In 2018, French technology company Atos acquired Syntel for $3.4 billion, marking one of the largest acquisitions of an Indian-origin-founded technology firm. Neerja Sethi and Bharat Desai had launched the company from a Michigan apartment in 1980 with just $2,000 in savings, building it into a global IT services enterprise. The acquisition demonstrated that immigrant entrepreneurs could create world-class technology companies without relying on traditional power structures. Sethi’s role in building and scaling the company also challenged long-standing gender barriers in American technology and finance, expanding perceptions of who could succeed as a founder.
