ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Ro Khanna pens foreword for Kanwal Rekhi’s memoir
The book traces Rekhi’s journey from India to Silicon Valley and the rise of Indian American leadership in technology.
-
1759953093.png)
Staff Reporter - Wed, 25, Feb 2026
- 15:26 EST
- 27
Ro Khanna/ The book's cover / File Photo/ Amazon
Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna penned the foreword to a new memoir by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Kanwal Rekhi.
Titled ‘Groundbreaker: Entrepreneurship, the American Dream, and the Rise of Modern India’ the memoir traces Rekhi’s journey from his early life in India to becoming a central figure in the growth of the U.S. technology industry and a long-time advocate of cross-border innovation between the United States and India.
Also Read: Filmmaker Ben Rekhi has picked up entrepreneurial tips from his father
In the book, Rekhi recounts coming to the United States as an engineering student in the 1960s, his work across defense and technology companies in the 1970s, and the founding of Excelan in the early 1980s.
Excelan became the first company founded by an Indian immigrant to go public on NASDAQ before being acquired by Novell in 1989. Rekhi later served as a senior executive at Novell during its peak years.
The memoir details Rekhi’s role in commercializing Ethernet networking technology, which became foundational to modern internet infrastructure, and his interactions with key figures of the personal computing era. It also examines his later work advising policymakers on technology-driven economic change.
The book also addresses the broader U.S.–India relationship, arguing that sustained cooperation between the world’s oldest and largest democracies is critical to future global economic and technological stability.
Former Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt has endorsed the book, describing it as a firsthand account of how immigrant entrepreneurs shaped Silicon Valley.
Beyond his corporate career, Rekhi is known for mentoring and early-stage investing. As a former president and co-founder of TiE (The IndUS Entrepreneurs), he helped build what became a global mentoring network for Indian-origin founders.
He has been associated with several startups that later went public or were acquired, including Exodus Communications and Poshmark.
Rekhi is currently a partner at InventUS and Silicon Valley Quad and remains active as a writer and speaker. He is featured in the 2024 book Indian Genius and in the forthcoming documentary Breaking the Code, scheduled for release later this year. A U.S. speaking tour linked to the memoir is underway.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
Related
.jpg)
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login