Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu
Zoho owner Sridhar Vembu is once again in the news. This time there has been news about his divorce. Its case is going on in the American court. If this divorce happens and court orders are followed, it could be one of the most expensive divorces in the world. Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu has been directed by a US court to deposit bonds worth more than $ 1.7 billion i.e. more than Rs 15 thousand crore in the ongoing divorce case. According to a news report, the California court took this step citing concerns over the potential impact on property transfers and division of marital property after the petition. Vembu’s ex-wife, Pramila Srinivasan, is a US-based academic, entrepreneur and works in the health service technology sector.
According to The News Minute report, this order was passed in January 2025. The California High Court appointed a receiver to oversee Zoho entities and blocked a major corporate restructuring. The order passed by the Superior Court of California states that the record of the case makes it clear that the petitioner (Sridhar) has disregarded the interests of the respondent (Pramila) in the community properties and violated the law, and Zoho Corporation, T&V Holdings, Inc., Tony Thomas, ZCPL and related entities have, at the direction of the petitioner, been acting in furtherance of the interests of the petitioner and causing harm to the interests of the respondent, reports The News Minute. Will work to deliver.
Controversy regarding Zoho’s assets
Srinivasan, in his application in November 2024, had claimed that Vembu had secretly transferred a major portion of his shares in US-based Zoho Corporation (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chennai-based Zoho Corporation Pvt Ltd (ZCPL)) to an entity owned by a long-time associate of Sridhar. This transaction was done in three phases. Pramila said in a report in The News Minute that I supported Sridhar with my income so that he could leave his job and focus on business. I was deeply shocked to learn that it was only after I filed for divorce that he claimed he owned only 5% of the company he had built during our marriage, and that his siblings held the majority stake in the company.
What is Vembu’s net worth?
However, Vembu refuted this claim, insisting that despite serving as co-founder and CEO of Zoho for a long time, his stake in Zoho has always been only 5 percent. According to the Forbes 2025 list, Vembu and his siblings (who now hold the majority of the company’s shares (over 80 percent)) have a net worth of $6 billion. After nearly thirty years of marriage and raising a son in the US, Vembu returned to India in late 2019. Divorce proceedings began in 2021.
Who is Pramila Srinivasan?
On LinkedIn, Pramila Srinivasan describes herself as a US-based academic, entrepreneur and health tech expert. He has a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering and has worked extensively in health tech, particularly electronic health records and special care systems. His career also includes advocacy for access to health services and digital infrastructure. He also founded The Brain Foundation, a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to autism research, treatment and community support.