Hailing from a middle-class, partition-affected household, reaching the USA solely with eight {dollars} in his pocket, constructing a multi-billion greenback enterprise because the ‘Father of the Pentium Chips,’ Vinod Dham—an Indian-American engineer, entrepreneur, and enterprise capitalist—continues his fearless journey. In a dialog with Sudeshna Das, consulting editor at EFY, he shares the story of his life.
Born in Pune, Maharashtra, Vinod Dham comes from a partition-affected, middle-class household. His dad and mom shifted to India with three sons and one daughter from Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, to flee the post-partition disaster. Vinod was the fourth son, who was born in free India, in 1950.
Vinod’s father was a civilian within the Military, in-charge of the provision chains, reminiscent of spare components for military tools. His mom was a homemaker.
Vinod’s siblings have been additionally nicely established of their skilled life. His eldest brother did his MBA and was a banker in Delhi. He retired as GM at Union Financial institution of India. His second eldest brother was a doctor and retired as Air Marshal within the Indian Air Drive. He additionally served because the dean of the Armed Forces Medical School, Pune. Vinod’s third brother was an accountant and his sister had a grasp’s diploma.
Vinod mentions his mom as a giant inspiration. He explains how supportive his mom was in encouraging him to increased research within the USA even after the demise of his father. Vinod recollects asking her, “Would you like me to go?” She replied with out blinking, “You will need to go. It’s your future. It is going to ‘make’ you. I’ll handle. Don’t fear about me.” It was a robust message for Vinod. “She may have stopped me and I might have stopped in a second, however she didn’t,” he explains.
“My mom was the most important hero in the entire household in my thoughts. She was the glue that saved the household collectively, nurturing, loving, confidence-building, believed in religion and due to this fact taught us that and a few nice values which have come in useful all my life. Once I look again and attempt to decide an individual who has impressed my life, it invariably comes all the way down to my mother.”
—Vinod Dham
Trying again on the early years
Vinod recollects himself as a “fairly a fearless particular person” since his college days. His college was distant from residence, and he used to take a prepare to go to high school alongside together with his sister. He would invariably attempt to step into the prepare whereas it had already began transferring. He vividly remembers how fellow passengers saved him as soon as when he was virtually going to fall via the tracks. Maybe, that is a sign of his risk-taking nature. The identical nature led him to discover and attain new heights in life, be it within the type of transferring to a brand new nation with eight {dollars} in his pocket or taking the chance of main some big tasks.
Vinod Dham ranked sixth among the many High 25 Executives in computing business
Whereas describing his college days, Vinod recollects, “Not solely was I fearless, but additionally fairly outgoing and extrovert. I had the fame of a troublemaker. I bought into hassle fairly a couple of occasions with the principal—even for issues I had not performed. As soon as, any individual had put some black coal tar on some spots on a statue. It was a horrific factor and your entire college was shocked. I used to be not concerned in that exercise, however any individual talked about my identify because the offender. I couldn’t persuade my academics about my innocence, so I used to be compelled to apologise in entrance of the entire college for one thing which was performed by another person. I needed to even persuade my sister, who was a scholar of the identical college, about my innocence. This incident left a deep scar on my thoughts.”
This terrible expertise helped Vinod be taught one thing necessary for the remainder of his life. He took the lesson to be honest with any criticism made to him. He makes it some extent to evaluate a scenario fairly patiently and empathetically than being judgmental rapidly.
There may be an fascinating anecdote about Vinod’s choosing an engineering course after finishing his twelfth normal in CBSE in 1966. He narrates, “ I actually had little interest in engineering in any respect. I did nicely in my increased secondary CBSE examination and was excited about physics, as a result of again within the mid-60s, there was a variety of speak about area programmes.
