Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu sounds alarm: Smart Indian-Americans, whose parents work in IT or engineering, are flocking to finance #IndiaFinance

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu in a recent post on X highlighted a concerning trend among smart, well-educated Indian-Americans, particularly those whose parents work in engineering or technology, shifting their career focus to finance. This pattern mirrors what has already unfolded in the U.S., where some of the brightest minds have been drawn to Wall Street over the past few decades.

Vembu, who had moved to the US after graduating from IIT Madras and later relocated to India, recalls his own experience in 1994 when, after earning a PhD from Princeton, he was encouraged by a former Silicon Valley engineer—who had transitioned to finance—to join a quantitative trading team. Instead, he chose a lower-paying engineering role at Qualcomm, driven by his personal values and his father’s early guidance.

In 1996, Vembu founded a software development company called AdventNet which was renamed Zoho Corporation in 2009. Earlier this year, he stepped down from CEO role and assumed the position of chief scientist at Zoho.

Vembu believes this shift toward finance is a worrying development. Rather than focusing on solving complex engineering, infrastructure, and healthcare challenges, talented individuals are increasingly opting for financial careers that prioritize making money from money. While finance plays an essential role in the economy, an overemphasis on it can lead to societal decline. He warns that economies driven primarily by finance ultimately weaken a nation’s long-term prospects, a lesson reinforced by ancient wisdom.

How netizens reacted

His statement resonated deeply with netizens, many of whom echoed his concerns. Some pointed out that engineering and other technical fields often do not offer the same lucrative incentives as finance, making it a less attractive career choice despite its societal value. One user emphasized the need for better compensation structures and a supportive ecosystem that encourages people to tackle difficult engineering problems.
Others warned that when a country’s best and brightest gravitate toward finance instead of engineering, it signals an impending decline. A few users suggested that governments, particularly in developing nations, should take active measures to discourage this brain drain from productive industries into finance. They argued that countries still in their developmental phase need strong engineering and technological advancements to build a robust future, rather than an economy overly reliant on financial speculation.One user wrote, “Completely agree with the sentiment. Unfortunately solving hard engineering problems doesn’t pay high money. Something we’ll have to look at the incentives and compensation structures and the ecosystem. Ppl shouldn’t find it an aversion as they have to go through hoops to get the resources to work in hard engg problems. Some abundance mindset needed by capital allocators.”

The discussion also touched on the volatile nature of financial markets. One user reflected on their own experience, stating that the recent downturn in Indian markets reignited their desire to build something tangible, such as a manufacturing business, rather than relying on stock market fluctuations for growth.

Vembu responded by explaining that as long as money remains infinitely stretchable—expanding through credit, liabilities, and balance sheets—the demand for finance will continue to grow. He warned that this trajectory ultimately leads to finance dominating everything, often followed by a revolution, sometimes even a violent one.