Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu’s $1.7 billion divorce battle: Wife’s shocking claims of betrayal, all about their high-profile court battle

Sridhar Vembu, the billionaire brain behind Zoho Corporation, is back in headlines over a messy divorce battle with his US-based wife Pramila Srinivasan, after 30 years of marriage. A US court reportedly ordered the tech mogul to post a $1.7 billion bond (which is roughly INR 15,278 crore), though his lawyer calls it an appeal matter. From abandonment allegations to Zoho ownership disputes, read on to know more about their story and what led to the messy divorce:How their love story turned sourSridhar Vembu arrived in the US in 1989 for his PhD from Princeton. In 1993, he married Pramila Srinivasan, a brilliant Purdue PhD in electrical engineering, who was born and brought up in the US. Together in California, they built a life while Vembu launched AdventNet (later named Zoho) with his two brothers and close friend Tony Thomas in 1996.Later, Vemnu and Srinivasan had a son who was diagnosed with autism. This led to Pramila, who worked at MedicalMine (healthcare tech), to start The Brain Foundation for autism research. But cracks started to appear in their marriage around 2020.The breaking pointIn November 2020, Vembu WhatsApp-ed Pramila, wanting a divorce. By August 2021, papers were filed. In 2019, Vembu left the US and moved to his village Mathalamparai in Tamil Nadu, leaving his family behind.Meanwhile, Pramila has made explosive court claims against Vembu, which include: abandoning her and their autistic son in the US, secretly transferring their Zoho shares/IP to his siblings without her consent thus violating California community property laws (according to which marital assets should be split 50/50 between partners in case of a divorce). “My husband abandoned his son and me… made fictitious transfers of our most valuable community asset,” she had alleged.Vembu denies allegationsBut Vembu has denied all allegations against him. In a series of tweets on X in 2023, Vembu said that these are “Complete fiction… They enjoy a richer life than I do.”He claimed that he has provided full financial support to his estranged wife and child, his US salary is routed to her since the last 3 years, and that he gave her their house. He also said that his company Zoho supports her foundation too.While, his lawyer Christopher C Melcher calls thses allegations “outrageously false”.The billion-dollar divorce battleIn November 2024, Pramila’s ex parte application triggered $1.7 Billion bond order. And in January 2025, Vembu appealed. Meanwhile, Zoho ownership remains core dispute for their divorce, as community property laws threaten massive asset division between Vembu and Srinivasan.