The Dream Born Over Dinner
In 1981, over a modest dinner table in Pune, seven engineers shared a dream. One that sounded far-fetched at the time: to build a global technology company from India.
Led by Narayana Murthy, along with Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, N.S. Raghavan, Ashok Arora, S.D. Shibulal, and K. Dinesh, these seven pioneers pooled together ₹10,000—a loan from Murthy’s wife, Sudha Murthy. With that, Infosys Consultants Pvt. Ltd. was born.
Their goal? To build an IT services firm that delivered value to global clients—at a time when India lacked internet, infrastructure, and even the basic confidence to believe it could serve the world in tech.
The Struggles of the Early Years
With no venture funding, no fancy offices, and no overseas clients initially, the founders worked in small spaces, took modest salaries, and coded late into the night. Communication with foreign clients had to be done through snail mail, telex machines, or late-night STD calls.
Murthy, often dubbed the “father of the Indian IT sector,” once said:
“It took us 1.5 years to get a computer. We had to travel to the U.S. to bring it back and install it ourselves.”
Yet, the founders persisted—with a belief in discipline, ethics, and execution.
Global Breakthroughs and Firsts
- 1983: Infosys moved its base to Bangalore, a city that would later become India’s Silicon Valley.
- 1987: First U.S. client—Data Basics Corporation.
- 1993: Infosys IPO’d in India. It was so small, underwriters had to be convinced to support it.
- 1999: It became the first Indian company to list on the NASDAQ—a huge global validation.
These milestones turned Infosys into a symbol of India’s software talent and an example that Indian companies could scale internationally—ethically and profitably.
From ₹10,000 to ₹1.5+ Lakh Crore Revenue
Fast forward to 2025, and Infosys has:
- $19.2 billion in annual revenue
- Offices in 50+ countries
- Over 330,000 employees
- A record $4.09 billion free cash flow in FY25
- Listed on BSE, NSE, and NASDAQ
From a single project in the U.S., Infosys now serves hundreds of global clients, including Fortune 500 companies across banking, retail, healthcare, and energy.
Values-First Leadership
Infosys was not built on hype but on integrity.
Under Murthy, the company built a culture of transparency, corporate governance, and employee ownership. Every employee was treated like a stakeholder.
Later leaders like Nandan Nilekani (who also led Aadhaar), Kris Gopalakrishnan, S.D. Shibulal, and now Salil Parekh have carried the same DNA forward—balancing innovation with ethics.
Infosys 2.0: The AI & Digital Era
In the last five years, Infosys has reinvented itself as a digital and AI-first company.
- Launched Aster, its AI-powered marketing platform
- Built over 200 AI agents used by enterprise clients
- 85% of employees have been trained in Gen AI
- Rolled out industry-specific LLMs (language models) for banking, retail, and energy
Infosys is no longer just an outsourcing firm—it’s now a global tech innovation partner.
Lessons for Every Founder
- Start small, think big — ₹10,000 and a garage office led to a global empire.
- Build on values — Integrity scales farther than shortcuts.
- Be global from Day 1 — Infosys always dreamed beyond India.
- Reinvent to stay relevant — From Y2K to AI, Infosys keeps evolving.
- Share success — Infosys was one of India’s earliest companies to give stock options to employees.
The Legacy Continues
Infosys isn’t just a company—it’s a movement. A reminder that seven dreamers, a borrowed ₹10,000, and unwavering discipline can build a legacy that shapes a nation’s industry.
As India now leads in global IT, digital solutions, and AI transformation, it all traces back to that quiet resolve at a dinner table in 1981.
