Summary

Ajai Chowdhry, born in 1950 in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, is an Indian entrepreneur and co-founder of HCL Technologies, a world-leading IT services company. With Shiv Nadar, Arjun Malhotra and others, Chowdhry formed HCL (Hindustan Computers Limited) in 1976, leading to India's IT revolution.

Chowdhry held several leadership positions at HCL, including CEO of HCL Infosystems, and played a key role in building the company's hardware and IT services businesses. During his tenure, HCL became a multinational company with a dominant presence in technology solutions, infrastructure management, and enterprise software.

Since retiring from HCL in 2012, Chowdhry has continued participating in India's technology world, promoting electronics manufacturing, entrepreneurship and policy change. He has been on government committees such as the Government of India's IT Task Force.

Personal Information

Key Achievements and Career Milestones

• 1976: Ajai Chowdhry co-founded HCL Technologies, one of India’s leading tech companies.
• 1991–1994: He pioneered the development of India’s IT services and hardware sector.
• 1994: He led HCL Infosystems as CEO, focusing on the growth of domestic IT infrastructure.
• 2007: He was honored as Dataquest IT Person of the Year.
• 2012: He retired from HCL Technologies but remained active in policy advocacy for IT and electronics.
• 2012–Present: He is the chairman of EPIC Foundation, promoting indigenous electronics manufacturing.
• 2012: He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors.
• 2012: He was awarded the Dataquest Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 2013: He received the Cybermedia Business ICT Award for Lifetime Achievement in ICT.

Philanthropy and Thought Leadership

Since 2011, Ajai Chowdhry has been deeply involved in nurturing, mentoring and investing in start-ups and has personally invested in more than 50 of them. Regarded as ‘the father of Indian Hardware’, he has been a relentless advocate of self-sufficiency in electronics.

In keeping with this vision, he co-founded EPIC Foundation in 2021, a not-for-profit, to make India a product nation in electronics. He is also a board member of the Population Foundation of India and a trustee of the Save Life Foundation.

In 2023, he authored a book titled Just Aspire, which talks about his own life and also reflects on the journey of India’s IT and hardware industry.