Dhiraj Mukherjee
Co-founder of Shazam, Investor in OpenAI and Tech Investor, Global Speaker on AI, Climate, and the Future of Work
why book dhiraj ?
- Dhiraj Mukherjee co-founded Shazam, downloaded over 2 billion times and sold to Apple for $400 million
- He was named one of Europe’s Top 50 technology entrepreneurs by the Financial Times
- Dhiraj has advised blue-chip companies like Unilever, Citibank, and Intel
“Dhiraj’s inspiring stories and authenticity resonated really well with this senior audience. The feedback from guests was incredible; his friendliness, humour and humility were especially highlighted.”
Jonathan Groom, Product Marketing, Google
Biography
Dhiraj Mukherjee co-founded Shazam and built it into a global brand with over 2 billion downloads.
He led Shazam through two financial crises and secured tens of millions in funding. Dhiraj guided the company’s launch, growth, and eventual sale to Apple for a reported $400 million.
Recognised by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s Top 50 tech entrepreneurs, Dhiraj has deep insight into hypergrowth and tech innovation.
Today, he is an international keynote speaker on AI, adaptable leadership, climate action, and the future of work.
Dhiraj is a Tech for Good investor with a portfolio of over 250 start-ups, spanning climate tech, AI, and emerging technologies. His investments include OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT.
He has advised major firms like PwC, Unilever, Intel, and Citibank. Dhiraj also works with EQTY, a leading PropTech fund, and holds an MBA from Stanford and a BA from Dartmouth College.
As a speaker, Dhiraj blends inspiration with practical insights.
His future-focused talks are rooted in real business experience, offering humour, vision, and action.
Topics
How to Adapt to the Future
From his experience at Shazam, Dhiraj found that the best way to predict the future is to create it. He has now invested in over 250 cutting-edge startups in AI, climate tech and other emerging technology. Dhiraj believes that we all need to dream big to create the future we want to be part of. Today’s leaders must learn while they lead, and lead as they learn. How can we transform ourselves and transform our organisations? The key is embracing uncertainty: learning to be good at what we aren’t doing yet. Drawing on decades of experience, he shares proven methods for re-inventing business and building lasting success.
Secrets of Shazam’s Success
Dhiraj tells the story of founding Shazam in 2000 – long before smart phones existed – to selling to Apple in 2018 for a reported $400M. He describes the roller-coaster ride from idea to exit, surviving the dotcom crash and the great financial crisis to become an iconic global brand. The lessons learned in tenacity, teamwork and resilience apply to any business aspiring to re-define their industry.
GenAI and Emerging Technology
Just as Shazam transformed the music industry, GenAI and emerging technology will transform business beyond recognition. The question is: how will we transform ourselves? Dhiraj shares his insights into building businesses which positively thrive on uncertainty. The key is to actively design a fluid organisation, ready to embrace the challenges of business reinvention. Drawing on decades of experience, he shares proven methods for building foresight, embedding innovation, and leading in an age of hypergrowth.
Dhiraj Mukherjee
“Dhiraj’s insights were incredibly useful especially where every business is having to think differently and embrace technology like never before. during this unique time.”
Alex Wicks, Global Head of Partnerships, Real Madrid FC
testimonials
“Common challenges do cut across industries. Dhiraj’s insights on models, platforms, app economics, innovation, timing, and resilience, greatly boosted us in our own digital transformation journey!”
Marc Fontaine, Chief of Staff, Airbus
“Dhiraj was chosen as closing keynote speaker for the MTN Global Leadership Gathering 2025. Dhiraj’s brief was to share his personal leadership journey in co-founding Shazam in 2000; and his “Tech for Good” ventures as to inspire a belief that MTN BEYOND 2025 can be executed with clarity, speed and resilience. The result, a 97% delegate satisfaction rating of excellent to fantastic. Besides his inspiring closing talk, he is just such a humble, friendly and kind human being, not to mention his optimism and curiosity to learn from MTN and our leaders.”
Charl Cuyer, Group HR GM, MTN
“Dhiraj gave the keynote speech at our 25th UK Technology Fast 50 awards dinner, to a crowd of 100+ founders of high growth VC backed companies. Great speech – engaging, great story-teller, fascinating look-back over the Shazam days, and very personable. Would highly recommend.”
Ducann Down, Partner, Deloitte
“Dhiraj delivered an exceptional presentation on the role and potential of generative AI in the financial services industry. Dhiraj explored the transformative impact of generative AI with both clarity and vision, sparking thought-provoking discussions and inspiring fresh ideas. From the moment he took the stage, he captivated the audience with his dynamic and energetic delivery. His deep expertise, combined with a natural ability to simplify complex concepts, kept everyone engaged and left a lasting impression. We received amazing feedback from his session, being the preferred one amongst all the audience.”
Elena Martinez, VP Mastercard Europe, Mastercard
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