Company:Zoho Corporation
Zoho headquarters in Chennai, India | |
| Formerly | AdventNet, Inc. (1996–2009) |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | Chennai, India |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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| Products |
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| Services | |
| Revenue | |
Number of employees | ~17,000 (2025)[3] |
| Divisions | |
| Website | |
Zoho Corporation is an Indian multinational technology company that makes cloud-based business software.[6] Its core products include workplace productivity and collaboration software, customer relationship management (CRM) software, and business management tools.[7] The company was founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas as AdventNet, Inc., in New Jersey.[8] Zoho is headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and has offices in 80 countries, with its US headquarters located in Austin, Texas.[9]
As of 2023, it is privately owned,[10] with co-founders Tony Thomas and Sridhar Vembu holding 8% and 5% stakes, and Sridhar Vembu's sister Radha Vembu and brother Sekar Vembu owning 47.8% and 35.2% of the company, respectively.[11][12]
History
From 1996 to 2009, the company was known as AdventNet, Inc., founded in New Jersey, US, and initially provided a network management software called WebNMS.[4][13]
AdventNet expanded operations into Japan in 2001 and shifted focus to small and medium businesses (SMBs).[13] In 2002, the company started its enterprise IT management software division known as ManageEngine.[14]
Zoho CRM was released in 2005, along with Zoho Writer, the company's first office suite product.[13] Zoho Projects, Creator, Sheet, and Show were released in 2006.[13] It expanded into the collaboration space with the release of Zoho Docs and Zoho Meeting in 2007. In 2008, the company added invoicing and mail applications.[15] In 2009, the company was renamed Zoho Corporation after its online office suite.[4] The company remains privately owned.[16]
In 2014, Zoho had its first annual user conference, called Zoholics, in India.[17][7] In 2017, Zoho launched Zoho One, a platform of over 40 integrated applications.[18] In 2020, it launched Zoho Workplace, a suite combining its existing productivity, collaboration, and communication software.[19]
In 2023, ERP software company Gofrugal, founded by Sridhar Vembu's brother Kumar Vembu, merged with Zoho.[20] In 2025, Zoho announced the launch of its large language model, Zia, for enterprise AI applications.[21]
Following a government tender won by Zoho in September 2023, all 1.2 million email accounts of Indian central government employees were migrated from the NIC-based system to Zoho Mail by 2025, while office productivity tools were shifted to the Zoho Workplace suite.[22][23]
In January 2025, co-founder Shailesh Kumar Davey succeeded Sridhar Vembu as group CEO, while Vembu transitioned to the role of chief scientist to focus on research and development.[24] In January 2026, Zoho launched Zoho ERP, an enterprise resource planning product developed at its Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu office.[25] The same month, the company opened its first data centers in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In 2026 Zoho Unveils Nathu La, a Designed-in-House Server, server motherboard and chassis platform in a Move Towards Technological Sovereignty and Inference Cost Reduction[26].
Digital sovereignty
Zoho presents their "home-grown" business as supporting Indian digital sovereignty,[27] both through the government's use of Zoho Mail and Zoho Workplace and through their messaging app Arattai, which is presented as "India's WhatsApp".[28] In April 2026, the company also promoted a new data center in the UK as improving British digital sovereignty.[29]
There has been some controversy over whether Zoho genuinely offers digital sovereignty and concerns that it is a private company and it has had multiple security issues.[30][31] [32] The Hindu wrote that a "senior official says Zoho’s suite has been activated to ensure that government employees do not use open-source applications."[23]
Products
Zoho has over 45 integrated applications, mainly designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), but scalable for larger enterprises. These products span many categories, including customer relationship management, marketing, sales, customer support, finance, human resources, collaboration, productivity, operations, IT management, and analytics. Notable products include the online office suite offering Zoho Office Suite, customer relationship management software Zoho CRM, accounting software Zoho Books, HR management platform Zoho People, and project management software Zoho Projects.[17][33]
ManageEngine has both on-premises and cloud-based software products in categories such as enterprise IT management, cybersecurity, and unified endpoint management.[34][35]
Messaging app
Arattai is an instant messaging application developed by Zoho and launched in January 2021.[36] It experienced a brief surge in new user sign-ups in 2025 when Zoho products were promoted by Indian government officials as part of their push for homegrown alternatives to foreign‐owned apps.[37][38][39]
Browser
