2 weeks ago
Indian-born engineer now billionaire driving US chip boom
Sanjay grew up in India in a family that did not have much money.
His father really wanted him to study in America.
The US said no to his visa three times, but his father kept trying until Sanjay got in.
He went to a famous university and learned how to build chips for computers.
He and his friends started a company that made tiny memory cards for cameras and phones.
Later, he became the boss of Micron, a company that makes memory chips used in computers and AI.
Because AI became very popular, Micron's value grew very big, over one trillion dollars.
Sanjay became a billionaire and his company is spending lots of money to make chips in the US.
Even the US president praised him and took him on an important business trip.
His story shows what can happen when you never give up.
Sanjay Mehrotra came to the US in the 1970s after three visa rejections while still a teenager.
He co-founded SanDisk in 1988 and helped develop flash memory, CompactFlash, and the SD card.
He has led Micron Technology as chairman, president and CEO since May 2017.
Micron reached a $1 trillion valuation, and Mehrotra became a billionaire in May 2026 with a $1.3 billion net worth.
Micron pledged $250 billion to produce 40% of its DRAM chips in the US, and Mehrotra is part of President Trump's inner circle.
- Who
- Sanjay Mehrotra, Indian-born chairman, president and CEO of Micron Technology
- What
- A profile of Mehrotra's journey from three US visa rejections in 1976 to becoming a billionaire driving the semiconductor boom, including co-founding SanDisk and leading Micron to a $1 trillion valuation
- Where
- Born in Kanpur, India; studied at the University of California, Berkeley; Micron is based in Idaho, US
- When
- From 1976 through 2026, when he joined the billionaire club in May and Micron announced a $250 billion investment in July
- Why
- His father's tenacity helped him get to America, and the AI-driven boom in memory chips fueled his success and Micron's trillion-dollar rise
Immigration Drives US Success
America First Immigration Policy
Immigration policy and the tech sector
Immigration Drives US Success
Mehrotra's story shows immigrants fuel American innovation; he was denied a visa three times in the 1970s and is now central to the US chip boom.
America First Immigration Policy
President Trump's administration has clamped down on pathways to legal immigration in 2026 to push its 'America First' agenda.
Corporate investment in US manufacturing
Immigration Drives US Success
Micron's $250 billion investment to make 40% of its DRAM chips in the US supports American manufacturing and creates jobs, earning presidential praise.
America First Immigration Policy
The investments also ride the AI boom that lifted Micron to a $1 trillion valuation and made its own CEO a billionaire, benefiting shareholders and executives.
Key facts
- Role
- Chairman, president and CEO of Micron Technology since May 2017
- Born
- Kanpur, India, in 1958
- Visa rejections
- Rejected three times by the US Consulate in New Delhi in 1976
- Net worth
- $1.3 billion as of July 2026
- Forbes ranking
- No. 129 on America's Richest Immigrants 2026 list
- Micron valuation
- $1 trillion, up from a little over $100 billion a year earlier, per Reuters
- US investment
- $250 billion pledged in July 2026 to produce 40% of DRAM chips in the US
Quotes
Sanjay Mehrotra
CEO of Micron Technology
“Thank you @POTUS for your support. Micron is proud to be part of this historic initiative, which complements our over $200 billion investment in U.S. memory manufacturing and R&D, creating over 90,000 jobs across the country.”
financialexpress.com








