by Major Events Of Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Life
1978: Vijay Shekhar Sharma was born on July 8 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.
1997: At the age of 19, Sharma started his first venture – XS Communications, a college-based startup that provided content to mobile phone users.
2000: Sharma graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering.
2001: XS Communications was acquired by Lotus Interworks, a company based in Kolkata. Sharma joined Lotus Interworks as a Senior Executive.
2005: Sharma left Lotus Interworks and founded One97 Communications, a mobile value-added services (VAS) company. The company initially focused on providing mobile content and services like ringtones, wallpapers, and games.
2010: One97 Communications launched Paytm, a digital wallet that allowed users to pay for mobile recharges and utility bills. The service gained popularity in India as a convenient and secure way to make payments.
2014: Paytm received a $10 million investment from the venture capital firm SAIF Partners.
2015: Paytm received a $575 million investment from Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant. This investment made Alibaba the largest shareholder in Paytm.
2016: Paytm launched its payments bank, Paytm Payments Bank, which offered savings accounts, debit cards, and other financial services to customers. Sharma also announced that Paytm would invest $600 million in the payments bank over the next three years.
2017: Paytm became the first Indian company to receive a license from the Reserve Bank of India to launch a payments bank.
2018: Paytm raised $300 million from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, valuing the company at $10 billion.
2019: Sharma was featured on Forbes India’s list of the richest Indians with a net worth of $2.3 billion.
2021: Paytm filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The IPO is expected to raise up to $2.2 billion.
2022: Paytm was listed on the Indian stock exchanges, with its IPO being oversubscribed by over 10 times. The company’s market capitalization crossed $100 billion, making it one of the most valuable companies in India.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder of Paytm, India’s leading digital payments and financial services company. Throughout his career, Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been recognized for his contributions to the Indian startup ecosystem. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence in 2016, and the Financial Times’ Boldness in Business Award in 2017.
