Salesforce vs Zoho: Founders, CEOs and History
Salesforce was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff and is led by Marc Benioff. Zoho was founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu, Tony Thomas and is led by Shailesh Kumar Davey.
Company facts
Salesforce
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Current CEO
- Marc Benioff
- Employees
- 83,334
Zoho
- Founded
- 1996
- Headquarters
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (US operations in Austin, Texas)
- Current CEO
- Shailesh Kumar Davey
- Employees
- 19,000
Founders
Salesforce
Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff is a fiercely visionary American technology entrepreneur, highly aggressive corporate architect, and the profoundly influential CEO and founding patriarch fundamentally responsible for creating the massively dominant Salesforce cloud software empi…
Parker Harris
Parker Harris is an absolutely brilliant software engineer, fiercely skilled digital architect, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for programming the incredibly complex infrastructural bedrock of the massive Salesfor…
Dave Moellenhoff
Dave Moellenhoff is a highly astute software engineer, fiercely visionary digital operator, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for architecting the highly critical security and multi-tenant frameworks of the massive S…
Frank Dominguez
Frank Dominguez is a fiercely brilliant software engineer, highly strategic digital architect, and the profoundly influential technical co-founder fundamentally responsible for the incredibly robust frontend engineering and early product development of the mas…
Zoho
Sridhar Vembu
Sridhar Vembu co-founded AdventNet in 1996 and led the company, renamed Zoho Corporation in 2009, as CEO until January 2025. He kept the company free of venture capital and promoted hiring and training in smaller towns, working from rural Tamil Nadu.
Tony Thomas
Tony Thomas co-founded AdventNet in 1996 and has remained with the company since. He leads Zoho's US business as CEO of Zoho US.
CEOs and their tenures
Salesforce
- Marc Benioff1999–present
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Benioff has led Salesforce for its entire history, apart from co-CEO periods with Keith Block (2018-2020) and Bret Taylor (2021-2023).
Source - Parker Harris1999–present
Co-founder, Director and Chief Technology Officer, Slack
Harris is the remaining co-founder in an executive role and a member of the board.
Source
Zoho
- Sridhar Vembu1996–2025
Co-founder; CEO 1996-2025, now Chief Scientist
Led the company from its founding as AdventNet until January 2025 and kept it free of outside capital; now focuses on research and AI.
Source - Tony Thomas1996–present
Co-founder and CEO, Zoho US
Co-founded AdventNet and leads Zoho's US business.
Source - Shailesh Kumar Davey2025–present
Co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer
Co-founder who previously led engineering at ManageEngine; became group CEO in January 2025.
Source - Rajesh Ganesan2025–present
CEO, ManageEngine
Leads the ManageEngine IT management division.
Source - Mani Vembu2025–present
CEO, Zoho.com
Leads the Zoho.com business applications division.
Source
Timeline: Salesforce and Zoho side by side
1996Zoho
AdventNet founded
Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas start a network management software company.
1999Salesforce
Salesforce is founded
Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez founded Salesforce to deliver CRM through a browser.
2004Salesforce
NYSE IPO
Salesforce completed its initial public offering and gave the SaaS model public-market proof.
2005Salesforce
AppExchange launches
Salesforce opened the platform to third-party applications, strengthening its ecosystem moat.
2009Zoho
Renamed Zoho Corporation
The company takes the name of its online applications brand.
2019Salesforce
Tableau acquisition closes
Salesforce added analytics and visualization through the Tableau acquisition.
2021Salesforce
Slack acquisition closes
Salesforce acquired Slack to add workplace collaboration as a workflow surface for CRM data.
2025Zoho
CEO transition
Shailesh Kumar Davey becomes group CEO in January; Sridhar Vembu becomes chief scientist.
2025Zoho
Semiconductor fab plan shelved
Zoho suspends its planned $700 million compound semiconductor fab in May.
2026Salesforce
FY2026 revenue reaches $41.525B
Salesforce reported $41.525 billion in FY2026 revenue, with subscription and support revenue of $39.388 billion.
2026Salesforce
Q2 fiscal 2027 and raised guidance
Salesforce reported Q2 fiscal 2027 revenue of $11.345 billion, up 11%, Agentforce and Data 360 ARR of nearly $3.9 billion, and raised fiscal 2027 guidance to $46.1-46.4 billion.
2026Zoho
UAE data centres open
Zoho opens data centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in January as part of an ~$27.2 million (AED 100 million) UAE investment.
2026Zoho
FY25 results filed
RoC filings show FY25 revenue of ~$1.43 billion (₹12,313 crore) and net profit of ~$370 million (₹3,191 crore).
Acquisitions
Salesforce
- Informatica2025$8B
- Own2024$1.9B
- PredictSpring and Tenyx2024Undisclosed
- Airkit.ai2023Undisclosed
- Spiff2023Undisclosed
- Troops.ai2022Undisclosed
Zoho
No verified acquisitions are listed.
Questions about Salesforce vs Zoho
Who is the CEO of Salesforce, Inc. and Zoho?
Salesforce, Inc. is led by Marc Benioff and Zoho is led by Shailesh Kumar Davey. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Salesforce, Inc. founded vs Zoho?
Zoho was founded in 1996 — 3 years before Salesforce, Inc., which was founded in 1999. Zoho's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Salesforce, Inc..
How many employees does Salesforce, Inc. have compared to Zoho?
Salesforce, Inc. employs approximately 83,334 people, while Zoho employs approximately 19,000. Salesforce, Inc. has the larger workforce at 83,334 employees, compared to Zoho's 19,000. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Salesforce, Inc. and Zoho headquartered?
Salesforce, Inc. is headquartered in United States and Zoho is headquartered in India. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Salesforce, Inc. and Zoho?
Salesforce, Inc. was founded by Marc Benioff, Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, Frank Dominguez. Zoho was founded by Sridhar Vembu, Tony Thomas.
Which company has a longer operating history — Salesforce, Inc. or Zoho?
Zoho has been operating for approximately 30 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Salesforce, Inc. has been in operation for around 27 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 Salesforce vs Zoho overview