Ray Sharma Explained

Ray Sharma
Birth Place:Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India
Occupation:Venture capitalist; entrepreneur; former equity research analyst
Alma Mater:University of Western Ontario
Ivey Business School

Ray Sharma is a Canadian venture capitalist and entrepreneur. He co-founded Extreme Venture Partners and founded XMG Studio.[1] [2] [3]

Early life and education

Sharma was born in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, India.[4] He received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.[5]

Career

He was ranked among the top technology analysts in Greenwich and Brendan Woods International surveys of fund managers for five of eight eligible years, and covered BlackBerry, Handspring, and other technology companies.[6] [7]

In 2007, he co-founded Extreme Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm in Toronto.[8] He later co-founded Xtreme Labs, a mobile app development firm that was acquired by Pivotal Labs in 2013.[9] Sharma co-founded Extreme Accelerator which offered funding, mentorship, and resources for startups relocating to Canada.[10] In 2009, he founded XMG Studio, a mobile game developer and publisher.[11] In 2012, Sharma oversaw the development of the prototype "Matchbox" created in a hackathon within Xtreme Labs, subsequently renamed Tinder.

Other roles

Sharma has spoken at mobile industry events including Interactive Ontario's iP3 Forum, the 2013 Milken Institute Global Conference, the 2012 Application Developers Conference hosted by Scotia Capital, and the 2010 CTIA Mobile Web and Apps World Forum.[12] [13] In February 2013, Sharma participated in a discussion panel with Tony Clement and other entrepreneurs and developers over the open data made available by the Canadian government.[14] [15] Through XMG Studio, he founded The Great Canadian Appathon in 2011, an app-building competition for Canadian university students.[16] [17] [18] [19]

Sharma is also a guest author for Pocket Gamer and The Globe and Mail.[20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] He has also served on the Ontario Judicial Council, the Government of Canada's Advisory Panel on Open Government and the Royal Ontario Museum's Board of Trustees.[27] [28] He is also the creator of the Canadian Open Data Experience (CODE), which is Canada's largest open data hackathon.[29] [30] [31] In 2015, Sharma co-founded Hackergal - a not-for-profit organization that aims to introduce young girls to coding.[32] In that same year, he also co-founded Hackworks, a Toronto-based company that specializes in executing hackathons and open innovation events.[33]

In 2019, an Ontario Superior Court ruling found that Chamath Palihapitiya and two former partners at Extreme Venture Partners conspired to hide an interest in dating app Tinder as part of a sale of shares in Xtreme Labs - resulting in the three paying $15.69 million to Extreme Venture Partner's current partners and co-founders, and ruling in favor of Sharma.[34] [35]

Since 2020, Sharma has sat on the Technical Advisory Committee at the Duality Accelerator at the University of Chicago. In 2024, he was given the Ivey Alumni Achievement Award.

