Indian Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley: The Making of a Transnational Techno-Capitalist Class

255 Pages·2008·0.55 MB·English

by  Monica Rao Biradavolu

I E
NDIAN NTREPRENEURS
S V
IN ILICON ALLEY

I E
NDIAN NTREPRENEURS
S V
IN ILICON ALLEY
The Making of a Transnational
Techno-Capitalist Class
Monica R. Biradavolu
AMHERST, NEW YORK
Copyright 2008 Monica R. Biradavolu
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America

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Requests for permission should be directed to:
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Biradavolu, Monica Rao, 1972-
Indian entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley : the making of a transna-
tional techno-capitalist class / Monica R. Biradavolu.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60497-527-7 (alk. paper)
1. Alien labor, East India—California—Santa Clara Valley (Santa
Clara County) 2. East Indian business enterprises—California—Santa
Clara Valley (Santa Clara County) 3. East Indians—California—
Santa Clara Valley (Santa Clara County) 4. Businesspeople—India.
5. High technology industries—India. 6. High technology industries—
California—Santa Clara Valley (Santa Clara County) I. Title.
HD8081.E3B57 2008
338’.0408991411079473—dc22
2008012535
To my parents, B. M. Rao and B. Rajyashree

T C
ABLE OF ONTENTS
List of Figures ix
List of Tables x
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: From “The Valley of Heart’s Delight”
to “Silicon Valley”: The Creation
of a Technical Community 9
Chapter 2: Science, Technology, and the Indian
State: Colonial Policies
and Postcolonial Aspirations 39
Chapter 3: Transnationalism Among Indian
Software Entrepreneurs: New Modes
of Immigrant Adaptation 65
Chapter 4: Global Ethnography: Methods
and Sites of Research 101
Chapter 5: Middle-Class Path
to Entrepreneurship:
Education, Family, Networking 123
Chapter 6: Transnational Capitalist Class
of Indian Immigrant Entrepreneurs 145
viii INDIAN ENTREPRENEURS IN SILICON VALLEY
Conclusion 181
Appendices
A. List of Stanford University
Electrical Engineering
Professors With Industry Links 191
B. Selected List of Alumni
of the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) and Their Industry Affi liations 193
C. Immigrants Admitted to the United
States From the Top Five Countries
of Last Residence, 1827–1997 196
D. Emigration From India
to the United Kingdom
and the United States,
1964–1990 (Selected Years) 197
E. Leading Employers of Specialty
Occupation Workers (H-1B),
October 1999 to February 2000 198
F. Summary Statistics
of Interviewees 199
G. Interview Schedule 202
References 207
Index 233
L F
IST OF IGURES
Figure 1. Stages in software production. 75
Figure 2. Software-industry value chain. 81