Vinod Anupam

The Past

I was born in India. (I now live in the US.)

My father was an officer in the Indian Air Force. He is currently retired. My mother is a nurturer.

High School

I graduated from High School (Grade 12) in 1984 from Kendriya Vidyalaya Jalahalli, Bangalore, India.

Undergrad

After high school, I wanted to study engineering. I took the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance test, IITJEE, and was admitted into the Mechanical Engineering program at IIT Bombay. However, I wanted to study computer science. (I had yet to see a real computer, but I "knew" that was what I wanted.)

I went to Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India for my undergraduate education in Computer Science. I graduated in 1988. I have very fond memories of BITS. I forged many friendships that have endured the passage of time.

Grad School

After BITS, it was once again time to make a decision about the next step. Should I get a degree in Management (and get a real job) or should I pursue Graduate Studies in Computer Science? I took the IIM (Indian Institute of Management) entrance test, CAT. I also applied for admission to graduate schools in the US. I got into the management program at IIM Calcutta. However, I chose to go to graduate school in Computer Science. I was hooked on CS.

I did my Master's and Ph.D. in Computer Science at Purdue University. I graduated in 1994. I have very fond memories of Purdue. I met my wife there.

My first job

In 1994, I joined Bell Labs as a Research Scientist. I have had the pleasure of working on a variety of interesting projects with many extremely talented people.

Some of my favorites include (in chronological order):

• SurfNChat: a shared browsing system that allowed two or more Web users to dynamically link-up their browsers (by visiting the SurfNChat web site) and subsequently browse the Web together while text chatting. The users could even shop together at any Web site - appearing to be one user to the Web site.
• OfficeTunnel: an application-level VPN solution that let users securely access their office computer environment (files, email, calendar, directory, intranet Web) from any data-connected device (phone, PDA, laptop, kiosk) outside the firewall.
• Untethered Phone: an exploration into a "portable" phone service that would allow a user to take her "phone environment" - the calling plan, speed dial settings, phone service features, billing etc. with her as she moved from an office phone to a mobile phone to a hotel phone.
• Service Broker: a programmable SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) router that enables the creation of interesting telecommunication services both by creating new applications as well as by infusing new behavior into existing applications.
• Scalable Location-Based Push Messaging: infrastructure that allows messages to be pushed to users based on their current location.

The Present

In February 2007, I left Bell Labs.

And started my entrepreneurial quest.