Recognition

Sharma received the 2024 Ivey Alumni Achievement Award from the Ivey Business School.[36]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ray Sharma, Extreme Venture Partners: Profile and Biography. 2021-10-20. Bloomberg.com. en.
  2. News: Montigny . Philippe de . 2014-08-12 . A second wind: Extreme Venture Partners looks to 'import' entrepreneurs, invest in IoT, Big Data . Financial Post . 2014-10-28 . en .
  3. News: 2010-11-14 . Ray Sharma talks about mobile, apps and games . The Globe and Mail . 2013-10-29 .
  4. News: Kannan . Indira . 2011-11-21 . XMG Studio scouts for partner in India . Business Standard India . Business Standard . 2013-10-29 . en .
  5. Web site: 2024 Ivey Alumni Achievement Award Recipient Ray Sharma, HBA '96 . Ivey Business School . 2025-10-03 . en .
  6. Web site: 2024 Ivey Alumni Achievement Award Recipient Ray Sharma, HBA '96 . Ivey Business School . 2024-04-09 . en .
  7. News: Austen. Ian. 2013-01-29. BlackBerry 10 Critical to Research in Motion. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-02-23. 0362-4331.
  8. News: Montigny. Philippe de. 2014-08-12. A second wind: Extreme Venture Partners looks to 'import' entrepreneurs, invest in IoT, Big Data. en. Financial Post. 2021-10-21.
  9. News: Silcoff . Sean . 2013-09-23 . U.S. firm acquires Toronto-based Xtreme Labs . The Globe and Mail . 2025-10-03 .
  10. News: Keung. Nicholas. 2017-06-16. Software startup abandons Trump's U.S. for 'welcoming' Toronto. en-CA. The Toronto Star. 2022-02-23. 0319-0781.
  11. News: 2011-11-22. Another perspective on apps. Financial Times. 2022-02-23.
  12. Web site: Portable Media and the Business and Technology of iDevices . Media Caster . 2013-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131103032121/http://www.mediacastermagazine.com/news/portable-media-and-the-business-and-technology-of-idevices/1000374134/ . 2013-11-03 . dead .
  13. Web site: Developers speak: BlackBerry is making great progress . 2012-05-11 . CrackBerry . 2013-10-29 .
  14. Web site: TBS Prez Tony Clement talks open data at 'first ever' ministerial Google+ hangout. dead. CBC News. 29 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130731104134/http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/politics/inside-politics-blog/2013/03/tbs-prez-tony-clement-talks-open-data-at-first-ever-ministerial-google-hangout.html. July 31, 2013.
  15. Web site: Tony Clement discusses open data during Google+ hangout. Global News. 29 October 2013.
  16. News: National Post teams up with XMG Studio to launch first ever Great Canadian Appathon. Financial Post. 17 February 2011 . 29 October 2013. Hartley . Matt .
  17. Web site: Can an Appathon create the next big thing in one weekend?. The Globe and Mail. 29 October 2013.
  18. Web site: 14 February 2014. Great Canadian Appathon [4] Awards $35,000 To Student Game Makers]. 25 March 2014.
  19. Web site: Hutchison. Bill. 2011-03-20. WebMania: Students compete at Great Canadian Appathon. https://web.archive.org/web/20220223155738/https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/mobile/webmania-students-compete-at-great-canadian-appathon-1.621176. dead. 23 February 2022. 2022-02-23. Toronto. en.
  20. Web site: XMG Studio's Ray Sharma points to the creative power of 48 hours hackathons. Pocket Gamer.biz. 29 October 2013.
  21. News: By sitting on the sidelines in fintech, Canada risks losing golden reputation in banking. The Globe and Mail . 18 April 2016 . Sharma . Ray .
  22. News: 2010-11-14. Can start-ups get what they need from Canada's venture capital ecosystem?. en-CA. The Globe and Mail. 2021-10-20.
  23. News: Sharma. Ray. 2015-05-14. Why I got rid of my Apple Watch in less than a week. en-CA. The Globe and Mail. 2021-10-20.
  24. News: Akkad. Omar El. 2011-10-05. Steve Jobs: the man who changed your world. en-CA. The Globe and Mail. 2021-10-20.
  25. Web site: Tiny entertainment cost-per-hour is the secret of apps' success, says XMG's Ray Sharma . Pocket Gamer . 2022-02-23 .
  26. Web site: Apps are eating the global wireless spectrum, warns XMG's Ray Sharma . Pocket Gamer . 2022-02-23 .
  27. Web site: Archived - Open Government Engagement Team . 2021-10-20. www.ontario.ca.
  28. Web site: ROM Trustees. dead. Royal Ontario Museum. 29 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130623140145/http://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/rom-leadership/rom-trustees. June 23, 2013.
  29. Web site: 28 February 2014. Minister Clement Celebrates the Launch of CODE. . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140326043648/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/28/idUSnMKWdl1nna+1c0+MKW20140228. 26 March 2014. 25 March 2014.
  30. Web site: 20 January 2014. Canada-wide hackathon to create apps using Canadian government data. 25 March 2014.
  31. Web site: 2015-02-24. The opportunity of open data and the importance of hackathons BetaKit. 2022-02-23. en-CA.
  32. News: Andrea Woo. 2018-12-10. Bonding over bots: Hackergal teaches Canadian girls about coding. en-CA. The Globe and Mail. 2021-10-20.
  33. Web site: SideDrawer attracts venture industry and technology veteran Ray Sharma to its Board of Directors . 2023-01-12 . blog.sidedrawer.com . en.
  34. Web site: 2019-05-15. Ontario judge rules against Xtreme Labs co-founders, Chamath Palihapitiya in Tinder-focused lawsuit BetaKit. 2021-10-20. en-CA.
  35. News: MacMillan. Douglas. 2015-03-11. Tinder Hook Up Leads to a Lawsuit. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2021-10-20. 0099-9660.
  36. Web site: 2024 Ivey Alumni Achievement Award Recipient Ray Sharma, HBA 96 . Ivey Business School . 2025-10-03 . en .

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