Sridhar Vembu quits as CEO of Zoho Corp, to take on chief scientist role for R&D in AI

Zoho Corporation co-founder Sridhar Vembu on Monday announced that he has stepped down as the company’s CEO to take on the newly created role of chief scientist.

"“A new chapter begins today," Sridhar Vembu posted on X. "In view of the various challenges and opportunities facing us, including recent major developments in AI, it has been decided that it is best that I should focus full time on R&D initiatives, along with pursuing my personal rural development mission.”

Co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey will assume the role of Group CEO, while co-founder Tony Thomas will lead Zoho’s US operations.

Rajesh Ganesan will head the ManageEngine division, and Mani Vembu will lead Zoho.com.

Expressing optimism about the future, Vembu said, “The future of our company entirely depends on how well we navigate the R&D challenge, and I am looking forward to my new assignment with energy and vigor. I am also very happy to get back to hands-on technical work.”

A Ph.D. holder in electrical engineering from Princeton University, Vembu began his career at Qualcomm in 1994 before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey.

Vembu, who co-founded Zoho in 1996 with his two siblings and three friends, initially named the company AdventNet. Over the years, it has grown into a global leader in cloud-based business software, with marquee clients like OTT major Netflix, beauty giant L’Oréal, and payments company PayPal.

In 2022, the company invested $2.5 million in Genrobotics, a startup developing robotic solutions to eliminate manual scavenging. Vembu is also reportedly planning to enter the semiconductor sector and has applied for a license with the Indian government to establish a chip fabrication facility.