Infosys Limited
Company History
Infosys History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1981 in Pune, India
When was Infosys founded?
Infosys was founded in 1981 in Pune, India by N. R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S. Gopalakrishnan, S. D. Shibulal, K. Dinesh, N. S. Raghavan and Ashok Arora, making it 45 years old.
- Founded
- 1981
- Founding place
- Pune, India
- Founders
- N. R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S. Gopalakrishnan, S. D. Shibulal, K. Dinesh, N. S. Raghavan and Ashok Arora
- Headquarters today
- Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
- Milestones documented
- 12 (1981–2026)
- Current CEO
- Salil Parekh
- Acquisitions
- 12
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Infosys Founded |
| 1993 | Indian Public Listing |
| 1999 | NASDAQ Listing |
| 2000 | Finacle Scales |
| 2002 | Nandan Nilekani Becomes CEO |
| 2011 | S. D. Shibulal becomes CEO |
| 2014 | Vishal Sikka becomes CEO |
| 2017 | Vishal Sikka Resigns |
| 2018 | Salil Parekh Becomes CEO |
| 2024 | Acquired In-tech |
| 2026 | Revenue Crosses $20B |
| 2026 | FY2027 Guidance Cut |
- Where was Infosys founded?
- Infosys was founded in Pune, India in 1981. en.wikipedia.org
- Who founded Infosys?
- Infosys was founded by N. R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S. Gopalakrishnan, S. D. Shibulal, K. Dinesh, N. S. Raghavan and Ashok Arora.
- When did Infosys start?
- Infosys was founded in 1981.
- How old is Infosys?
- Infosys is 45 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 1981, N. R. Narayana Murthy and six colleagues from Patni Computer Systems started Infosys in Pune with about ₹10,000 (roughly $250) that Murthy borrowed from his wife, Sudha Murty. India still required government licences to import computers, so the founders built a business that sold software skills to overseas clients instead. The company moved its headquarters to Bangalore in 1983, listed in India in 1993, and in 1999 became the first India-registered company to list on NASDAQ.
Founders
N. R. Narayana Murthy
Infosys possesses arguably the most ethical, well-known founding story in modern Indian corporate history, defining the 'middle-class' technology miracle of Bangalore and famously prioritizing rigorous corporate governance in a heavily corrupt regulatory era. The company was founded in 1981 by N.R. Narayana Murthy and six other effective software engineers (including Nandan Nilekani, who would later build India's biometric ID system, Aadhaar). The foundational origins are humble; Murthy famously borrowed ₹10,000 (roughly $250) from his supportive wife, Sudha Murty, to provide the foundational seed capital for the company. They started Infosys in a tiny apartment in Pune (later moving to Bangalore) with a foundational obsession with ethical business practices. At the time, doing business in India (the 'License Raj') often required bribes and corrupt political connections. Murthy instituted a rigorous, refusal to pay bribes, famously suffering delays in importing computers simply to maintain the company's integrity. Their key move was pioneering the Global Delivery Model, convincing skeptical American clients that complex software could be written efficiently halfway across the world. When Infosys became the very first Indian company to list on the US NASDAQ exchange in 1999, it legitimized the Indian IT sector globally. Furthermore, by famously instituting Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Murthy and the founders generated wealth not just for themselves, but for thousands of ordinary Indian engineers, transforming Infosys from a scrappy startup into the foundational bedrock of the Indian middle-class tech boom. Education: Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. N. R. Narayana Murthy was born in 1946.
Nandan Nilekani
Nandan Nilekani served as Infosys CEO from 2002 to 2007, a period when the company expanded into global markets and deepened its position with Fortune 500 clients. He was instrumental in building the company's brand, client relationships, and strategic positioning. After leaving Infosys Nilekani was appointed chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in 2009, where he led the creation of Aadhaar, the world's largest biometric identity system, covering over 1.3 billion people. He returned to Infosys as non-executive chairman in August 2017 during the company's most serious governance crisis, following the Panaya controversy and Vishal Sikka's resignation. His return stabilized the board, restored investor confidence, and led to the appointment of Salil Parekh as CEO. Nilekani continues to serve as chairman, providing strategic oversight while Parekh handles operational execution. His lasting contribution to Infosys is the idea that technology institutions must combine commercial scale with public trust. Education: Bishop Cotton Boys' School. Nandan Nilekani was born in 1955.
