Zoho was founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas in Chennai, India, originally as AdventNet Inc. The company rebranded to Zoho Corporation in 2009 and has grown into one of the largest privately held software companies in the world.
The Zoho suite includes over 55 applications: Zoho CRM, Zoho Mail, Zoho Books (accounting), Zoho Projects, Zoho Desk (help desk), Zoho People (HR), Zoho Analytics, Zoho Creator (low-code), and many more. The breadth is staggering — there’s genuinely a Zoho product for almost every business need.
What makes Zoho unusual is its independence. The company has never taken venture capital funding, and Sridhar Vembu has been outspoken about building a sustainable business rather than chasing hypergrowth. Zoho has been profitable for years and serves over 100 million users across 150+ countries.
The Zoho One bundle offers access to the entire suite for $45/employee/month, which is remarkably cheap compared to buying equivalent tools separately. This “operating system for business” pitch appeals to small and mid-size companies that want integrated tools without cobbling together dozens of SaaS subscriptions.
Zoho’s development is primarily done from offices in India, with the headquarters in Austin, Texas. Vembu famously set up development centers in rural Indian villages as part of his philosophy about decentralized work.
The company employs over 15,000 people. Individual products compete directly with Salesforce, Google Workspace, HubSpot, QuickBooks, and many other established players.
Zoho’s approach — build everything, price it low, stay independent — is rare in the SaaS world, and it’s worked for nearly three decades.
