Freshworks vs SAP: Founders, CEOs and History
Freshworks was founded in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham, Shan Krishnasamy and is led by Dennis Woodside. SAP was founded in 1972 by Dietmar Hopp, Hasso Plattner, Hans-Werner Hector and is led by Christian Klein.
Company facts
Freshworks
- Founded
- 2010
- Headquarters
- San Mateo, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Dennis Woodside
- Employees
- 4,000
SAP
- Founded
- 1972
- Headquarters
- Walldorf, Germany
- Current CEO
- Christian Klein
- Employees
- 112,019
Founders
Freshworks
Girish Mathrubootham
Girish Mathrubootham co-founded Freshdesk (later Freshworks) in Chennai in 2010 and served as CEO until May 2024, leading the company through its September 2021 NASDAQ IPO.
Shan Krishnasamy
Shan Krishnasamy co-founded Freshdesk in 2010 and served as its chief technology officer, building the original product and the Chennai engineering team that underpinned Freshworks' growth. He later stepped back from the company.
SAP
Dietmar Hopp
Dietmar Hopp is one of SAP's five co-founders. After leaving IBM in 1972, he helped build the company's first real-time financial accounting software for chemical maker ICI. He served as co-CEO of SAP from 1988 to 1998 and later sat on the Supervisory Board.
Hasso Plattner
Hasso Plattner is the SAP co-founder most closely tied to its technology roadmap, from R/3 to the in-memory HANA database.
Hans-Werner Hector
Hans-Werner Hector is one of SAP's five co-founders. He worked on the company's early software and later served on its Executive Board. He co-founded the Hector Foundation, which funds science, medical research and education for gifted children in Germany.
Klaus Tschira
Klaus Tschira (1940-2015) was one of SAP's five co-founders and a long-serving member of its Executive Board and later its Supervisory Board.
Claus Wellenreuther
Wellenreuther co-founded SAP in 1972 alongside four colleagues. He specialized in financial accounting software and was instrumental in designing the foundational RF system, the predecessor to SAP R/1, before leaving the company in 1980 due to health reasons.…
CEOs and their tenures
Freshworks
- Girish Mathrubootham2010–2024
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
As the charismatic Founder and long-time CEO, he built the company from a tiny startup into the first-ever Indian SaaS company to list on the Nasdaq, before stepping down to Executive Chairman in 2024.
Source - Dennis Woodside2024–present
Chief Executive Officer
Took revenue from $720.4M (2024) to $838.8M (2025) while moving from a GAAP operating loss to a profit.
Source
SAP
- Bill McDermott2014–2019
Chief Executive Officer
Under McDermott SAP shifted toward cloud subscriptions and expanded through acquisitions including Concur (2014) and Qualtrics (2019). He left in 2019 to lead ServiceNow, and Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein succeeded him.
Source - Jennifer Morgan2019–2020
Chief Executive Officer
She was the first female CEO of a DAX index company, playing a key role in SAP's cloud growth before departing in early 2020 as the company consolidated under a single CEO.
Source - Christian Klein2020–present
Chief Executive Officer
Under Klein, cloud revenue grew from ~$9.15 billion (EUR 8.1 billion) in 2020 to ~$23.7 billion (EUR 21.0 billion) in 2025, and SAP's strategy narrowed to cloud ERP, data and Business AI.
Source - Dominik Asam2023–present
Chief Financial Officer
As CFO, his operational discipline significantly expanded free cash flow and operating margins as the company transitioned aggressively to cloud subscriptions.
Source
Timeline: Freshworks and SAP side by side
1972SAP
SAP is founded
Five former IBM employees founded SAP to build real-time standard business software.
1988SAP
SAP IPO
SAP listed on the German stock exchanges in 1988.
1992SAP
SAP R/3 launches
R/3 brought client-server ERP to a broader global enterprise market.
2010Freshworks
Freshdesk Founded in Chennai
Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy founded Freshdesk in an 800 sq ft office in Chennai, building an affordable cloud customer ticketing system.
2010SAP
Sybase Acquired
SAP bought the database company Sybase in 2010 for about $5.8 billion.
2011Freshworks
First Customer Won & Accel Seed Funding
Launched Freshdesk commercially and raised a $1 million Series A led by Accel India.
2014Freshworks
Launch of Freshservice ITSM
Introduced Freshservice to provide internal IT helpdesk and service management, which rapidly expanded into its largest enterprise revenue engine.
