Sridhar Vembu studied at Princeton before building Zoho in India

Sridhar Vembu, the co-founder of Zoho Corporation, followed a path that combined an engineering education in India with advanced research in the United States before he entered the technology industry.Now, Vembu is urging Indians working in the United States to return home and help build India's technological future. Meanwhile, his own journey started abroad. He himself went to the US for higher education and a technical job before returning to India to build a software business.Vembu completed his Bachelor of Technology (BTech) in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in 1989. He subsequently moved to the United States, where he earned a master's degree and a PhD from Princeton University. His first professional job was at Qualcomm, where he worked on wireless communications before moving towards entrepreneurship.FROM TAMIL NADU CLASSROOMS TO IIT MADRASBorn in 1968 in Umayalpuram, a village in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district, Vembu grew up in Chennai. In an interview hosted on a Zoho domain, he said he studied at Anjugam Higher Secondary School in West Mambalam until Class 9 before moving to Jaigopal Garodia National Higher Secondary School in East Tambaram for Classes 10 to 12. He completed school in 1985. He then joined IIT Madras to study Electrical Engineering, graduating in 1989.WHY PRINCETON CAME NEXTAfter IIT Madras, Vembu went to Princeton University in New Jersey for postgraduate studies in Electrical Engineering. He completed his PhD in 1994, having also earned a master's degree there. His academic work focused on information theory and communications. Princeton's research records list his work in the field, including research with electrical engineering professor Sergio Verdu.HIS FIRST JOB WAS AT QUALCOMMAfter completing his doctorate, Vembu joined Qualcomm in San Diego, California, in 1994, working as a wireless communications engineer and systems design engineer. His work involved Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a technology used in wireless communication systems.He worked at Qualcomm until 1996. That experience preceded his move towards building a software business with his brothers and associates.In 1996, Vembu and his collaborators co-founded AdventNet, which later evolved into Zoho Corporation. His journey from engineering classrooms to advanced research and industry gave him a technical foundation before he became an entrepreneur.SRIDHAR VEMBU: LIFE, EDUCATIONA AND CAREER AT A GLANCEDetailInformationNameSridhar VembuBirth year1968BirthplaceUmayalpuram, Thanjavur district, Tamil NaduSchoolAnjugam Higher Secondary School, West Mambalam; Jaigopal Garodia National Higher Secondary School, East TambaramSchooling completed1985Undergraduate degreeBTech in Electrical EngineeringCollegeadvertisementIIT MadrasGraduation year1989Postgraduate universityPrinceton University, New Jersey, United StatesMaster's degreeElectrical EngineeringDoctoral degreePhD, completed in 1994First professional employerQualcomm, San Diego, CaliforniaFirst jobWireless communications engineering; systems design workQualcomm tenure1994–1996Company co-foundedAdventNet, which later became Zoho Corporation, in 1996Sources: IIT Madras Heritage Centre, Anant National University and Vembu's first-person interview hosted on a Zoho domain.NOW, HE WANTS INDIAN TALENT TO BUILD AT HOMEVembu's latest appeal to Indians working in the US reflects his long-standing emphasis on developing India's own technological capabilities. Amid uncertainty over US immigration and employment prospects for foreign workers, he has encouraged Indian professionals to return and use their experience to help build businesses and technology in the country."Let this be the birth pains of a bold new future. Come back, let's build India," he wrote in his October 9 post.For Vembu, the message now is not simply about returning to India, but about what skilled professionals can create once they are here: technology, businesses and opportunities for the next generation.- Ends