Zoho overview
Zoho Corporation builds business software that companies subscribe to over the internet. Under the Zoho brand it offers more than 50 applications for sales, marketing, accounting, human resources, customer service and office collaboration, led by Zoho CRM, the all-in-one suite Zoho One, the accounting service Zoho Books and the business email service Zoho Mail. Its ManageEngine division sells IT management and security software to corporate IT departments, and two smaller brands, Qntrl and TrainerCentral, cover workflow orchestration and online course creation. Zoho also makes consumer apps, including the Arattai messenger and the Ulaa web browser.
The company began in 1996 as AdventNet, founded in New Jersey by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas to make network management software for equipment makers. In 2002 it started ManageEngine to sell IT management tools, and it then turned to web applications for businesses, releasing Zoho Writer and Zoho CRM in 2005 and Zoho Mail in 2008. In 2009 AdventNet renamed itself Zoho Corporation, taking the name of its online application suite.
Zoho is unusual among large software companies for never having raised outside capital, and it says it develops its products through in-house research and development rather than acquisitions. It has also spread work beyond big cities. Zoho opened an office in the rural town of Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, in 2011, Vembu moved to a village in Tenkasi district in 2019, and Zoho Schools of Learning, set up in 2004, trains students without university degrees to work as software developers. The group is headquartered in Chennai, and its US operations are based in the Austin area of Texas.
In January 2025 Vembu handed the chief executive role to co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey and became chief scientist, citing rapid advances in artificial intelligence. Zoho announced its own Zia large language models that July and launched Zoho ERP in January 2026. In February 2026, its 30th year, the company said it had passed one million paying customers and 150 million users, after customer growth of 32 percent and revenue growth of 20 percent in 2025. Regulatory filings show consolidated revenue of ₹12,313 crore for the fiscal year that ended in March 2025, and Zoho had about 19,000 employees in early 2026.
Software by Zoho
4 products profiled, from Zoho CRM (2005) to Zoho One (2017).
- Zoho CRMCloud CRM for sales pipelines, customer data and process automation CRM & Marketing 2005 Freemium
- Zoho OneMore than 45 Zoho business apps under one organization-wide license ERP, HR & Operations 2017 Subscription
- Zoho BooksOnline accounting for small businesses, with country-specific tax editions Finance, Accounting & Tax 2011 Freemium
- Zoho MailAd-free business email with custom domains and admin controls Communication & Community 2008 Freemium
Zoho history and milestones
- 1996
Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas found AdventNet in New Jersey to make network management software.
- 2002
AdventNet starts ManageEngine, a division that sells IT management software.
- 2005
The company launches Zoho CRM and Zoho Writer, among its first web applications for businesses.
- 2008
Zoho Mail launches as an ad-free email service for businesses.
- 2009
AdventNet renames itself Zoho Corporation after its online application suite.
- 2011
Zoho launches Zoho Books and opens an office in the rural town of Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu.
- 2017
Zoho introduces Zoho One, a single subscription covering dozens of its business applications.
- 2023
India’s National Informatics Centre selects Zoho to run email for central government employees.
- 2025
Shailesh Kumar Davey succeeds Sridhar Vembu as CEO, and Zoho announces its Zia large language models.
- 2026
Zoho launches Zoho ERP and, in its 30th year, passes one million paying customers.
Who founded Zoho?
Sridhar Vembu
Co-founder; CEO until 2025 and chief scientist since
Sridhar Vembu was born in 1968 in a village in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1989 and a master’s degree and PhD from Princeton University, then worked as a wireless engineer at Qualcomm in San Diego before co-founding AdventNet in 1996.
Vembu led the company through its transformation into Zoho and stepped down as chief executive in January 2025 to become chief scientist, concentrating on research and development. He is known for moving software jobs into rural India, relocating to Tenkasi district himself in 2019, and for founding Zoho Schools of Learning. India awarded him the Padma Shri, one of its highest civilian honors, in 2021.
Tony Thomas
Co-founder; leads Zoho US
Tony Thomas co-founded AdventNet with Sridhar Vembu in 1996, when the company’s business was network management software for makers of networking equipment. In January 2025, as part of the leadership changes that made Shailesh Kumar Davey group chief executive and Vembu chief scientist, Thomas was named to lead Zoho US, the company’s American operation, which is based in the Austin area of Texas.
