And no, you are not the first and surely won’t be the last person asking us this.

• Investors
• Customers
• Partners
• Our friends and families.

Every time we enthusiastically talk about what we are building, we get a lot of curiosity about our product. But the conversation often veers towards why we call ourselves Shabodi and what it means. 

We decided to put an end to the suspense once and for all. So, I sat down with co-founders Vikram and Harpreet to understand the origins of Shabodi. As it turns out, it wasn’t the first name that came to the founding team’s mind – and multiple sessions of brainstorming went into arriving at “Shabodi.” 

Vikram believes that his and Harpreet’s journey in careers and life influences the culture of the company they are starting. Therefore, he wanted to use a name that brings the founders’ East and West cultural experience and the importance of symbolism to anchor the company’s mission. 

In contrast, Harpreet Geekee, a proud geek, wanted the name to reflect the technological superpowers of the platform they were building for the advanced networks. 

What followed was days of brainstorming and lots of options thrown around and eventually discarded. Till Vikram thought of Shabodi, and Vikram and Harpreet instantly agreed. It comes from two words rooted in Indian spirituality:

Shaman is known to act as an intermediary between the natural and supernatural world. A wise guide if you will.

Bodhi, the Bodhi Tree, is a giant sacred tree located in Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India, under which spiritual teacher Buddha attained enlightenment in 500 BCE. In literal terms, Bodhi translates to enlightenment, an awakening.

And that is the story of how Shabodi got its name. “Shabodi is what we were always meant to be!” Vikram’s exact words.

But what do spirituality and awakening have to do with the world of connectivity and advanced networks?

A lot, as it turns out. 

5G represents a whole new technology paradigm – an awakening. Its high speeds and low latency will make information more accessible and democratized across enterprises and societies. It will revamp connectivity, communication and information access in mission-critical industries – healthcare to education, armed forces to energy. This transformation will be far more and much faster than 4G. 

But the best of this change will come from the foundation of network-aware applications built by developers and enterprises who need upskilling and guidance to make the most of this entirely new realm. 

Harpreet and Vikram agree that the very purpose of Shabodi’s Application Enablement Platform (AEP) is to provide that guidance to enterprises and the developer community for the world to get ready for 5G and beyond. It will act as the intermediary between networks and applications, building network-aware applications that leverage 5G’s real superpowers.

 Think of Shabodi as a Sherpa, Shaman, or Guide. Let it navigate you towards enlightenment.

That visit to the heart of enlightenment, and the rest is history​

Interestingly, just before I joined Shabodi, I was in a small town in northern India, Sarnath, near the very popular Varanasi. According to Buddhist tradition, Buddha travelled to Sarnath after attaining enlightenment and delivered his first sermon, known as the “Turning of the Wheel of Dharma,” to his five former companions.

I have been associated with Vikram and Harpreet since Shabodi’s early months, much before I came on board late last year.

I have immense faith in the founding duo’s vision. And the name – Shabodi – summarizes that vision: the enthusiasm and knowledge to lead the 5G charge from the front, and a platform that empowers the ecosystem to make the most of advanced networks.

Future’s calling.