Russia had despatched a cosmonaut into area in a spacecraft. America was making an attempt to take a step additional and land a person on the Moon. On weekends, I might go to Connaught Place (in New Delhi) and decide up previous books on physics, area science, and so forth, from the booksellers promoting on the ground of the hall between the inside and outer circles of Connaught Place. They used to promote these books at a worth as little as one rupee to 5 rupees. These have been the one books that I may afford to purchase then. Nevertheless, I developed my curiosity in physics by studying these books and enrolled in Delhi College to pursue commencement with Physics Honours. My brother, a doctor, satisfied me to grow to be an engineer as a result of he thought an engineering diploma would possibly lead me to a extra rewarding profession than a Physics Honours diploma. So, I grew to become an unintentional engineer. Trying again, I’m glad that I’m, as a result of I bought sure alternatives. I discovered my ardour in semiconductors, which can also be associated to physics. I got here to America and did my grasp’s diploma in strong state physics, which was mainly the physics of semiconductors. So, finally, I ended up doing what I wished to. Although itt took slightly little bit of a detour for me to get there.”
Given the delay within the determination to pursue an engineering diploma, solely a handful of schools have been out there for admission. Ultimately, Vinod bought admitted to the Delhi School of Engineering for a BE diploma in Electrical Engineering. “I felt fortunate to get admission in electrical engineering, however I didn’t notably care about electrical engineering. I didn’t discover the course fascinating as a result of there was not a lot physics to speak about. Nevertheless, within the fourth and last 12 months, the school determined to begin instructing electronics as an elective. Fortuitously, I used to be among the many thirty college students who have been chosen for this new course. A professor from Illinois got here to show electronics engineering, and topics reminiscent of communications, microwaves and associated stuff have been taught and I discovered them very fascinating. I totally loved these final two years of my faculty and actually discovered quite a bit,” Vinod explains.
“I feel entrepreneurship might be probably the most difficult job, as there are 9 hundred and ninety-nine causes for failure. When you nonetheless wish to succeed, you must be slightly bit loopy to do that. However when you succeed, it’s very exhilarating and rewarding. Upon getting tasted the fruits of entrepreneurial success, you’ll by no means return to being anyone however your personal boss, pursuing new concepts, and backing modern startups.”
—Vinod Dham
Being a part of an engineering institute, the place college students boasting a lot increased grades got here in from everywhere in the nation, Vinod felt misplaced within the preliminary days. On the finish of the primary 12 months, there was a typical examination for all the brand new college students to pick those that would qualify for a advantage scholarship. Vinod determined to not take that examination, for concern of not doing nicely.
Vinod says, “Subsequently, on the day of the examination, I made a decision to skip faculty. My father requested me why I used to be not going to school. I advised him I didn’t wish to embarrass myself as a result of the opposite college students have been anticipating very excessive scores. For the reason that examination was elective, he urged me to take it as there was no draw back. When the outcomes got here out, I used to be pleasantly shocked to outdo these I used to be afraid have been method forward of me. This helped construct my confidence sky-high. I felt I may climb the ladder of life as efficiently as anyone else. That was actually a recreation changer for me!”
Intel CEO Andy Grove with Vinod Dham who lead Intel to the highest together with his management on 486 and Pentium processors
Vinod broke the stereotype of a great scholar repeatedly all through his instructional life. For instance, he didn’t attend lessons that weren’t fascinating sufficient for him. He remembers one occasion the place his professor made a joke of him by saying, “Mr Dham, you’re early for the following class,” when Vinod tried to enter the category in direction of the tip.
