With Indian-origin CEOs taking the world by storm, the latest ones being Parag Agarwal and Leena Nair, by spearheading IT and non-tech companies alike, here’s welcoming another CEO, who of lately has been in the news due to his pay package.
Jagdeep Singh is the CEO of American startup QuantumScape Corp. Found by Jagdeep Singh, Tim Home and Prof Fritz Prinz in 2010, the company is working on providing a safer and an economic alternative to lithium-ion batteries to EV makers. The company, headquartered in San Jose, California and currently valued at $50 billion has investments by Bill Gates and Volkswagen. It employs 400 employees and is working on next generation technology that will expedite the adoption of electric vehicles, globally.
Jagdeep was the CEO of Infinera from 2001 to 2009, prior to which he found Lightera Networks and AirSoft too. An alumnus of Stanford University and University of Maryland where he studied Computer Science, and University of California where he completed his MBA,
Jagdeep has been given a pay package that is compared with that of Tesla honcho Elon Musk. The company went public just about a year back, and Jagdeep’s salary has been approved at the AGM of shareholders, which according to proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis, shares to be given to Jagdeep are estimated to be worth US $2.3 billion, which is a whopping Rs 17,486 crore.
A little delve into how the company is planning on solving a very ticking battery problem. Vehicles will need new types of batteries if they are to replace the normal gas batteries on roads of the world.
And that’s where QuantumScape has developed a new technology, that will make vehicles affordable and long-lasting in a short span of time. The batteries are fast-charging with better capacity, and are also operate cooler. The company has been a pioneer in replacing liquid in lithium-ion batteries with a metal strip, making it safer and less prone to combustion.
Here’s wishing Jagdeep Singh the very best in making the world a better place through his and his company’s attempts at innovation leading to an EV revolution.
