2025 Living Legends: SANGHANI, MEHUL P.

Sanghani announced his departure in February from the technology firm he founded nearly 20 years ago, writing, “Octo is not just something I built; it’s a part of me, as essential as any bodily organ. It is not something that can ever be transplanted or excised.”

Sanghani was born in India and raised in Blacksburg, where his family operated a Red Carpet Inn. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1998 and worked in Silicon Valley before returning to Virginia to start Octo in 2006 at age 30. In 2022, IBM purchased Octo from Arlington Capital Partners for $1.3 billion.

In 2020, Sanghani and wife, Hema — also a Virginia Tech grad — donated $10 million to their alma mater. Part of that funding supports the Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics at Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria; it also funds scholarships for minority students studying AI.

Sanghani has served as vice president of Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business advisory council and also serves on the advisory board for Tech’s Innovation Campus. In his next act, he says he looks forward to spending time with his family, serving as a mentor and dedicating time to causes like food security, health care and educational access.