Who Is Vaniya Agrawal? Indian-Origin Engineer Behind Microsoft Gaza Protest

Indian-American software developer Vaniya Agrawal caused international outcry following when she gatecrashed Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebrations, making public allegations against the tech company of involvement in Gaza violence. Agrawal, who used to work in Microsoft’s artificial intelligence sector, challenged incumbent CEO Satya Nadella and his predecessors Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer on a prominent panel at the event.

While Nadella and the previous executives spoke about Microsoft’s history on stage, Agrawal got up from the crowd and started shouting:

“Shame on you all. You are all hypocrites,” she exclaimed.

“50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed using Microsoft technology. How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating in their blood. Cut ties with Israel,” she continued.

Security quickly removed her from the venue. In viral videos on all social media platforms, there are reports that some members of the audience were heard booing during the altercation.

Associated with Activist Organization ‘No Azure for Apartheid’

Agrawal also referred to ‘No Azure for Apartheid,’ a protest movement against Microsoft’s supposed partnership with the Israeli army through its Azure cloud infrastructure. The movement has allegedly conducted a number of demonstrations inside and outside Microsoft facilities over the last few months.

Who Is Vaniya Agrawal?

Agrawal is an Indian-origin software engineer who joined Microsoft in September 2023. Before that, she worked at Amazon for more than three years as a similar engineer.

After her public demonstration, Agrawal gave notice of her resignation due to ethical issues. Her last day of work at Microsoft will be April 11.

She wrote in an email to co-workers:

“Hi all, My name is Vaniya, and after 1.5 years as a software engineer at this company, I’ve decided to leave Microsoft. My last day is next Friday, April 11. You may have seen me stand up earlier today to call out Satya during his speech at the Microsoft 50th anniversary. Here’s why I decided to leave the company and why I spoke up today.”

Agrawal’s action has kicked up a bigger debate about tech ethics, employee activism, and corporate responsibility in war zones.