2014SAP
Acquired Concur Technologies
SAP acquired Concur Technologies for $8.3 billion. SAP bought Concur, the leading travel and expense management software provider, for about $8.3 billion to expand its cloud business and its network of business-spend services.
2015SAP
S/4HANA launches
S/4HANA became the foundation for SAP's next-generation ERP roadmap.
2016Freshworks
Freshsales Launched
Freshdesk launched the Freshsales CRM product in 2016.
2017Freshworks
Company Rebranded to Freshworks
Rebranded from Freshdesk to Freshworks to reflect its multi-product suite spanning customer support, IT service, and sales CRM.
2018Freshworks
San Mateo Headquarters and Unicorn Status
Raised a $100 million round led by Accel and Sequoia Capital at a valuation reported above $1.5 billion, and set up headquarters in San Mateo, California.
2019SAP
Jennifer Morgan becomes CEO
Jennifer Morgan became CEO of SAP in 2019. Chief executive of SAP from 2019 to 2020.
2019SAP
Acquired Qualtrics
SAP acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion. SAP bought experience management company Qualtrics for about $8 billion in early 2019, shortly before Qualtrics' planned IPO, to link customer and employee sentiment data with operational data.
2020SAP
Christian Klein becomes sole CEO
Christian Klein became sole chief executive of SAP SE in April 2020 after six months as co-CEO.
2021Freshworks
Historic NASDAQ IPO Raising $1.03 Billion
Listed on NASDAQ under ticker FRSH on September 22, 2021, raising about $1.03 billion; shares closed the first day with a market value above $12 billion.
2023Freshworks
Launch of Freddy AI Generative Suite
Unveiled Freddy AI, embedding generative AI across Freshservice and Freshdesk to automate ticket summaries, responses, and routine IT tasks.
2023SAP
Joule announced
SAP introduced Joule as a generative AI assistant for enterprise applications.
2024Freshworks
Dennis Woodside Appointed CEO
President Dennis Woodside became CEO in May 2024, with founder Girish Mathrubootham moving to Executive Chairman. Freshworks also agreed to acquire IT asset discovery company Device42.
2025Freshworks
First GAAP Operating Profit; Founder Exits
Revenue reached $838.8 million with GAAP operating income of $13.2 million. Girish Mathrubootham left the board on December 1, 2025 and Roxanne Austin became Chair.
2025SAP
Cloud revenue reaches ~$23.8B (EUR 21.023B)
SAP's 2025 results showed cloud revenue, backlog, and predictable revenue becoming central to the model.
2026Freshworks
Record Q2 and Raised Outlook
Q2 2026 revenue rose 16% to $237.4 million and full-year guidance was raised to $963.5M-$966.5M, after a May 2026 restructuring that cut about 500 jobs.
2026SAP
Dremio and Prior Labs acquisitions close
SAP completed the Dremio and Prior Labs acquisitions in July 2026 to strengthen Business Data Cloud and AI on structured data.
Acquisitions
Freshworks
- AnsweriQ2020Undisclosed
- Flint2020Undisclosed
- Zarget2017Undisclosed
SAP
- Dremio2026Undisclosed
- Prior Labs2026Undisclosed
- WalkMe2024$1.5B
- Qualtrics2019$8B
- Concur Technologies2014$8.3B
- Fieldglass2014Undisclosed
Questions about Freshworks vs SAP
Who is the CEO of Freshworks Inc. and SAP SE?
Freshworks Inc. is led by Dennis Woodside and SAP SE is led by Christian Klein. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Freshworks Inc. founded vs SAP SE?
SAP SE was founded in 1972 — 38 years before Freshworks Inc., which was founded in 2010. SAP SE's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Freshworks Inc..
How many employees does Freshworks Inc. have compared to SAP SE?
Freshworks Inc. employs approximately 4,000 people, while SAP SE employs approximately 112,019. SAP SE has the larger workforce at 112,019 employees, compared to Freshworks Inc.'s 4,000. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Freshworks Inc. and SAP SE headquartered?
Freshworks Inc. is headquartered in United States and SAP SE is headquartered in Germany. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Freshworks Inc. and SAP SE?
Freshworks Inc. was founded by Girish Mathrubootham, Shan Krishnasamy. SAP SE was founded by Dietmar Hopp, Hasso Plattner, Hans-Werner Hector, Klaus Tschira, Claus Wellenreuther.
Which company has a longer operating history — Freshworks Inc. or SAP SE?
SAP SE has been operating for approximately 54 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Freshworks Inc. has been in operation for around 16 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Freshworks vs SAP overview