Video goes viral amid H-1B controversy: Bill Gates reveals how hiring 15 Indians in 1980s helped Microsoft conquer the tech world

The tech industry is still coming to terms with the recent shock of the increased H-1B visa fee in the United States. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced a hike in the H-1B visa application charges. According to the revised rules, the fee for a fresh H-1B visa application now stands at $100,000. This move has intensified the ongoing debate about the future of the H-1B visa programme, which allows skilled foreign professionals to work in the US technology sector.

Amid this debate, an old video clip of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has resurfaced online and gone viral. The clip is taken from a speech Gates delivered at IIT Delhi in February 2024. In the video, Gates talks about Microsoft’s early years and reveals how he hired a group of Indian engineers who played a pivotal role in transforming the company.

Gates recalled that in the 1980s, Microsoft was still a young company with only a few hundred employees. The company faced difficulties in recruiting top-tier engineering talent. One of Gates’ senior colleagues suggested that he travel to India to hire some fresh graduates from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Gates followed this advice, and around 15 engineers were eventually recruited. He described this decision as “a phenomenal thing.”


At the time, the move was controversial. Media outlets in the United States criticised it as a ‘brain drain,’ claiming that it took valuable talent away from India. Meanwhile, many Americans expressed concerns that foreign workers were “taking” jobs meant for locals. This debate over the impact of foreign talent on the domestic workforce continues even today and forms a central part of discussions surrounding the H-1B visa programme.

Looking back more than 25 years later, Gates said that hiring Indian engineers proved to be both fruitful and transformative for Microsoft. The engineers helped strengthen the company’s technical foundation and contributed to many of its early innovations. Over the years, many of these professionals went on to become leaders in the global technology industry. Their contributions also played a role in shaping the modern digital world as we know it today.

Inputs from TOI