Ulaa Browser is a web browser developed by Zoho, based on the Chromium open-source project and released in 2023. Ulaa routes its Domain Name System (DNS) queries through India's national root server system, rather than using default global DNS providers.[40]
Zoho Mail is an email service developed by Zoho Corporation in 2008 for individuals and organizations. The email hosting service supports custom domain addresses and is integrated with other Zoho products within the Zoho Workplace suite.[41][42]
Payment app

Zoho Pay, a UPI-based payments and money transfer application integrated with its messaging platform Arattai and available as a standalone mobile app in India. Zoho pay is currently in testing and expected to release soon.[43][44][45]
Security issues
Zoho has been criticized for multiple security issues.[30][31] In 2021, hackers exploited vulnerabilities in a password management and single sign-on system provided by Zoho's ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus.[46] In January 2022, the vulnerability was used to target the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and data of 515,000 people was compromised, with the ICRC admitting that it did not apply a security patch released by Zoho in September 2021.[47]
In 2025, an SQL injection vulnerability allowed attackers to run unauthenticated SQL queries, potentially giving access to sensitive information in databases hosted by Zoho.[48] The same year, Zoho's messaging app, Arattai, was criticized for lacking end-to-end encryption for chats.[49]
In February 2026, a North Korean group released tools that use a backdoor to Zoho WorkDrive to deploy malware.[50]
Locations
Zoho is headquartered in Chennai, India. As of 2025, it has offices in over 80 countries,[51][52] including China, Singapore, and Japan. The bulk of its operations is carried out from its office in Chennai.[7][53]
Its US headquarters was in Pleasanton, California [18] until it was moved to Del Valle, Texas, in 2019.[54] The research and development campus is in Estancia IT Park, Chennai. Zoho opened an office in Tenkasi in 2011, where its product Zoho Desk was built.[55][56] Since 2018, Zoho also operates from an office in Renigunta, Andhra Pradesh.[57]
In February 2022, Zoho opened an office in New Braunfels, Texas, United States.[58] In April 2022, Zoho opened an office in McAllen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, the company's third location in Texas.[59][60]
In 2023, Zoho opened Zoho Labs R&D divisions in Nagpur, India, for developing data center hardware.[61][62] As of 2025, Zoho operates data centers in 18 global locations, including Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai in India.[9]
References
- ↑ "Sridhar Vembu steps down as CEO of Zoho" (in en). The New Indian Express. 28 January 2025. https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2025/Jan/28/sridhar-vembu-steps-down-as-ceo-of-zoho.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dilipkumar, Bhavya (8 April 2026). "Zoho revenue crosses Rs 12,000 crore in FY25; profit at Rs 3,191 crore" (in en). Moneycontrol. https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/zoho-revenue-crosses-rs-12-000-crore-in-fy25-profit-at-3-191-crore-13883676.html.
- ↑ Hariharan, Sindhu (6 September 2023). "Zoho crosses 100million user mark". The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/zoho-crosses-100million-user-mark/articleshow/103426488.cms.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Arakali, Harichandan (6 June 2016). "The Bootstrapped Buddhist: How Sridhar Vembu built Zoho". Forbes India. http://www.forbesindia.com/article/boardroom/the-bootstrapped-buddhist-how-sridhar-vembu-built-zoho/43383/1.
- ↑ Sarkar, Gargi (27 February 2024). "Zoho Launches New Business Division Zakya To Offer POS Solutions To Retail Stores" (in en). Inc42 Media. https://inc42.com/buzz/zoho-launches-new-business-division-zakya-to-offer-pos-solutions-to-retail-stores/.
- ↑ Sharma, Disha. "How SaaS poster boys Zoho and Freshworks ended up in a drag-out fight over alleged theft of ideas". The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/technology-and-startups/how-saas-poster-boys-zoho-and-freshworks-ended-up-in-a-drag-out-fight-over-alleged-theft-of-ideas/primearticleshow/81617747.cms.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 D'Monte, Leslie (24 November 2014). "Is Zoho the future of enterprise software?". Livemint (HT Media Ltd.). http://www.livemint.com/Industry/nUrZ1nF71fR0O95YXzzn3J/Is-Zoho-future-of-enterprise-software.html.
- ↑ Bagchi, Shrabonti (2021-07-29). "Sridhar Vembu's village lab" (in en). https://lifestyle.livemint.com//news/big-story/sridhar-vembu-s-village-lab-111627555674138.html.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "'We don't use AWS or Azure': Sridhar Vembu clears air on Arattai, Zoho's desi tech backbone" (in en). 2025-09-30. https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/we-dont-use-aws-or-azure-sridhar-vembu-clears-air-on-arattai-zohos-desi-tech-backbone-496250-2025-09-30.
- ↑ Prinsloo, Loni; Rantijes, Rivaldo (25 Feb 2026). "Billionaire-backed Zoho plans more Mid-East, Africa data centers". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-25/billionaire-backed-zoho-plans-more-mideast-africa-data-centers.
