Sridhar Vembu Complete Profile of ZOHO Founder

Info	Details
Full Name	Sridhar Vembu
Born	1968, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
Education	B.Tech (Electrical Engineering) from IIT Madras; Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Princeton University
Known For	Co-founder of Zoho Corporation
Current Role (2025)	Chief Scientist, Zoho (stepped down as CEO in Jan 2025)

Career Journey

Began career as a wireless engineer at Qualcomm in San Diego, USA.
In 1996, co-founded AdventNet, which later became Zoho Corporation in 2009.
Under his leadership, Zoho transformed into a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) giant with 55+ business applications across CRM, Finance, HR, Collaboration, and Productivity.
By FY 2022–23, Zoho reported ₹9,158 crore revenue and ₹2,836 crore net profit.

In January 2025, Sridhar Vembu stepped down as CEO of Zoho to focus on research, AI, and rural development.
New leadership:
- Shailesh Kumar Davey → Group CEO
- Tony Thomas → Head of Zoho US
- Rajesh Ganesan → ManageEngine division
- Mani Vembu → Zoho.com division
Vembu took the role of Chief Scientist.

Rural Development & Decentralization
- Strong believer in taking tech and jobs to villages and small towns.
- Zoho has offices in rural India, creating local employment.
Swadeshi & Self-Reliance
- Advocates “Make in India” and reduced dependence on foreign tech giants.
On AI & Innovation
- Warns against AI hype and bubble-like trends.
- Stresses that India is strong in process innovation, but weak in product innovation.
Education & Language
- Promotes local language education.
- Opposes English being treated as a status symbol.

Padma Shri Award (2021) by the Government of India.
Ranked among India’s richest entrepreneurs, with a net worth of $5.8 billion (2024, Forbes).
Zoho serves 100M+ global users and operates in 60+ countries.

Chip Manufacturing Plan Halted:
Zoho suspended its $700 million semiconductor project due to technological and partnership hurdles.
Critique of IT Sector:
Vembu criticized India’s IT services model for 30 years of “inefficiencies” and over-dependence on legacy models.
Public Statements:
His comments on English vs. local languages and IT jobs sometimes triggered debate.

Focus on AI research and R&D as Zoho’s Chief Scientist.
Continue rural development initiatives by setting up offices in villages.
Strengthen India’s role in product innovation and indigenous technology.

Represents a rare success story of an Indian tech founder who built a billion-dollar global SaaS company without external funding.
Embodies privacy-first, ad-free, and self-reliant innovation.
Advocates decentralization and empowerment of rural India through technology.