Freshworks grew from a Chennai-based customer-support startup into a global SaaS company serving businesses worldwide.
Discover how Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy built Freshworks from Chennai into a global SaaS company, becoming the first India-born SaaS company to list on Nasdaq.
Written by TFN Research Desk | covering startups, technology, venture capital, and business strategy
Quick Facts
| Founders | Girish Mathrubootham, Shan Krishnasamy |
| Education | Girish Mathrubootham – MBA, University of Madras; Shan Krishnasamy – BE, Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology |
| Prior Ventures | Girish Mathrubootham – Founder, MindSphere (failed); VP Product Management, Zoho Corporation; Shan Krishnasamy – Technical Architect, Zoho Corporation |
| Role | Founder and Executive Chairman, Freshworks (Girish Mathrubootham) |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Sector | SaaS / Customer Engagement |
Introduction
Girish Mathrubootham was reading Hacker News one day at Zoho when a single comment changed the course of his career: Zendesk, a popular customer-support tool, had raised its prices by as much as 300%, and users were furious. (StartupTalky) Someone had commented that there was a real opening for a challenger to scoop up Zendesk’s unhappy customers. Mathrubootham took it as a sign, quit his VP role, and convinced his colleague Shan Krishnasamy to build that challenger with him. (StartupTalky) Founded in Chennai in 2010 as Freshdesk, the company went on to become the first India-born SaaS company to list on Nasdaq. (Investing.com)
The Freshworks Story
Before founding Freshworks, Mathrubootham had already tried entrepreneurship once and failed, launching an education venture called MindSphere that didn’t work out, before landing at Zoho Corporation, where he spent nearly a decade rising from a technical role to Vice President of Product Management. (Global Indian Times) Krishnasamy, meanwhile, was Zoho’s technical architect and, notably, held a degree from a lesser-known Tamil Nadu engineering institute rather than an elite school, something Mathrubootham later said mattered less to him than raw technical hunger and ambition. (Quartz)
The two, along with a third early collaborator, Vijay Shankar, resigned from Zoho together and built Freshdesk with a team of six, choosing Ruby on Rails over the more common Java stack of the time to move faster. (StartupTalky) The company later rebranded to Freshworks as it expanded well beyond helpdesk software into IT service management, sales, and messaging, bundled together as Freshworks 360, and relocated its headquarters to San Mateo, California, in 2018 while keeping its engineering base firmly rooted in India. (Wikipedia)
That growth culminated in a landmark Nasdaq IPO in September 2021, raising just over $1 billion at a $10.1 billion valuation. (Finowings) In May 2024, Mathrubootham stepped down as CEO, transitioning to Executive Chairman to focus on long-term product vision and AI strategy, and handed the reins to Dennis Woodside, previously COO of Dropbox and a Google/Motorola Mobility veteran. (Freshworks) Notably, co-founder Shan Krishnasamy is no longer listed on Freshworks’ leadership page, and his current role at the company is unclear from public disclosures. (Growfusely)
Business Model
Freshworks earns revenue through subscription-based SaaS products across customer and employee experience:
| Revenue Stream | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Customer Experience (CX) | Freshdesk and Freshsales subscriptions for customer support and CRM |
| Employee Experience (EX) | Freshservice, an IT service management platform, its fastest-growing segment |
| Freddy AI | AI-powered features monetised per interaction, layered onto existing products |
| Enterprise and mid-market accounts | Higher-value subscriptions as the company pushes further upmarket |
(Sourced from Diginomica)
Funding and IPO History
| Round/Event | Year | Amount | Key Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth rounds | 2011–2019 | ~$399 million (cumulative) | Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, Tiger Global |
| IPO | Sep 2021 | ~$1.03 billion | Public listing on Nasdaq (NASDAQ: FRSH) |
(Sourced from Inc42 and Finowings)
Freshworks’ 2021 IPO valued the company at $10.1 billion, and it remains one of the most prominent India-founded companies to have gone public on a major US exchange. (Finowings)
Revenue and Growth
| Metric | 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $596 million | ~$821 million (targeted) |
| Net Income/(Loss) | $(137) million | $191.4 million (profit) |
(Sourced from Diginomica and 24/7 Wall St.)
Notably, Freshworks achieved full-year GAAP profitability for the first time in 2025, alongside $223 million in adjusted free cash flow, while its Freddy AI product crossed $25 million in annual recurring revenue after a 5x price increase, with CEO Dennis Woodside targeting $100 million in AI-driven ARR by 2028. (24/7 Wall St.) The company has also highlighted competitive wins against larger incumbents, including a semiconductor company that switched from a decade-long ServiceNow deployment to Freshservice. (24/7 Wall St.)
Freshworks vs Competitors
Freshworks competes with Zendesk, Salesforce, and ServiceNow across customer support, CRM, and IT service management. (24/7 Wall St.) The company has positioned itself explicitly as a lower-cost “attacker” challenging larger incumbents, particularly in employee experience, where it has cited direct customer wins away from ServiceNow.
Key Takeaways
- Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy founded Freshworks (then Freshdesk) in Chennai in 2010, inspired by customer backlash over a competitor’s price hikes.
- The company became the first India-born SaaS company to list on Nasdaq, raising over $1 billion in its September 2021 IPO at a $10.1 billion valuation.
- Founder Girish Mathrubootham stepped down as CEO in 2024, moving to Executive Chairman, with Dennis Woodside taking over as CEO.
- Freshworks achieved full-year GAAP profitability for the first time in 2025, with $191.4 million in net income.
- The company competes with Zendesk, Salesforce, and ServiceNow across customer support, CRM, and IT service management.
FAQs
Who founded Freshworks?
Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy founded the company as Freshdesk in Chennai in 2010.
Is Freshworks profitable?
Yes, it achieved full-year GAAP profitability for the first time in 2025.
How much funding did Freshworks raise before its IPO?
Approximately $399 million, before raising over $1 billion in its 2021 Nasdaq IPO.
Who are Freshworks’ competitors?
Zendesk, Salesforce, and ServiceNow across customer support, CRM, and IT service management.
© The Founder Nation | Written by TFN Research Desk
