Zoho Corporation’s founder and CEO, Sridhar Vembu, has firmly shut down speculation about taking the $10 billion SaaS giant public, declaring the company is not in a hurry to go public and cannot afford the “quarter-to-quarter pressure” that would stifle its innovative spirit. In a candid X post on September 28, 2025, Vembu highlighted how projects like the recently viral messaging app Arattai—a “hopelessly foolish” idea met with internal skepticism—would likely never see the light of day under Wall Street’s scrutiny. This stance comes amid Arattai’s meteoric rise to #1 on Indian app stores, driven by government endorsements and a 100x user surge, yet Vembu prioritizes Zoho’s bootstrapped, long-term ethos over the allure of an IPO.
For entrepreneurs inspired by Zoho’s no-VC model, investors chasing the next SaaS unicorn, and tech watchers in India’s booming $250 billion digital economy, Vembu’s words reinforce a contrarian path: Sustainable R&D over flashy listings. With Zoho’s ARR crossing $1.5 billion and no debt, the Chennai-based firm—profitable since inception—stands as a beacon of independence. Let’s unpack Vembu’s rationale, Zoho’s unique approach, and why staying private fuels its edge.
Vembu’s Rationale: Quarterly Pressures Kill Bold Bets
Vembu’s post was a direct rebuttal to online buzz urging Zoho to list post-Arattai’s success, which saw daily sign-ups explode from 3,000 to 350,000 in three days. He argued: “Arattai would very likely not have been built by a public company that faces quarter to quarter financial pressure. It was a ‘hopelessly foolish’ project, and even our employees had expressed scepticism.” This echoes his 2023 interview where he stressed: “If you don’t invest in R&D, you won’t have long-term growth.”
Zoho’s “patient engineering” philosophy—rooted in Vembu’s rural Tamil Nadu upbringing—favors moonshot projects over short-term metrics. Arattai, launched in beta in 2021 amid WhatsApp’s privacy row, exemplifies this: A lightweight, spyware-free app optimized for low-end phones and 8kbps networks, now backed by ministers like Dharmendra Pradhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Zoho’s Bootstrapped Blueprint: No VC, No IPO – Just Steady Growth
Founded in 1996 by Vembu and Tony Thomas without external funding, Zoho has bootstrapped to 88% Vembu ownership and profitability from day one. At $5.8 billion net worth (Forbes 2024), Vembu ranks 51st among India’s richest, yet shuns the IPO path trod by peers like Freshworks (2021 listing).
Key tenets of Zoho’s private playbook:
| Principle | Zoho’s Approach | Contrast with Public Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Funding Model | Bootstrapped; self-funds R&D (~20% revenue) | VC/IPO-driven; quarterly targets |
| Innovation Focus | “Industrial research lab” for “foolish” ideas like Arattai | Shareholder-pleasing features |
| Employee Ethos | Rural offices (Tenkasi, Renigunta); no layoffs | Urban-centric; recent cuts (e.g., Freshworks) |
| Growth Metrics | $1.5B ARR (2025 est.); 55+ apps, 80M users | Valuations over sustainability |
Vembu’s rural revival—employing 3,000 in villages—aligns with his H-1B critique: “Come back to India… Do not live in fear.” Staying private lets Zoho challenge Microsoft holistically, as Vembu boasted on September 25: “We are the only company that can take on Microsoft in breadth and depth.”
Implications: A Model for India’s Tech Rebels
Vembu’s IPO aversion is a morale booster for bootstrappers, countering the “go public or bust” narrative. For Zoho, it preserves agility—evident in Arattai’s quick fixes amid 100x traffic. Critics like Reddit’s r/Chennai users praise his Freshworks layoff shade, seeing it as principled leadership.
Broader ripples:
- Investor Lesson: Valuations matter less than longevity; Zoho’s $10B private valuation rivals public SaaS peers.
- Policy Nod: Aligns with Modi’s Swadeshi push, as Vaishnaw’s Zoho switch validates.
- Challenges: No public capital limits scale, but Vembu’s rural model mitigates talent costs.
As Arattai stabilizes, Zoho’s private path could inspire more “hopelessly foolish” triumphs.
Conclusion: Vembu’s Private Pledge – Innovation Over IPO Frenzy
Sridhar Vembu’s assertion that Zoho is not in a hurry to go public is a rallying cry for patient builders, shielding “foolish” gems like Arattai from quarterly shackles. In a VC-hungry world, his bootstrapped blueprint proves you can challenge Microsoft—and top app charts—without ringing the bell. NDTV
