Sridhar Vembu Biography: Age, Family, Net Worth & more

Sridhar Vembu is an Indian businessman and founder of Zoho Corporation. He currently serves as the CEO of the company. Under his leadership, Zoho has remained a bootstrapped company, emphasizing employee welfare and long-term growth over short-term financial gains.

Sridhar Vembu Age

Sridhar Vembu wa born in 1968. As of 2024, he is 56 years old.

Sridhar Vembu Biography

Full Name	Sridhar Vembu
Date of Birth	1968
Birth Place	Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
Height	Not Known
Weight	Not Known
Zodiac Sign	Not Known
Education	Electrical Engineering from IIT, Madras Masters & PhD from Princeton University
Profession	Founder and CEO of Zoho Corrporation
Marital Status	Married
Social Media	X

Sridhar Vembu Family

Sridhar was born in 1968 into a middle-class Tamil Brahmin family in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. His parents are Janaki and Sambamurthy Vembu. His father use to work as a Stenographer in Chennai High Court, while his mother was a homemaker.

He is the eldest of 4 siblings. Sridhar’s sister, Radha Vembu is the co-founder and prominent stakeholder of Zoho Corporation. She works in the company as a product manager for Zoho Mail. Radha is married and has one child.

His brother, Sekar and Kumar Vembu are also involved in the family business.

Sridhar is married to Pramila Srinivasan and has a son named Siddharth. However, the couple is fighting a divorce case in California.

See also: Ratan Tata Biography

Sridhar Vembu Early Life & Career

Belonging to a middle-class family Vembu knew education can uplift his family. He worked hard and excelled academically, achieving the 27th rank in the highly competitive Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). With this rank, he got enrolled at IIT Madras and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1989. Following this, he pursued further studies at Princeton University, earning both his Master’s and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering.

After completing his education, Vembu began his professional career at Qualcomm in 1994 as a wireless engineer. His role there provided him with valuable experience in the tech industry. Though he had a good job, but he soon felt the urge to create something of his own. In 1996, he co-founded AdventNet with his siblings and a friend, initially focusing on network management software for telecom providers. The company later rebranded as Zoho Corporation in 2009 and shifted its focus to providing Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. Despite facing challenges, Vembu’s leadership helped steer Zoho through tough times. He prioritized maintaining employee salaries over his own during lean periods and focused on developing products that addressed real market needs. This commitment led to significant growth for Zoho, which has become one of the largest software companies globally without relying on external venture capital.

Vembu is known for his unique approach to business and education. He moved back to India in 2019 and settle in Govindapperi, a village near Tenkasi, where he has established both his home and the operations of Zoho. He also established offices in rural areas to promote software development outside urban centers. He founded Zoho Schools to provide vocational training for software development, emphasizing skills over formal degrees. This initiative has allowed many students without traditional educational backgrounds to secure employment at Zoho.

New conference room and small offices, built with mud/straw and limestone cover, upstairs covered by thatched palm leaf. Comfortable even on a hot day.

I love it so much I have made it my office! pic.twitter.com/Gr0bpriBhl

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) April 20, 2022

Sridhar Vembu Income & Net Worth

As of 2024, Sridhar’s Vembu’s net worth is over Rs 30000 crores. In the Forbes India’s 100 Richest list 2024, Vembu & sibling stands collectively at number 51. Zoho, as of today is a Rs 8703 crore valued company.

Sridhar Vembu Awards & Recognitions

His major awards and recognitions are:

• Padma Shri (2021)
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2019)
• CNN-News18 Indian of the Year (2022)

Sridhar Vembu Controversies

• Allegations from ex-wife: Pramila Srinivasan has accused Vembu of abandoning her and their son, who is autistic, in California since 2020. She alleges that he transferred shares of Zoho to his family members without her consent, and doesn’t support her financially.  Vembu vehemently denied these allegations, describing them as “complete fiction” and asserting that he has continued to support his family financially. He attributed the conflict to personal issues exacerbated by his uncle’s influence, claiming that his uncle has spread malicious rumors about him. Vembu expressed that the stress from their son’s autism contributed to the breakdown of their marriage.
• Sridhar Vembu on Freshworks: Sridhar Vembu, has recently criticized companies laying off employees while having cash reserves. This comments came after Freshworks announced layoffs off 12-13% workforce. He emphasized that such actions reflect a lack of vision and empathy from corporate leadership, questioning why the company could not invest its resources into new business opportunities instead of cutting jobs.

A company that has $1 billion cash, which is about 1.5 times its annual revenue, and is actually still growing at a decent 20% rate and making a cash profit, laying off 12-13% of its workforce should not expect any loyalty from its employees ever. And to add insult to injury,…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) November 7, 2024

Conclusion

Vembu’s journey went from a small village to working in US to turning into the founder of one of the biggest software company in the world is remarkable. He is continuously working hard for the company while holding hands with employee and social welfare.

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