The journal, in its online edition, noted the monthly meetings of The IndUS Entrepreneurs, a Silicon Valley non-profit organisation begun in 1992 that boosts South Asian entrepreneurship through mentoring and angel investors. Buttonholed at parties, Hindu temples and Indian restaurants, the angels critique business plans, offer advice and write the first cheques to allow other ambitious emigrants from their part of the world to strike out on their own, the J journal said of the likes of Kanwal Rekhi, who started Excelan and sold it to Novell, KB Chandrasekhar of Exodus Communications, Naveen Jain of InfoSpace and several others.

These industry leaders have become household names for aspiring Indian American entrepreneurs and are sharing their wealth with businesses and educational institutions like the IITs in India.

The article titled `South Asian `angels' reap riches, spread wealth in Silicon Valley,' noted that while most of the money goes to US companies, their interest in start-ups in India could impact American markets. ``The identity, business plans and capitalisation of these new ventures are unusually fluid and could lead to some of the first foreign Internet ventures that have a major impact in US,'' it said. South Asians, especially Indians, have had an impact in a very short time. Indian engineers became fixtures in Silicon Valley companies in the 1980s, then quickly moved to management level and began starting their own companies.

-- (IANS)