- ↑ Kroll, Luisa; A. Dolan, Kerry (13 March 2023). "In High Stakes Divorce Battle, Estranged Wife Of Indian Software Tycoon Claims He Transferred Ownership Without Telling Her" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2023/03/13/zoho-srindhar-vembu-in-high-stakes-divorce-battle-estranged-wife-of-indian-software-tycoon-claims-he-transferred-ownership-without-telling-her/.
- ↑ Kashyap, Hemant (15 March 2023). "Sridhar Vembu, Pramila Srinivasan & The Zoho Shareholding Saga" (in en). Inc42 Media. https://inc42.com/buzz/sridhar-vembu-pramila-srinivasan-zoho-shareholding-divorce/.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Mukherjee, Sharmistha (2017-02-02). "How to build a global company from a small town: The Zoho story" (in en-US). https://techseen.com/2017/02/02/global-company-zoho-story/.
- ↑ Ghosh, Debangana (31 January 2023). "Zoho Corp's arm ManageEngine eyes $1 billion in revenue in 2-3 years". Moneycontrol. https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/zoho-corps-arm-manageengine-to-achieve-1-billion-in-revenue-in-2-3-years-9973691.html.
- ↑ "How Sridhar Vembu's Zoho Corporation changed avatars since its inception in 1996 as AdventNet". The Economic Times. 2011-11-11. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/india-emerging/how-sridhar-vembus-zoho-corporation-changed-avatars-since-its-inception-in-1996-as-adventnet/articleshow/10686644.cms.
- ↑ Kumar, K. Bharat (2016-05-08). "The maverick who shuns investors" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/the-maverick-who-shuns-investors/article8573158.ece.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Now a $1 billion firm, Zoho announces new R&D investments" (in en). 2022-11-08. https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/now-a-1-billion-firm-zoho-announces-new-rd-investments-8256376/.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "About Zoho - Our Story, List of Products". https://www.zoho.com/aboutus.html.
- ↑ "Zoho takes on Microsoft, Google with unified Workplace platform" (in en). ETCIO.com (The Economic Times). 12 September 2020. https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/corporate-news/zoho-takes-on-microsoft-google-with-unified-workplace-platform/78075284.
- ↑ "Gofrugal + Zoho Merger Announcement". Gofrugal. https://www.gofrugal.com/announcements/CEO-letter-announcement.html.
- ↑ Bhati, Divya (17 July 2025). "Zoho launches Zia LLM, says it will help Indian companies join AI race" (in en). India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/zoho-launches-zia-llm-says-it-will-help-indian-companies-join-ai-race-2757133-2025-07-17.
- ↑ Chauhan, Neeraj (12 September 2023). "Govt selects Chennai-based IT firm as 1st pvt contractor for email utilities" (in en). Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/govt-selects-chennai-based-it-firm-as-first-pvt-contractor-for-email-desktop-utilities-101694457926568.html.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Singh, Vijaita; Deep, Aroon (12 October 2025). "Email accounts of 12 lakh Central government employees now run on Zoho's platform" (in en-IN). The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/email-accounts-of-12-lakh-central-government-employees-now-run-on-zohos-platform/article70155315.ece.
- ↑ "Sridhar Vembu steps down as Zoho CEO; Shailesh Kumar Davey to succeed". Business Standard. 27 January 2025. https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/sridhar-vembu-steps-down-as-zoho-ceo-shailesh-kumar-davey-to-succeed-125012701252_1.html.
- ↑ "Zoho launches made-in-India ERP solution from Kumbakonam". The Federal. January 2026. https://thefederal.com/category/business/zoho-launches-made-in-india-erp-solution-from-kumbakonam-226620.
- ↑ "Zoho-Corporation-Unveils-Nathu-La-a-Designed-in-House-Server". https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260609950105/en/Zoho-Corporation-Unveils-Nathu-La-a-Designed-in-House-Server-in-a-Move-Towards-Technological-Sovereignty-and-Inference-Cost-Reduction.
- ↑ Latin Trade Staff (2025-12-21). "Is your nation really sovereign? Do you know where your country's digital borders are?An interview with ZohoCorp". Latin Trade. https://latintrade.com/2025/12/21/is-your-nation-really-sovereign-do-you-know-where-your-countrys-digital-borders-arean-interview-with-zohocorp/.
- ↑ "Zoho bets on data sovereignty, ad-free model to scale as ministers rally behind local tech". The Economic Times. 2025-10-03. ISSN 0013-0389. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/zoho-bets-on-data-sovereignty-ad-free-model-to-scale-as-ministers-rally-behind-local-tech/articleshow/124278140.cms?from=mdr.
