Around the web
External references & backlinks.
- ↗wikipedia.orgShiv Nadar on Wikipedia
- ↗google.comHCL Technologies — official site
- ↗news.google.comShiv Nadar in the news
- ↗crunchbase.comHCL Technologies on Crunchbase
External links open in a new tab. Empire is not affiliated with these publishers.
The full story
Shiv Nadar, in 1 chapters.
- Ch 01
The story
Six friends, ₹187,000, and a dream of an Indian computer company in 1976 — when 'Made in India' meant nothing in tech. He out-innovated multinationals on home soil.
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