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SabeerBhatia

Entrepreneur and Hotmail co-founder

  • Born
  • BirthplaceChandigarh, India
Typographic poster for Sabeer Bhatia
  • 1996Hotmail launched
  • ~$400Mreported Microsoft acquisition price
  • 2years from launch to acquisition

Sabeer Bhatia is an Indian-American entrepreneur who co-founded Hotmail.com in 1996, the first free web-based email service. Microsoft acquired it in 1998 for an estimated $400 million.

From Chandigarh to Caltech

Born in Chandigarh, Sabeer studied in Pune and Bengaluru, then at BITS Pilani before earning a transfer scholarship to the California Institute of Technology. He completed a master’s in electrical engineering at Stanford University.

Hotmail

After working at Apple as a hardware engineer, he and colleague Jack Smith launched Hotmail on 4 July 1996 — a date chosen to symbolise freedom from ISP-based email. He led the company as president and CEO until Microsoft’s acquisition.

Next ventures

He later started the messaging service JaxtrSMS, proposed the “Nano City” project in Haryana, and in 2021 co-founded ShowReel.

Timeline

  1. 1968Born in Chandigarh on 30 December
  2. 1985Enrols at BITS Pilani
  3. 1996Launches Hotmail on 4 July
  4. 1998Hotmail acquired by Microsoft
  5. 2021Co-founds ShowReel

Quick questions

Where was Sabeer Bhatia born?

Sabeer Bhatia was born in Chandigarh, India. Born in Chandigarh to Baldev Bhatia, an Indian Army captain, and Daman Bhatia.

When was Sabeer Bhatia born?

Sabeer Bhatia was born on 30 December 1968.

What is Sabeer Bhatia known for?

Sabeer Bhatia is known for Hotmail (now Outlook.com), JaxtrSMS and ShowReel.

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