- ↑ Jackson, Amber (2026-04-08). "Zoho unveils UK data centre in digital sovereignty bid" (in en-US). https://capacityglobal.com/news/zoho-uk-announce-data-centre-amid-country-growth/.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Moglen, Mishi Choudhary,Eben (2025-10-28). "Zoho Had a Chance to Change India's Tech Future. It Didn't" (in en). https://www.thequint.com/opinion/zoho-deal-digital-india-security-concerns-what-went-wrong.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Sidhu, K.B.S. (2025-10-08). "Zoho is no Signal. India must not put Swadeshi before security". The Print. https://theprint.in/opinion/zoho-signal-india-swadeshi-security/2759574/.
- ↑ Kumar, Arun (2025-10-25). "Digital Sovereignty or Surrender? Modi Govt's Zoho Shift is a Troubling Step Backwards" (in en). https://thewire.in/tech/digital-sovereignty-or-surrender-modi-govts-zoho-shift-is-a-troubling-step-backwards.
- ↑ Mukherjee, Ayush (23 September 2025). "Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw picks Zoho over Google and Microsoft, here's why". https://www.moneycontrol.com/technology/union-minister-ashwini-vaishnaw-picks-zoho-over-google-and-microsoft-here-s-why-article-13569653.html.
- ↑ Mishra, Ashutosh (11 September 2024). "Inside ManageEngine's AI-powered growth strategy towards $1 bn in revenue". Business Standard. https://www.business-standard.com/technology/tech-news/inside-manageengine-s-ai-powered-growth-strategy-towards-1-bn-in-revenue-124091100850_1.html.
- ↑ Goled, Shraddha (29 February 2024). "Zoho's ManageEngine may become $1 bn firm ahead of target, says senior exec" (in en). Techcircle. https://www.techcircle.in/2024/02/29/zoho-s-manageengine-may-become-1-bn-firm-ahead-of-target-says-senior-exec.
- ↑ "Homegrown tech firm Zoho develops messaging app Arattai". The Times of India. 2021-01-10. ISSN 0971-8257. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/homegrown-tech-firm-zoho-develops-messaging-app-arattai/articleshow/80200200.cms.
- ↑ Kumar, Rakesh (2025-10-02). "Zoho-led messaging app Arattai becomes the talks of the town" (in en). https://www.newindianexpress.com/xplore/2025/Oct/02/zoho-led-messaging-app-arattai-becomes-the-talks-of-the-town.
- ↑ Mittal, Apoorva (5 October 2025). "Will Arattai be India's answer to WhatsApp?". The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/will-arattai-be-indias-answer-to-whatsapp/articleshow/124311928.cms.
- ↑ "Arattai: The Indian messaging app that wants to take on WhatsApp" (in en-GB). 2025-10-08. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy50299w5vwo.
- ↑ Venugopal, Sahana (2025-05-05). "Zoho Ulaa Review | A no-frills privacy browser for Google Chrome users" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/zoho-ulaa-review-a-no-frills-privacy-browser-for-google-chrome-users/article69540009.ece.
- ↑ Gusain, Unnati (2025-10-09). "Amit Shah switches to Zoho Mail, Sridhar Vembu says 20-year faith of Indian engineers vindicated" (in en). https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/amit-shah-switches-to-zoho-mail-sridhar-vembu-says-20-year-faith-of-indian-engineers-vindicated-2800205-2025-10-09.
- ↑ "Amit Shah switches to Zoho Mail" (in en-IN). The Hindu. 2025-10-08. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/amit-shah-switches-to-zoho-mail/article70140844.ece.
- ↑ Tech, India Today (2025-10-23). "Zoho UPI app launch: What you need to know about Zoho Pay" (in en). https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/zoho-pay-upi-app-launch-details-2807297-2025-10-23.
- ↑ "After Arattai, Zoho Pay UPI app to compete with PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay: Here's what you need to know" (in en). 2025-10-22. https://www.financialexpress.com/life/technology-after-arattai-zoho-pay-upi-app-to-compete-with-phonepe-paytm-google-pay-heres-what-you-need-to-know-4018416/.
- ↑ "Indian man who's challenging WhatsApp, now takes up new UPI project to fight Paytm, PhonePe…" (in en). 2025-10-24. https://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/indian-man-who-s-challenging-whatsapp-now-takes-up-new-upi-project-to-fight-paytm-phonepe-101761279502404.html.
- ↑ Glover, Claudia (2021-11-08). "Zoho hack: Here's what businesses need to know about the major breach" (in en-US). https://www.techmonitor.ai/technology/cybersecurity/zoho-hack-emmisary-panda-apt-china.
