Synopsis
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology, has led the chipmaker to a market valuation exceeding $1 trillion, joining fellow Indian-born tech leaders like Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Google's Sundar Pichai. Despite early visa rejections, Mehrotra's persistence paved the way for his success in the competitive memory-chip industry, now crucial for AI advancements.Listen to this article in summarized format
The achievement places Micron alongside other Indian-born CEOs of American tech giants, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Google parent Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai.
A journey that began with rejection
Mehrotra was an engineering student at BITS Pilani in 1976 when his student visa application was rejected by the US embassy in New Delhi for the third time, according to a report in The Times of India.
His father refused to give up. After waiting for a consular officer to return from lunch, he personally asked why his son’s visa was being rejected despite having confirmed university admissions and all documents in place. His persistence worked, and Mehrotra eventually left for the US to study engineering.
Micron joins the trillion-dollar club
Micron’s valuation has surged due to soaring demand for the AI-related memory chips used in data centres. The company’s stock has risen sharply in 2026, gaining around 180% this year, including nearly 7% in May alone, according to the report.
Micron crossed the $1 trillion market cap mark earlier this week, on May 26.
