Ramachandra post graduation in 1970 from the University of Wisconsin got him a valuable degree
K. Ramachandra Reddy
Hyderabad: Many in the computer industry would part with their right hand to be in the shoes of Mr K. Ramachandra Reddy, the chairman and CEO of Moschip.
Educated in Chennai at premier Loyola College and IIT, he found himself on firm ground to move to greener pastures. Born to movie Moghul, K.V. Reddy of the Maya Baazar fame, young Ram Reddy could have lived off the fat of the land or followed in the footsteps of his illustrious father.
His post graduation in 1970 from the University of Wisconsin got him a valuable degree but not employment. “Green Cards were no longer issued, the Supersonic Diffuser in limbo and the Apollo program killed, the only direction visible was home. So in 1972, I came back to Madras and joined CSIR to work in the Center for Systems and Devices (CSD), a defence establishment,” Mr Reddy recalled.
He worked at CSD (at IIT Madras) for four years, which was pivotal in his life. “Data detection and signal processing were the core areas at the institute. I had to both work and teach the students.” Most of his associates at institute were from the US and were doctors of philosophy. Mr Reddy, however, did not have a doctorate to flaunt. So he flew back to the US to acquire one. Oregon State University offered Mr Reddy teaching assistance ship and research assistance ship in the pursuit of the Ph.D in digital signal processing.
The turning point his life came quite accidentally. “While looking for a job during my summer vacation, I got a break with American Microsystems Inc. (AMI), which wanted to build the first Digital Signal Processing chip in the world. So S2811 was born and I got a full time job without completing the desirable scholarly endeavor.”
After working for six years at AMI with chip guru T.J. Rogers, Mr Reddy transitioned from an employee to employer. He became serial entrepreneur, by setting up one company after another and selling them at equal speed, all the while augmenting his profile.
His ventures included Lotus Designs Corp., Silicon Logic and Startech Semiconductor, all of which were based in Silicon Valley. His client list included major PC manufacturers such as Compaq Computers and communication technology companies such as Nokia Systems out of Finland.
In 1999, he founded Moschip Semiconductor Technology in Hyderabad. It is the only publicly traded fab-less semi-conductor company based in India. The company also has offices in Silicon Valley and in Southern California. Though the global financial crisis has kept the company profile low, Mr Reddy has reorganised himself and plans to benefit from Made in India strategy.
“We have adopted future technologies adopted, much in tune with the Make in India call sounded by the new government in place. Defence-related wearable devices embedded with chips and technologies that drive missiles are on our radar now,” he explained. If he could win some defence contracts, it will usher in boom time for the company.
His advice for budding entrepreneurs — Be prepared to sacrifice family and personal life to achieve results as well focus and believe in yourself and the goals you set.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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