Sridhar Vembu, the co-founder of Zoho, recently decided to leave California and relocate to Mathalamparai village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Forbes values Zoho, a business software provider, at nearly $5 billion. His motivation for leaving California was to concentrate on providing rural employment opportunities and encouraging idea exchange among his employees. Vembu’s efforts have earned him the Padma Shri, India’s highest civilian award, as well as praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, his departure from California was not solely motivated by his vision for rural initiatives.
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Vembu filed for divorce from his wife of 29 years, Pramila Srinivasan, in August 2021. According to a source close to Srinivasan, Vembu informed her of his desire for a divorce via WhatsApp in November 2020. Pramila Srinivasan claims in her divorce case filed in California that Vembu intentionally disposed of a large portion of his Zoho stake in a complex transaction that moved Zoho’s intellectual property to India and ultimately placed the majority of the shares with his sister and her husband, without informing or obtaining Srinivasan’s consent.
Zoho cofounder and CEO Sridhar Vembu’s move and his dedication to providing rural employment has won him accolades.
His wife of three decades, Pramila Srinivasan, has a different take. Vembu left for India in early 2020 and never returned.
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— Forbes (@Forbes) March 13, 2023
Who is Sridhar Vembu?
Sridhar Vembu was born in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, in 1968. He received his engineering degree from IIT Madras in 1989. After graduation, he moved to the United States. He completed his post-graduate studies at Princeton University in New Jersey. He began his career at Qualcomm. Vembu founded Adventnet, a company with his brothers, in 1996. It was a software company. This company was renamed Joho Corporation in 2009. Vembu returned to India permanently in 2019. Instead of living a cosmopolitan lifestyle, he moved to the countryside. He established himself in the Tamil Nadu district of Tenkasi.
Zoho School began with just two teachers and six students. It now has over 800 students. This school has 90 percent Tamil Nadu students. Tenkasi is the location of the school. This school provides its students with a stipend of Rs 10,000. Admission to this school is based on an individual’s ability rather than marks or grades.
Vembu’s Zoho is India’s most profitable internet company. The company’s main selling point is that it is profitable and self-sufficient. Zoho’s operational revenue increased from Rs 5,230 crore to Rs 6,711 crore in the previous fiscal year. The company earned Rs 1918 crore in the previous fiscal year. It employs over 12000 people.
