The Story of Silicon Valley Legend & Google Founding Stakeholder with Asha Jadeja Motwani

The Neon Show

Content provided by Siddhartha Ahluwalia. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Siddhartha Ahluwalia or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

2M ago 30:56

MP3•Episode home

Fetch error

Hmmm there seems to be a problem fetching this series right now. Last successful fetch was on December 05, 2025 02:20 (5d ago)

What now? This series will be checked again in the next day. If you believe it should be working, please verify the publisher's feed link below is valid and includes actual episode links. You can contact support to request the feed be immediately fetched.

“When I saw Google change the destiny of the planet, I could not imagine doing anything else but working with brilliant entrepreneurs.”

-Asha Jadeja Motwani and her husband, Rajeev Motwani, the Silicon Valley legend of technical startups, are together the founding stakeholders of Google.

In the late 1990s, they came to the United States as most Indians, as students. From being part of Google’s early days to their journey as investors and now, extending that into an active participation in American politics. She speaks about Rajeev’s pivotal role in mentoring Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-authoring the PageRank paper, and helping shape Google’s DNA.

Today, through the Motwani Jadeja Foundation, Asha continues to build on that legacy; funding entrepreneurs, supporting Indian voices in global think tanks, and opening doors at Davos and Washington. Asha also reflects on how the Indian diaspora can play a far greater role in shaping the future of India-US partnership and why entrepreneurs are critical to the future of this relationship.

If you’re an entrepreneur building in the India–US corridor, or curious about the opportunities the two nations are creating for startups, then this episode is for you.

00:00 – Trailer
01:25 – How Rajeev became founding stakeholder of Google
03:48 – The early days of Google: first office to first funding
07:52 – Investments of Dot Edu Ventures
10:03 – Asha’s role in American politics
10:45 – How Indians in Silicon Valley can strengthen US–India corridor
12:18 – The lack of Indian scholars in think tanks
13:14 – Do Indians have enough influence in American politics?
13:52 – Is Silicon Valley & the Indian diaspora shifting right?
15:00 – The impact of Trump on India–US relations
17:36 – Asha’s role in opening doors for India globally
21:09 – How the Motwani Foundation selects projects and people
24:08 – Entrepreneurs as a critical part of US–India value creation
24:54 – What’s missing in US–India value creation?
26:33 – Report on “jailed for doing business” in India
27:56 – The legacy of Rajeev Motwani

-------------

India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.

This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.

What is Neon Fund?

We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.

Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.

-------------

Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7

-------------

This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.

Send us a text

346 episodes

#Business #Siddhartha Ahluwalia #Entrepreneur