The Visionaries Behind Hotmail: Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith
Mitchell Booth, 12 Jul 2025
In the mid-1990s, two ambitious technologists, Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith, changed the course of digital communication forever by launching Hotmail, one of the world’s first free web-based email platforms. Their creation not only revolutionized how people communicate but also laid the foundation for the cloud-based services we rely on today.
Sabeer Bhatia, born in Chandigarh, India, in 1968, grew up in Bangalore in a traditional Indian family. His academic brilliance led him to the U.S., where he earned degrees from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Stanford University. Whilst in the U.S, he was immersed in Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial energy.
Jack Smith, born in the U.S., had a background in electrical engineering and shared Bhatia’s vision for innovation. At the same time, both men worked at Firepower Systems, a technology company that specialized in developing high-performance PowerPC-based computer systems in the early to mid-1990s.
The inspiration for Hotmail came from a practical workplace frustration when Smith wanted to access his email outside of working hours from other locations. This sparked the idea for a web-based email service, accessible from any device, a concept unheard of in 1996. Together, the team developed the concept and launched Hotmail on July 4, 1996, symbolizing “freedom” from ISP-bound communication. Within 18 months, they had over 8 million users.
Their success caught Microsoft’s attention, leading to a $400 million acquisition in 1997.
Following the sale, Bhatia became a prominent entrepreneur and investor, founding ventures like Arzoo.com and Sabse Technologies. He has also become an outspoken advocate for ethical tech and sustainability. “We didn’t know how big it would get—we just knew it was the future,” Bhatia has said in interviews.
Jack Smith, known for his low profile, continued to innovate behind the scenes, contributing to various startups and mentoring young founders in the tech community.
Together, Bhatia and Smith’s work on Hotmail laid the groundwork for today’s email giants. Their story is not just about business success but also about identifying a simple problem, having a bold idea, and daring to build a solution that would change how the world connects.