Nevertheless, the affect of not attending lessons went far past the joke as Vinod needed to face the identical professor within the last examination. Regardless of all his solutions being right, he obtained poor marks. The professor defined that Vinod didn’t deserve good marks due to his poor attendance. He says, “See, I used to be not judged on advantage or data, I used to be judged based mostly on my lack of self-discipline for not attending lessons. So, this has caught with me and I truly use it as a lesson in my life.“
Quickly after finishing his engineering diploma in 1971, Vinod started his skilled journey. He mentions, “Consider it or not, not one of the large Indian firms like TCS or Wipro—or related multinationals like Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and Intel—providing 1000’s of jobs in electronics at this time, existed in India at the moment. The phrase startup didn’t even exist within the vocabulary of India. The few firms that existed on this sector have been both Philips, which was mainly promoting radios in India, or Televista, which used to make tv, or one or two related ones. So, I had just a few choices. Nevertheless, an invisible hand has at all times guided me in my life. In some way, I met a younger man who was my brother’s pal. He beneficial my identify to his firm and, lastly, I bought a job.”
Vinod started his profession with Delhi based mostly semiconductor (transistors and diodes) producer Continental Units India Restricted, considered one of India’s solely non-public silicon semiconductor firms at the moment, who had collaborated with Teradyne Semiconductor Firm, USA. The corporate was established in 1969 by Gurpreet Singh, an alumnus of the London College of Economics.
Whereas remembering Gurpreet Singh, Vinod mentions Singh’s internet hosting Robert Noyce, the co-founder of Intel, at his residence. He recollects, “The saddest story Sardarji advised me was that he took Intel founder in 1969-70 to the then Division of Electronics, Authorities of India, as he wished to begin constructing chips in India. Nevertheless, the Indian authorities advised Bob Noyce that he may construct solely 200,000 chips per 12 months. Everyone knows, {that a} fab produces hundreds of thousands of chips per 12 months! Furthermore, it’s ridiculous to place a restrict on chip manufacturing, as a result of the extra you make, the cheaper you make, and the higher you make.
“Bob Noyce went to Hong Kong to construct a manufacturing facility and India missed the semicon alternative simply due to the license raj or an inappropriate regulatory atmosphere in India. We missed the bus in a giant method, for a very long time. I used to be damage to be taught this little-known tidbit about how we missed a possibility. Had we capitalised on it then, it could have put India forward of Taiwan and China, and we might have been one of many foremost nations together with the US.”
Intel CEO Andy Grove with the Pentium Crew key contributors lead by Vinod Dham
Constructing an expert life
At Continental Units, Vinod was part of the early crew that put collectively a facility in Naraina Industrial Space, New Delhi, and labored there for 4 years. Whereas he labored at this firm, his love for semiconductors grew additional. He discovered the topic fairly fascinating and felt that he wanted a deeper understanding of the physics behind the conduct of the semiconductor gadgets. This quest for studying prompted him to pursue increased research.
In 1975, Vinod left Continental Units to pursue an MS diploma in solid-state physics from the College of Cincinnati, in Ohio. This determination was prompted by the suggestion of S.S. Madan, the then normal supervisor of Continental Units. He was a semiconductors knowledgeable who had returned to India after spending a few years working for Philips Semiconductors in Holland. “This turned out to be the second game-changing determination of my life,” Vinod explains.
Again in 1975, the federal government of India used to permit solely eight {dollars} as international foreign money to the Indians going to the US. As a scholar, Vinod may get an extra twenty {dollars} for books after approval of the Reserve Financial institution of India. He remembers ready at Reserve Financial institution’s Parliament Avenue workplace in New Delhi for 2 days with none fruitful consequence.
Then his elder brother, the banker, provided assist for arranging that cash. Nevertheless, Vinod refused that assist after figuring out that his brother needed to method the approving officer. He says, “I used to be offended that I wanted his assist to get a easy job performed, that I used to be fairly entitled to. However India these days was extra about whom you knew and never what you knew.”
“So, I truly reached America solely with simply eight {dollars} in my pocket. After reaching there, I went to the international college students’ workplace. There was a scholar counselor who had been corresponding with me for a 12 months. She requested what she may do for me. I requested about my analysis assistant job. That was presupposed to get me 325 {dollars}. She mentioned I wouldn’t get that cash till I did a month’s work. I advised her I wanted not less than 75 {dollars} for lease and 15 {dollars} for medical health insurance, although I wanted some more cash for meals. She went to a room and got here again with 125 {dollars} in money. It was a misery fund. Later, I paid it again at zero p.c curiosity at about 25 {dollars} a month, after getting my wage.