Shailesh Kumar Davey
Co-founder; group CEO since January 2025
Shailesh Kumar Davey studied at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and was part of the founding team of AdventNet, the company that became Zoho. He built his career in its engineering organization, serving as vice president of engineering, and helped design Zoho Creator, the company’s low-code platform for building custom business applications.
In January 2025 he succeeded Sridhar Vembu as chief executive of the Zoho Corporation group, which includes the Zoho, ManageEngine, Qntrl and TrainerCentral brands.
How Zoho makes money
Zoho makes nearly all of its money from software subscriptions. Most Zoho applications are sold per user on monthly or annual plans, many have free editions for small teams, and prices differ from country to country. Zoho also sells bundles: Zoho One licenses the whole application suite for every employee in an organization, while CRM Plus, Zoho Workplace and Finance Plus group related apps. Zoho says it shows no advertising in its free editions and does not sell customer data.
The ManageEngine division sells IT service management, endpoint management, network monitoring, identity management and security products, which customers run in their own data centers or use as cloud services. In the fiscal year that ended in March 2025, the Zoho application suite produced ₹7,051 crore, or 57 percent of consolidated revenue, and ManageEngine ₹4,863 crore, or 39 percent, according to regulatory filings. North America was the largest regional market, at 41 percent of revenue.
Who owns and runs Zoho?
Shailesh Kumar Davey, a co-founder who previously led engineering, has been group CEO of Zoho Corporation since January 2025, when Sridhar Vembu stepped down as chief executive to become chief scientist focused on research and development. In the same reorganization, co-founder Tony Thomas took charge of Zoho US, Mani Vembu of the Zoho.com division and Rajesh Ganesan of ManageEngine. Zoho is privately held and has never raised outside investment; company filings reported in 2022 showed most of its shares held by members of the Vembu family, chiefly Sridhar Vembu’s sister Radha Vembu and brother Sekar Vembu.
- Shailesh Kumar DaveyCo-founder and group chief executive officer
- Sridhar VembuCo-founder and chief scientist; CEO until 2025
- Tony ThomasCo-founder; leads Zoho US
- Mani VembuLeads the Zoho.com division
- Rajesh GanesanLeads the ManageEngine division
Zoho: frequently asked questions
Who founded Zoho?
Zoho was founded in 1996 as AdventNet by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, and Shailesh Kumar Davey, the current CEO, is also counted among its co-founders. Vembu, an engineer educated at IIT Madras and Princeton who had worked at Qualcomm, led the company for most of its history before becoming chief scientist in January 2025.
Who owns Zoho?
Zoho is privately owned and has never taken venture capital or other outside investment. Company filings reported in 2022 showed most of its shares held by members of the Vembu family, chiefly Sridhar Vembu’s sister Radha Vembu and brother Sekar Vembu. The company describes itself as bootstrapped and profitable, and it has not listed its shares on any stock exchange.
Who is the CEO of Zoho?
Shailesh Kumar Davey has been group CEO of Zoho Corporation since January 2025. A co-founder who studied at IIT Madras, he previously led engineering and helped design the low-code platform Zoho Creator. He succeeded Sridhar Vembu, who became chief scientist to focus on research, including artificial intelligence.
Where is Zoho headquartered?
Zoho Corporation is headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, where its main campus is at Estancia IT Park. The company was founded in New Jersey as AdventNet, runs its US operations from the Austin area of Texas and also has offices in smaller Tamil Nadu towns such as Tenkasi.
What software does Zoho make?
Zoho makes more than 50 cloud applications, including Zoho CRM for sales, Zoho One as an all-in-one suite, Zoho Books for accounting, Zoho Mail and Zoho Workplace for email and collaboration, Zoho Desk for customer service, Zoho People for HR and Zoho Creator for low-code apps. Its ManageEngine division makes IT management and security software.
Is Zoho an Indian company?
Yes. Zoho Corporation is headquartered in Chennai, India, and carries out most of its operations there, along with offices in smaller Indian towns. It was founded in New Jersey in 1996 as AdventNet, and North America is its largest market, accounting for about 41 percent of revenue in the year to March 2025.
Sources
- About Zoho zoho.com
- Zoho Corporation surpasses one million customers, Zoho press release zoho.com
- Sridhar Vembu steps down as Zoho CEO, Shailesh Kumar Davey takes his place, CX Today cxtoday.com
- Zoho reports Rs 12,313 Cr revenue and Rs 3,191 Cr profit in FY25, Entrackr entrackr.com
- Zoho launches Zia LLM, Zoho press release zoho.com
- Zoho Corporation, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
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