Amar C. Bakshi is the founder of Shared_Studios and the creator of Portals — a global network of life-size, immersive video spaces housed in gold shipping containers. Portals have connected over 750,000 people across 35+ countries, linking refugee camps, public parks, schools, and corporate campuses in real-time, face-to-face dialogue. From students to heads of state, participants engage in unscripted encounters that transcend borders and screens. Institutions like Harvard, Yale, and the United Nations have used Portals to explore diplomacy, education, and cross-cultural exchange in ways traditional technologies cannot. Celebrated by figures including Barack Obama, Malala Yousafzai, and Vint Cerf, Portals have become permanent installations around the world. Amar’s work has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, BBC, and a PBS documentary, and is recognized for transforming communication technology into a deeply human, shared experience — one that feels, as one participant put it, like “breathing the same air.”
