Founder Profile
Sridhar Vembu
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Sridhar Vembu?
Sridhar Vembu is a founder of Zoho, which was founded in 1996 with Tony Thomas.
- Company founded
- Zoho
- Founded
- 1996
- Co-founders
- Tony Thomas
Background
Electrical engineering PhD from Princeton University; worked at Qualcomm in San Diego before starting AdventNet.
Founding Story
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. He now serves as chief scientist, focusing on research and AI.
Sridhar Vembu was born in 1968 in Thanjavur. Education: Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
Vembu was born in 1968. He received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, in 2021.