Vijay Shekhar Sharma

One97 Communications launched the Paytm digital payments brand in 2010, fundamentally altering the trajectory of financial services in India. Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma oversaw the company through a massive initial public offering in November 2021, raising 2.5 billion dollars at a valuation of 19 billion dollars, marking it as the largest IPO in India at the time.

Academic Foundation

Born on 7 June 1978 in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, Sharma was the third of four children born to schoolteacher Sulom Prakash Sharma and homemaker Asha Sharma. He completed his early education in the small town of Harduaganj. Displaying early academic aptitude, he entered college at the age of 15 and earned a B.Tech degree from the Delhi College of Engineering, now known as Delhi Technological University, at 19.

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Early Ventures and One97

During his college years in 1997, he established indiasite.net, a website he operated until its sale for 1 million dollars two years later. By 2000, he launched One97 Communications, which initially focused on delivering mobile content such as ringtones, jokes, news updates, cricket scores, and exam results to mobile users.

Startup Investment and Public Office

Beyond his primary leadership role, Sharma has acted as an angel investor, providing capital to approximately 80 technology startups. His investment portfolio includes firms such as Hiver, Innov8, InnerChef, GOQii, Zapr, Karkinos Healthcare, Treebo, NoBroker, HackerEarth, Kawa Space, Bombay Shirt Company, and Temple. He also served a three-year term on the board of management at the Netaji Subhas University of Technology in Delhi and was appointed a Universal Acceptance Ambassador in India in January 2022 by the Universal Acceptance Steering Group.

Regulatory Shifts and Recognition

In 2024, Sharma resigned from his position as a part-time non-executive chairman and board member of Paytm Payments Bank following regulatory pressures from the Reserve Bank of India. His career has drawn significant attention from global organizations, including his 2017 inclusion on the Time 100 list and his role as a Patron for Clean Air for the UN Environment, where he supports the Breathe Life campaign.