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Zerodha

Indian FintechFinTechFounded 2010
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Founders

Who Founded Zerodha?

Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath · Founded 2010 · HQ today: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Who founded Zerodha?

Zerodha was founded by Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath in 2010. It is now led by Nithin Kamath.

Founders
Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath
Founded
2010
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Number of founders
2
Current CEO
Nithin Kamath (since 2010)
Where was Zerodha founded?
Zerodha was founded in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India in 2010.
When was Zerodha founded?
Zerodha was founded in 2010.
Who started Zerodha?
Zerodha was founded by Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath.
How old is Zerodha?
Zerodha is 16 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Nithin Kamath began trading in his teens and spent years combining a call-centre job with trading and later sub-broking in Bengaluru. He and his younger brother Nikhil saw that traditional brokers charged a percentage of trade value even though execution cost the same regardless of order size. They started Zerodha on 15 August 2010, naming it after 'zero' and 'rodha', the Sanskrit word for barrier. The firm charged a flat fee per trade, built its own trading software, and in 2015 made equity delivery trades free. It grew through referrals rather than advertising and has funded itself from profits ever since.

What each Zerodha founder did

FounderRole at foundingContributionSource
Nithin KamathCo-founder & CEO—en.wikipedia.org
Nikhil KamathCo-founder—en.wikipedia.org

Nithin Kamath

Co-founder 2010

Background

Indian trader and entrepreneur.

Role at Zerodha

Nithin Kamath co-founded Zerodha in 2010. Having started day trading at age 17 and suffering massive losses during the 2001 dot-com crash and 2008 financial crisis, he was deeply furious at the astronomically high brokerage fees charged by legacy Indian banks. He bootstrapped Zerodha with zero venture capital to build India's first true discount brokerage.

Nithin Kamath was born in 1979.

Kamath was born on October 5, 1979.

Nikhil Kamath

Co-founder 2010

Background

Indian trader and entrepreneur.

Role at Zerodha

Nikhil Kamath co-founded Zerodha in 2010. A highly skilled, aggressive day trader who dropped out of school at age 14, he provided the absolute critical trading expertise to ensure the platform catered perfectly to high-volume derivative traders, who generate the vast majority of the firm's massive profits.

Kamath was born on September 5, 1986. He also co-founded the asset management company True Beacon. Nikhil Kamath was born in 1986.

Zerodha: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Kailash Nadh

Chief Technology Officer

2013 – Present

As the legendary CTO, he built an absolutely world-class, ultra-lean engineering team capable of processing millions of concurrent trades with virtually zero downtime, severely crippling legacy banking rivals.

Nithin Kamath

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

2010 – Present

Has led Zerodha since founding and publishes regular updates on its finances and risks.

Nikhil Kamath

Co-Founder

2010 – Present

As Co-Founder, he acts as the absolute financial mastermind, managing the incredibly profitable proprietary trading and investment arms of the massive, bootstrapped unicorn.

Compare Zerodha Leadership With Competitors

Zerodha vs CRED Leadership →Overview
Zerodha vs Jupiter Money Leadership →Overview
Zerodha vs Starling Bank Leadership →Overview
Zerodha vs N26 Leadership →Overview

Keep researching Zerodha

Who Founded Zerodha? FAQ

Who are the founders of Zerodha?

Zerodha was founded by brothers Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath, who combined trading expertise and capital to launch India's pioneering discount brokerage in 2010.

What was Nikhil Kamath's role in Zerodha's early development?

Nikhil Kamath managed proprietary risk and advanced trading strategies as Co-founder and Chief Investing Officer, providing the trading insights that shaped Kite's execution engine.

What other successful ventures has Nikhil Kamath founded?

Nikhil Kamath founded asset management firm True Beacon for ultra-high-net-worth investors, real estate investment fund Gruhas, and hosts the widely viewed business podcast 'WTF is?'.

What is Nikhil Kamath's philanthropic pledge?

Nikhil Kamath became the youngest Indian signatory of The Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his personal wealth to philanthropic causes like education and healthcare.

How did the Kamath brothers self-fund Zerodha's early operations?

The brothers pooled personal trading profits accumulated over years of active trading to cover exchange membership deposits, clearing licenses, and initial server infrastructure.

What is the educational background of the Kamath brothers?

Neither founder attended an elite business school; Nithin graduated with an engineering degree from Bangalore Institute of Technology, while Nikhil dropped out of formal schooling at age 14.

How do the brothers maintain their relationship and business governance?

The brothers maintain deep mutual respect with clear operational boundaries: Nithin oversees Zerodha's core operations, while Nikhil focuses on external investments, venture capital, and media.

What role did their parents play in their entrepreneurial journey?

Born to a canara bank manager father and an environmentalist mother, the brothers were raised with deep values of thrift, integrity, and social responsibility that define Zerodha's culture.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.