“My first wage within the USA was USD325,” Vinod recollects. “Fortuitously, inside 9 months of being there, the dean provided me a brief instructing place to show within the semiconductor lab, because the professor chargeable for instructing in that lab was on a year-long sabbatical. Since I used to be the one scholar who had a semiconductor background and understood how chips are made, packaged, and examined, and your entire gamut of issues, I used to be provided the job. Initially, I used to be fairly reluctant to simply accept it as I had by no means taught earlier than and was not assured that I may actually stand in entrance of individuals and educate. Nevertheless, my advisor inspired me and I accepted. I very a lot loved my instructing project and the perks that got here with it. I additionally felt like a king as my wage was raised to 625 {dollars}, the most important bounce I ever had,” he says.
Vinod believes in studying by doing. He adopted the identical precept in his instructing as nicely. The college compiled a ebook based mostly on his lectures. “I bought to learn about that ebook from the scholars who joined Intel after graduating from that college. They used to inform me that they’d studied my ebook. I used to be shocked as I’d by no means written a ebook; I’d solely compiled my lectures. It seems the college had taken these and made a ebook out of them, and so they have been charging them 20 or 25 {dollars}. After discovering this out, I referred to as my professor and jokingly mentioned that they’d not paid me royalty for my ebook. He simply laughed off. They have been fantastic folks,” he says with a smile.
Vinod loved his research days within the USA totally. “I feel training in America is a fully pleasing expertise. Particularly for the Indians, it’s a piece of cake. That’s why all of the Indians who come right here simply fly excessive,” he opines. In India, I felt the professors have been discovering causes to filter you out; right here they have been genuinely making an attempt that will help you be taught. He accomplished his grasp’s diploma with ease.
Nevertheless, even earlier than finishing the identical, he bought an opportunity to expertise the “true American lifestyle,” as he describes, via an invite from considered one of his fellow college students. “It was the primary American home that I ever went to. I used to be blown away as a result of I had at all times been staying in an condo, sharing a small room with one other scholar. However this fellow who invited me had a correct home with many bedrooms, filled with music and enjoyable.” That have allured him to style such a life.
Vinod Dham, Founder & MD, Indo US Enterprise Companions, referred to as on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on January 16, 2016
“I keep in mind going again to my advisor and telling him that I would like to not do a PhD. He bought very upset with my determination as a result of he had gotten some grants from NASA for my analysis work. I made a decision to proceed analysis as per his want as I knew that I wouldn’t get letter of advice for a job from him, if I offend him. There was no idea of an H1-B visa then. Your professor needed to write a letter of advice so that you can go to an organization to get sensible coaching. So, I went again and began engaged on the PhD once more. However my advisor got here again to me even earlier than I completed my work. He requested me to go for interview with NCR Microelectronics, which was a giant sponsor of his semiconductor lab. NCR had reached out to him for a skilled useful resource to resolve some points of their necessary venture and, once more, my identify confirmed up on the prime as a result of I used to be the one scholar with work expertise in semiconductors. He promised me that even when I didn’t get chosen, he would let me go after my grasp’s diploma. Since I didn’t have a automotive, he drove me for the interview. Fortuitously, I bought chosen and accepted the job,” Vinod says.
Whereas working with NCR, Vinod got here throughout an individual from Bell Labs, which is taken into account the Mecca of analysis within the USA. “That particular person had a terrific liking for me. He taught me all the things about analysis, invention, and innovation. Collectively, we created a forefront non-volatile reminiscence, the precursor to at this time’s flash know-how used for storing pictures in iPhones. We co-authored papers and patents,” Vinod recollects.