S. Gopalakrishnan
S. Gopalakrishnan co-founded Infosys in 1981 and served as CEO from 2007 to 2011, handling the company through the global financial crisis while maintaining profitability and client trust. His tenure emphasized technology investment, global delivery expansion, and operational resilience. Before becoming CEO, he served as COO and was responsible for building much of Infosys' technology infrastructure and delivery capability. After stepping down as CEO, he served as executive vice chairman until 2014. Kris later became president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and has been active in promoting research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in India. His lasting influence on Infosys is the belief that process discipline and engineering depth must advance together, delivery scale without technical renewal eventually becomes commodity work. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
S. D. Shibulal
S. D. Shibulal co-founded Infosys in 1981 and served as CEO from 2011 to 2014. His tenure came during a transitional period when traditional outsourcing growth was slowing and the market was beginning to shift toward digital transformation, cloud, and automation. Shibulal prioritized operational stability, service quality, and the global delivery model he had helped build over three decades. While critics argued that Infosys was too slow to embrace digital under his leadership, the company maintained profitability and client trust during a period of industry uncertainty. After stepping down, subsequent leaders accelerated the digital and AI shift. His lasting contribution is the delivery architecture, the disciplined division of onsite and offshore work, supported by process controls, documentation standards, and quality metrics, that allowed Infosys to scale from a small exporter to a global enterprise services company without losing client trust. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
K. Dinesh
K. Dinesh co-founded Infosys in 1981 and spent his career building the company's internal operating systems, quality processes, human resources practices, training programs, and organizational development. He helped establish the CMM Level 5 certification processes that became a competitive differentiator in the 1990s, when enterprise clients used maturity models to evaluate offshore vendors. Dinesh also contributed to Infosys' education and research initiatives, including the company's relationship with academic institutions. He retired from active management but remained associated with the broader Infosys founder legacy of professionalism and institution-building. His lasting contribution is not a single product or deal but the operating backbone that allowed Infosys to grow from seven people to over 300,000 without losing process discipline. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
N. S. Raghavan
N. S. Raghavan co-founded Infosys and served as a stabilizing administrative force during the company's fragile early years. He managed finance, human resources, and internal operations at a time when the company had limited resources and no external credibility. His role mattered because the founders were trying to build a professional institution, not a loose collection of engineers chasing overseas contracts. Raghavan helped create the organizational order that allowed Infosys to handle its first major clients, manage its first employees beyond the founding team, and navigate India's complex regulatory environment. He stepped back from active management earlier than other founders but his influence remained in the governance habits and administrative systems that supported later growth. He later became an active angel investor and mentor in India's startup ecosystem. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Ashok Arora
Ashok Arora co-founded Infosys in 1981 and contributed to the company's earliest technical work and client delivery. Unlike the other six founders, Arora left the company relatively early and sold his stake before Infosys became a public-market success. His exit is one of the most frequently cited missed-wealth stories in Indian business history, the stake he sold for a modest sum would have been worth billions at Infosys' peak valuation. That outcome does not diminish his contribution to the founding moment, but it illustrates how difficult it is to value a young services company before its market has fully formed. Arora's role belongs to the startup phase of Infosys history rather than its scaling era. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Infosys Founded
Seven engineers founded Infosys in Pune before relocating and scaling the company in Bengaluru.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgIndian Public Listing
Infosys listed in India and began building a transparent governance reputation.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgNASDAQ Listing
Infosys became the first Indian company listed on NASDAQ, boosting global investor credibility.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFinacle Scales
Infosys expanded its banking software platform, creating product-led switching costs inside banks.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgNandan Nilekani Becomes CEO
Co-founder Nandan Nilekani succeeded N. R. Narayana Murthy as chief executive in 2002.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgS. D. Shibulal becomes CEO
S. D. Shibulal became CEO of Infosys Limited in 2011. He was the last founder to serve as CEO before the board appointed an outside leader.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgVishal Sikka becomes CEO
Vishal Sikka became CEO of Infosys Limited in 2014. He resigned in August 2017 after public criticism from founder N.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgVishal Sikka Resigns
Vishal Sikka resigned as chief executive in August 2017 and Nandan Nilekani returned as chairman.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSalil Parekh Becomes CEO
Salil Parekh became CEO and began a period focused on large deals, cloud, AI, and delivery discipline.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgRevenue Crosses $20B
Infosys reported $20.158 billion in FY2026 revenue, up 3.1% in constant currency, with $14.9 billion in large-deal wins.
Source: infosys.comFY2027 Guidance Cut
In July 2026 Infosys reported Q1 FY2027 revenue of $5.082 billion and lowered full-year growth guidance to 1.5%-3.0% in constant currency.
Source: infosys.comMajor Acquisitions
Simplus
2020Infosys acquired Simplus, an US-based Salesforce consulting and implementation firm, for approximately $250 million in March 2020. The deal was designed to strengthen Infosys' Salesforce ecosystem capabilities - particularly in quote-to-cash transformation, CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote), and cloud CRM implementation - while adding North American enterprise client relationships.
Panaya
2015Infosys acquired Panaya, an Israel-based cloud company specializing in enterprise software testing and change impact analysis, for $200 million in February 2015. The deal was intended to add automation technology for SAP and Oracle modernization programs, reducing the manual testing effort in large package implementations.
Fluido
2018Infosys acquired Fluido, a Nordic Salesforce consulting firm, for up to 65 million (approximately $76 million) in October 2018. The deal expanded Infosys' Salesforce practice into Northern Europe, adding local delivery presence in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Slovakia.
