Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised the optimistic outlook of Indian-American entrepreneur Balaji S. Srinivasan regarding India's investment climate. This acknowledgment came in response to Srinivasan's recent post on why he is investing in India.
Balaji S. Srinivasan's response came after a social media user labelled him the 'biggest cheerleader of India who does not stay in India.' He countered the user by replying that being a 'cheerleader' doesn't require physical presence in a specific location for investment. He advocated for an international investment approach, highlighting the global search for top talent, with India standing out as a significant source of such talent.
Balaji S. Srinivasan, a prominent figure in Silicon Valley, is renowned for co-founding Counsyl, serving as CTO of Coinbase, and contributing as a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
Born on May 24, 1980, Balaji S. Srinivasan spent his early years on Long Island, New York. He holds a spectrum of degrees, including BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical Engineering, along with an MS in Chemical Engineering, all received from Stanford University.
In 2007, Balaji S. Srinivasan co-founded Counsyl, a genetic testing company eventually acquired for $375 million by Myriad Genetics in 2018. His move into venture capitalism led him to Andreessen Horowitz. Additionally, he played a role in the growth of 21e6, Earn.com, and later becoming part of Coinbase in 2018 as its inaugural CTO. His tenure with Coinbase ended in 2019.
In 2017, Balaji S. Srinivasan was under consideration to head the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) within the Donald Trump administration. Federal Drug Administration is a federal agency that regulates the drug and pharmaceutical sector in USA.
In 2021, Balaji S. Srinivasan, in collaboration with Naval Ravikant, invested in Koo, positioning it as India's microblogging competitor to X. Srinivasan has a substantial following of over 9.62 lakh on the platform X.
Balaji S. Srinivasan in July, 2022 released his book, "The Network State: How To Start a New Country." The book introduced the concept of a "network state," drawing inspiration from economist Albert O. Hirschman. The book delves into the dynamics of digital communities crowdfunding resources to establish autonomous cities and states.
While addressing an audience at a masterclass organised by Lightspeed Extreme Entrepreneurs, Balaji S. Srinivasan expressed his support for India. He said that pandemic had a transformative impact on India, propelling nearly 400 million people into the workforce during the global shift to remote work. He lauded this development as a catalyst, positioning India for the growth of billion-dollar businesses.
Balaji S. Srinivasan at the same event, also highlighted the cultural decline on the US East Coast, attributing it to a dystopian view of technology. In contrast, he said that in India, technology is proving to be a positive force by connecting a new generation of individuals to the online world, thereby contributing to their growth.