Whereas presenting such a piece paper on the novel non-volatile reminiscence on behalf of NCR Microelectronics at an IEEE workshop in Monterey, California, Vinod met Invoice Johnson, a director at Intel. Invoice was fairly impressed together with his presentation. He provided Vinod a job at Intel and the remainder is historical past.
“I’m fairly impressed with the imaginative and prescient Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modiji has set for the expansion of the Indian electronics business. Ashwini Vaishnawji, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Data Know-how in authorities of India, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Data Know-how of India are fairly critical and have the area data to steer this effort for finishing up Modiji’s imaginative and prescient. It actually evokes me to be a part of the crew to make this essential mission succeed. It’s a strategic crucial for India. It’s not simply good to have or good-to-have, it’s a must-to-have,“
—Vinod Dham
Turning into ‘Father of the Pentium Chip’
In 1979, Vinod started his journey at Intel as an engineer within the non-volatile reminiscence crew to co-invent Intel’s first flash reminiscence (ETOX) together with different two crew members he lead. Nevertheless, his aspiration was to grow to be a normal supervisor fairly than proceed with R&D work. Thus, he moved to Intel’s enterprise facet by becoming a member of a activity power to fabricate Intel 386 microprocessors. Sadly, Intel 386 was yielding a mere half a great die per wafer with a possible of fifty dies on the 15cm (6-inch) wafer. This problem was a giant risk to Intel, since its competitor Motorola was already in excessive quantity manufacturing.
Vinod labored as part of the duty power beneath Craig Barret, who later went on to grow to be CEO and Chairman of Intel. The duty power efficiently identified flaws in the way in which the silicon course of was architected. Vinod’s contributions to this essential success in enabling ramp up of Intel 386 catapulted him to handle Intel 386 compaction, a observe on to Intel 386, after which take over Intel 486 design mid-stream and make it some of the profitable merchandise, placing Intel on the highest.
Vinod helped constructed a multi-billion-dollar enterprise for Intel as the overall supervisor of Intel 486 product line, earlier than being requested by then CEO, Andy Grove, to step out to begin main the next-generation Intel microprocessor, internally often called P5—till it was named ‘Pentium’ at its launch. Vinod is called the ‘Father of the Pentium Chip’ for his contribution to the event of Pentium and making it the most well-liked microprocessor on the planet! Thus, a pacesetter was born.
Vinod mentions, “I discovered management from Andy Grove, who was the chief of Intel. I truly discovered from him by watching, observing, and asking. Then, I utilized the educational in my very own management fashion.
“Although I didn’t should create a imaginative and prescient, I noticed folks like him and Gordon Moore creating the imaginative and prescient for the corporate after which articulating it in a really clear, easy method, that even a safety guard would know as to what was essential for fulfillment of the corporate at any given level.”
Whereas describing his success in main Pentium, Vinod says, “It was extraordinarily difficult, very fulfilling, and game-changing in some ways for me. Not solely it gave me worldwide visibility, but it surely additionally helped me subsequently in lots of issues that I’ve performed since. It gave me monumental confidence to take care of very advanced tasks and conditions. These items are necessary for locating your personal self, and to know what you might be able to.”
As a pacesetter, Vinod prefers to be very crisp and clear together with his crew about what they wish to accomplish. Then he develops a method for undertaking the identical, places collectively a plan to assist the technique, and divides the plan into actionable goals on month-to-month and quarterly foundation. He ensures all crew members are on the identical web page and marching all the way down to the identical purpose.
Nurturing household life and entrepreneurial dream
Vinod started his household life concurrently together with his journey at Intel. He bought married in 1980, simply six months after becoming a member of Intel. It was an organized marriage. His spouse is from Chandigarh. She was doing her PhD earlier than their marriage. Vinod says, “Since we bought married inside three weeks of getting met one another, she didn’t get time to complete her PhD, as a substitute she obtained her grasp’s of Philosophy in English.
