Indian-Origin Anant Yardi Takes Majority Stake In WeWork: 5 Points

Anant Yardi, an Indian-origin software tycoon, has acquired a majority stake in WeWork, which is navigating bankruptcy.

Mr Yardi, an IIT-Delhi alumnus, has invested over $200 million in equity and debt into WeWork over the past two years, according to the Financial Times. Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, WeWork once had a peak valuation of $47 billion but filed for bankruptcy in November 2023, dropping its valuation to $750 million by April 2024.

Here are some facts on Anant Yardi:

1. Anant Yardi immigrated from India to the US in 1968, where he started his own company, Yardi Systems. 

2. He topped the JEE entrance examinations in 1963 and has a BTech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he was awarded the Director's gold medal. He later earned his Master of Science degree in Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. 

3. Before founding his own company, Anant Yardi spent 14 years at Burroughs Corporation (now Unisys). There, he honed his skills in programming and systems development, eventually becoming the Director of Systems Development. 

4. In 1984, Mr Yardi developed "Basic Property Management" for the Apple II computer and founded Yardi Systems. He has been leading the company as President and CEO ever since. The company has been running steadily under his leadership for 35 years and, today, Yardi Systems makes almost $3 billion a year, making Anant Yardi a billionaire.  

5. In 2004, Anant Yardi was honoured with the ‘Digie' award by Realcomm for his visionary work in automation systems. That same year, he was inducted into the Multi-Housing News ‘Hall of Fame'.