Senapathy 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is a well-known face in the Indian IT industry. Not only this, Gopalakrishnan is recognized as a global business and technology thought leader for his role in growing the IT services industry worldwide. He co-founded the now Rs 5.8 lakh crore company, Infosys, in 1981. He occupied various positions at Infosys including that of CEO (2007 to 2011) and vice chairman (2011 to 2014).
The 68-year-old took retirement from Infosys in 2014. He was with the firm for over 33 years. Later in 2015, he founded Axilor Ventures, an accelerator that helps start-ups during the early stage of their business journey. Currently, he is the chairman of the firm.
He has invested in a slew of startups through his business Axilor Ventures and some venture funds. Gopalakrishnan has also funded and created Itihaasa, a digital app that chronicles the evolution of India's IT industry.
He funded the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Research Center, named after his wife, at IIT Madras which is his alma mater. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian honour in 2011. His family philanthropy is Pratiksha Trust and his investment arm is Pratithi.
According to Forbes, he has an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion (Rs 2,53,70 crore) as of April 2023. He was at the 905th position in the recent Forbes' Billionaires list, making him one of the richest people in India.
Gopalakrishnan was born in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala in 1955. He completed his schooling at the Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School.
He holds master’s degrees in physics (1977) and computer science (1979) both from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras. He started his career as a software engineer with Patni Computer Systems, Mumbai, in 1979 before co-founding Infosys in 1981.
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