Vinod Dham with household
They’ve two sons. The elder son is an entrepreneur, making a go of his startup. The youthful son is a enterprise capitalist; he was not too long ago featured within the ‘40 Beneath 40’ record. Vinod is a cheerful grandfather with one granddaughter and one grandson.
Together with dwelling a cheerful household life, Vinod continues nurturing his entrepreneurial aspirations. He left Intel in 1995 and joined the microprocessor startup Nexgen as COO. Vinod’s perception helped Nexgen in profitable acquisition of the corporate by Superior Micro Units (AMD), an rising chief within the semiconductor computing business.
Step by step, his curiosity shifted past microprocessors. After spending one 12 months in AMD, he began the communications processors startup Silicon Spice and labored as its CEO and President. His management helped develop the primary multichannel Voice over IP (Web protocol) chip, a part of an eco-system that allows functions like WhatsApp utilized by billions around the globe to make cellphone calls. In 2000, Vinod bought Silicon Spice to Broadcom for $1.2 billion in an all-stock deal.
A few of Vinod Dham’s favourites:
• Favorite present. Indian Idol. His spouse and he pre-record it and watch it each week. They discover it heartening to see the gifted children sing so superbly. Indian music is a giant unifier for us Indians, in accordance with them.
• Favorite music. Sufi music that connects him with the everlasting. He finds superb Sufi songs on Coke Studio.
• Favorite meals. Homecooked rajma-chawal, the everyday Punjabi meals, which his mother used to prepare dinner on Tuesdays.
• Favuorite movie. Three Days of the Condor, a 1975 American political thriller movie with Robert Redford because the lead actor. It exhibits that governments might sacrifice a couple of of their very own for a bigger objective of serving to their nation.
• Favourite pastime. Studying concerning the universe, the place we got here from, and the way it began.
• Favorite ebook. The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Trendy Physics and Jap Mysticism, a 1975 ebook by physicist Fritjof Capra.
Giving again to India
“After making two profitable makes an attempt as an entrepreneur, first at NexGen after which at Silicon Spice, I used to be continuously considering of the methods I may assist India create related successes for gifted Indian engineers, like Silicon Valley did for me. This led to my maiden try at organising NewPath Ventures, a cross-border incubator for a handful of excessive tech entrepreneurs, the place we primarily did R&D in India and enterprise, gross sales, and advertising and marketing from the USA,” tells Vinod.
Subsequently, Vinod grew to become one amongst a handful of early pioneers who arrange early-stage enterprise capital funds on the bottom in India, round 2005-06, which laid the muse of a silicon valley fashion startup eco-system, catapulting India to the third largest startup system on the planet, with scores of unicorns within the pipeline. He informs, “I based Indo-US Ventures, an early-stage VC fund. We raised near $200 million and invested in a rating of firms and have been lucky to have a few of the profitable Indian startups in our portfolio,” Vinod says whereas discussing his India-centric initiatives.
He believes that integrity and fireplace within the stomach are an important standards for choosing a budding entrepreneur for offering enterprise capital. Regardless of having a wonderful product thought, and an enormous market alternative, a startup might not achieve a giant method with no founder who has fireplace within the stomach to succeed and has excessive integrity. Even when the unique thought doesn’t work, a pushed founder will determine a approach to pivot and make success out of it.
Vinod and his spouse Sadhana are donors to many charities within the US and India. He has been a trustee of the American India Basis since 2001. In 2006, Vinod was appointed Chair of the Digital Equalizer (DE) Program with a mission to offer underprivileged kids in India with the chance to reinforce their studying via using digital know-how in a scalable and sustainable method. As Chair of the DE Program, he led this system’s strategic route and progress.
Vinod want to dedicate the following 5 years of his skilled life to laying the muse for the Indian semiconductor mission. “It’ll be difficult for India to enter the sector of semiconductors after 50 years because the chip business began taking off. Certainly one of our greatest challenges goes to be skilling home expertise for this sector,” he opines.
