Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026
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Explore Zoho
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 1996 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India & Austin, Texas, United States
In 1996, Sridhar Vembu, a Princeton electrical engineering PhD who was working at Qualcomm in San Diego, realized that Silicon Valley's venture capital model forced tech startups into dangerous boom-and-bust cycles. Vembu partnered with software engineer Tony Thomas and his brothers in Chennai to create **AdventNet**, building network management software for telecom equipment makers like Cisco. When the Dot-Com crash of 2001 wiped out 90% of their telecom clients, Vembu refused to lay off his engineers. Instead, they pivoted into enterprise IT management with **ManageEngine**, and in 2005, launched **Zoho CRM** and cloud productivity tools. Rejecting multi-billion-dollar buyout offers from Salesforce and private equity firms, Sridhar proved that a patient, bootstrapped company built on Indian engineering talent could conquer global enterprise software.
Sridhar Vembu is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zoho Corporation. In 1996, Vembu co-founded AdventNet, guiding its transformation into a global SaaS powerhouse. Vembu is famous for rejecting all venture capital, pioneering rural software offices in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, establishing the tuition-free Zoho Schools of Learning, and championing self-reliance.
Tony Thomas is the Co-Founder and founding Chairman of Zoho Corporation. Thomas architected the company's early network management software and guided core product architecture.
Established in a Chennai apartment to build telecom network management software.
Pivoted into enterprise IT management, network security, and helpdesk tools.
Entered cloud SaaS with Zoho CRM, Writer, and Sheet, challenging Salesforce and Microsoft.
Renamed company to Zoho Corporation, uniting all cloud business applications.
Pioneered rural tech development in rural Tamil Nadu, creating world-class software outside big cities.
Unveiled 55+ interconnected applications for $30/user/month, disrupting SaaS pricing.
Became one of the only technology companies in history to pass $1B in revenue with zero VC funding.
Achieved annual revenue exceeding $1.4 billion USD with over 100 million global users.
Since its establishment in 1996, Zoho expanded from an early-stage venture into a recognized leader in Enterprise Software, Cloud SaaS, CRM, IT Service Management (ITSM), Low-Code Platforms & Rural Tech Empowerment, overcoming key market challenges.
Over its history, Zoho executed decisive strategic pivots toward scalable monetization and digital distribution, securing its current market leadership.
By continually modernizing operations and embracing workflow automation, Zoho maintains resilience through changing technological and economic cycles.