- ↑ Bagwe, Mihir (2022-02-16). "Unpatched Zoho Bug Exploited in Red Cross Attack" (in en). https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/unpatched-zoho-bug-exploited-in-red-cross-attack-a-18523.
- ↑ AnuPriya (2025-11-14). "Critical Zoho Analytics Plus Flaw Allows Attackers to Run Arbitrary SQL Queries" (in en-US). https://cyberpress.org/zoho-analytics-plus-flaw/.
- ↑ "Security blind spot: Zoho Arattai's missing end-to-end encryption for chats" (in en). https://www.storyboard18.com/digital/security-blind-spot-zoho-arattais-missing-end-to-end-encryption-for-chats-81995.htm.
- ↑ Lakshmanan, Ravie (2026-02-27). "ScarCruft Uses Zoho WorkDrive and USB Malware to Breach Air-Gapped Networks" (in en). http://thehackernews.com/2026/02/scarcruft-uses-zoho-workdrive-and-usb.html.
- ↑ Hartmans, Avery. "Employees at global software firm Zoho have turned the company's Austin headquarters into a fully functioning farm. It's become a respite during the pandemic, and could serve as a model for a new way of working." (in en-US). https://www.businessinsider.com/zoho-austin-headquarters-farm-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-11.
- ↑ "Cloud services firm Zoho to shift U.S. headquarters" (in en-IN). The Hindu. 2019-07-15. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/cloud-services-firm-zoho-to-shift-us-headquarters/article28446740.ece.
- ↑ "Zoho Corporation eyes 100 million users of its products in five years". Financial Express. 8 August 2015. http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/companies/zoho-eyes-100-million-users-of-its-products-in-five-years/113861/.
- ↑ Egan, John (2021-12-17). "Austin-based tech company plugs into booming suburb with more than 100 jobs" (in en). https://austin.culturemap.com/news/innovation/12-17-21-tech-company-zoho-corp-office-austin-suburb-new-braunfels-100-jobs-bastrop/.
- ↑ "How Zoho Aims To Put Tenkasi On The Map With Zoho Desk-A Product Built In The Downtown Of Nowhere". Inc42. 22 November 2016. https://inc42.com/buzz/zoho-zohodesk-tenkasi/.
- ↑ "Zoho plans to set up offices in 100 rural districts to tap into local talent". The Economic Times. 2022-07-12. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/zoho-plans-to-set-up-offices-in-100-rural-districts-to-tap-into-local-talent/articleshow/92830573.cms.
- ↑ "Zoho Corporation opens office at Renigunta". The Hindu Business Line. 13 January 2018. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/zoho-corporation-opens-office-at-renigunta/article10031688.ece.
- ↑ Knight, Steve (February 2022). "Global tech company establishes office in Saengerhalle in New Braunfels" (in en). https://herald-zeitung.com/community_alert/article_b54f019c-83af-11ec-bf33-2bebd0d87e5e.html.
- ↑ Martinez, Patricia (2022-04-24). "McAllen lands Zoho" (in en-US). https://riograndeguardian.com/mcallen-lands-zoho/.
- ↑ Taylor, Steve (2021-12-27). "Patridge: McAllen EDC will soon be welcoming a microchip manufacturer to the RGV" (in en-US). https://riograndeguardian.com/patridge-mcallen-edc-will-soon-be-welcoming-a-microchip-manufacturer-to-the-rgv/.
- ↑ Srinivas V, Vijay (12 Mar 2023). "India's SaaS industry bets on rural talent for further scale-up". https://www.livemint.com/technology/indias-saas-industry-bets-on-rural-talent-for-further-scaleup-11678616396791.html.
- ↑ "PwC India, CWAS launch framework for ESG assessment of Indian cities". 3 December 2023. https://www.business-standard.com/economy/news/pwc-india-cwas-launch-framework-for-esg-assessment-of-indian-cities-123120300745_1.html.
Further reading
- Stross, Randall (4 April 2009). "Web-Based Competition for Microsoft Word". https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/business/05digi.html.
- "Zoho CRM Upgrade Targets Salesforce". 30 October 2016. http://www.informationweek.com/cloud/software-as-a-service/zoho-crm-upgrade-targets-salesforce/a/d-id/1326466.
- "Zoho scores big with India-made software, but shuns IPO and venture capital". 14 November 2014. http://www.hindustantimes.com/business/zoho-scores-big-with-india-made-software-but-shuns-ipo-and-venture-capital/story-E3kYeqVm1YScgJ21aL9bwK.html.
External links