WongDoody
2018Infosys acquired WongDoody, an US-based creative and digital experience agency, for approximately $75 million in 2018. The deal added creative design, brand strategy, consumer insights, and digital experience capabilities to Infosys' technology services portfolio.
GuideVision
2020Infosys acquired GuideVision, a European ServiceNow Elite Partner, in 2020 to strengthen its ServiceNow consulting, implementation, and managed services capabilities across Central and Eastern Europe.
Kaleidoscope Innovation
2020Infosys acquired Kaleidoscope Innovation, an US-based product design and engineering firm, for approximately $42 million in 2020. The deal added upstream product design, medical device engineering, human factors research, and smart-product development capabilities.
BASE life science
2022Infosys acquired BASE life science, a European life sciences consulting firm, in 2022 to deepen its capabilities in pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device consulting - covering regulatory affairs, quality management, clinical operations, and commercial transformation.
Oddity
2022Infosys acquired oddity, a German digital marketing and experience design agency, in 2022 to expand creative, commerce, and brand capabilities in Germany, broader Europe, and Northeast Asia.
InSemi Technology Services
2024Infosys acquired InSemi Technology Services, a Bengaluru-based semiconductor design and embedded services provider, for 280 crore (approximately $33.7 million including earn-outs) in 2024. The deal strengthened Infosys' Engineering R&D capabilities in chip design, VLSI, embedded systems, and hardware-software co-design.
In-tech
2024Infosys announced the acquisition of in-tech, a leading German engineering R&D services provider, for 450 million (approximately $485 million) in April 2024. In-tech specializes in software-defined vehicles, e-mobility, connected and autonomous driving, ADAS, rail systems, and smart industry solutions for German automotive OEMs.
Skava
2015Infosys acquired Skava, an US-based mobile commerce platform company, for approximately $120 million in 2015. The deal was intended to strengthen digital commerce, mobile-first shopping experiences, and omnichannel retail technology capabilities.
MRE Consulting
2025Infosys bought Houston-based MRE Consulting, a technology and business consultancy focused on energy trading and risk management, for up to about $36 million in cash. The deal closed on April 30, 2025.
Keep researching Infosys
Infosys Company History FAQ
What are the landmark milestones across the 45-year history of Infosys?
Key milestones include founding in Pune (1981), relocating to Bengaluru (1983), landmark Indian IPO (1993), becoming the first Indian company listed on NASDAQ (1999), crossing $1B revenue (2004), opening Mysore campus (2005), achieving carbon neutrality (2020), and launching Infosys Topaz (2023).
What was the historic 1993 Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Infosys in India?
In February 1993, Infosys went public on the Indian stock exchanges. The IPO was initially undersubscribed, but investment bank Enam Securities and foreign institutional investors stepped in. Early investors realized over 1,000x returns as Infosys grew into an international leader.
Why was Infosys's March 1999 listing on NASDAQ a historic milestone for India?
On March 11, 1999, Infosys became the first Indian-registered company to list on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York (under ticker INFY). The listing legitimized India's software engineering capabilities on the world stage and paved the way for the Indian tech boom.
How did the Y2K bug in 1999 to 2000 accelerate Infosys's global growth?
During the late 1990s, global corporations faced the large 'Year 2000' (Y2K) software glitch in legacy mainframes. Infosys deployed thousands of disciplined engineers to fix millions of lines of code on time, proving its flawless execution and winning long-term enterprise outsourcing trust.
When did Infosys cross $1 billion and $10 billion in annual revenue?
Infosys crossed $1 billion in annual revenue in 2004 (celebrated in New York), reached $10 billion in 2017, and surpassed $18 billion to $19+ billion by 2024, demonstrating one of the most consistent compounding growth trajectories in corporate history.
How did Infosys handle the transition to 100% remote work during COVID-19 in 2020?
Within weeks of the March 2020 global pandemic lockdowns, Infosys securely transitioned over 99% of its 240,000+ employees to working from home, deploying secure laptops, virtual desktops, and cloud security with zero downtime for clients.
What is the Infosys Prize awarded annually by the Infosys Science Foundation?
Established in 2009 by the founders, the Infosys Science Foundation awards the prestigious annual Infosys Prize ($100,000 cash and pure gold medal) across six categories to recognize high-quality scientific research and humanities scholarship in India.
What is Infosys's strategic vision for the next decade of enterprise technology?
Infosys envisions an autonomous, AI-first enterprise world powered by Infosys Topaz and Cobalt, where human creativity is amplified by generative AI agents, sustainable green computing grids, and hyper-personalized digital customer experiences.
How did Infosys start?
Infosys was founded in 1981 in Pune, India, by seven highly ambitious engineers, led by N.R. Narayana Murthy. Famously, Murthy had to borrow 10,000 rupees (about $250) from his wife, Sudha Murty, to provide the initial capital. Operating during India's highly restrictive "License Raj," they spent years struggling for basic computer imports before exploding globally in the 1990s.
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