When Zoho CEO Vembu wanted to hire Trump's new AI advisor Krishnan

Born in Chennai, Krishnan's life took a pivotal turn when he persuaded his father to buy him a computer. He later became a well-known figure in the technology world of Silicon Valley and beyond

When Sriram Krishnan was studying at SRM Engineering College of Anna University in Chennai during 2001-2005, Sridhar Vembu, founder of tech company Zoho Corporation, came across his blog. It was one of the early programming blogs from India at that time.

 

“I was so impressed, I wanted to recruit him but Microsoft had already taken him on board. We have been in touch on and off as he later moved to Silicon Valley and became an entrepreneur,” recalled Vembu on X, while congratulating Krishnan on being appointed on Sunday as senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence (AI) at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, by US President-elect Donald Trump. “President Trump has found a great talent for his technology team,” Vembu added.

 

 

Krishnan will work with David Sacks, former PayPal chief operating officer (COO) and Trump’s pick to lead the White House policy on AI and Crypto.

 

“Working closely with David Sacks, Sriram will focus on ensuring continued American leadership in AI and help shape and coordinate AI policy across government, including working with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,” said Trump, as he made a number of other appointments related to AI.

 

Krishnan was born in Chennai into a traditional middle-class family. In one interview, he shared that his life took a pivotal turn when he persuaded his father to buy him a computer — a significant luxury in the late 1990s. However, internet access was out of reach at the time due to the high cost of dial-up connections. Undeterred, Krishnan turned to coding books, teaching himself the basics and practising every night.

 

In 2002, while studying engineering at Anna University, Krishnan met his wife Aarthi Ramamurthy online. Ramamurthy is an alumna of PSG College of Technology, an affiliate of Anna University. A mutual friend, eager to start a coding project, brought them together. Although the project itself didn’t last, the bond between Krishnan and Ramamurthy did.

 

When one of Krishnan's blog posts about Microsoft caught the attention of a company executive, it led to both he and Ramamurthy being hired in 2005. 

 

Krishnan, who began his career as a founding member of Windows Azure, moved to the US in 2007. He became a well-known figure in the technology world of Silicon Valley and beyond and served in senior product positions at big tech companies such as Microsoft, Facebook (Meta), Snap, and Twitter.

 

In addition to building, leading, or overseeing such products as Facebook Audience Network, Twitter’s home timeline, and trending topics, Krishnan also became a coach, mentor, and advisor to a new generation of up-and-coming founders and quality companies such as Cameo, Figma, Notion, and Scale.

 

Meanwhile, his wife worked at Facebook and Netflix before founding a few of her own companies and was also an investor and product executive. The couple got American citizenship in 2017. Krishnan now also co-hosts a podcast with Ramamurthy.

 

Krishnan’s skills and experiences helped him land a job as general partner at top venture capital firm a16z in 2021. There he opened and ran the a16z’s UK office and drove its international strategy.

 

Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of a16z is of the view that Krishnan’s appointment as senior policy advisor for AI is a 1,000x upgrade for the US government. “It puts the US firmly in the driver's seat for AI policy globally. Sriram is the right man for the topic and the time,” said Andreessen on X.

 

Krishnan came under the spotlight in the recent past, when billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and handpicked the Indian-origin tech executive to run the microblogging platform temporarily.

 

“It was fun to work with Sriram on the X/Twitter Transition and I look forward to doing it again, collaborating on AI policy. Sriram is a well-known and well-liked figure in Silicon Valley, a sign of the extraordinary talent President Trump is attracting to his Administration,” said David Sacks on X. 

Green card debate

 

Meanwhile, Sacks, a billionaire high-tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, appointed by Donald Trump to shape his administration’s efforts on AI and cryptocurrency, responded on Tuesday to Laura Loomer, a journalist and activist, after she labeled Sriram Krishnan, a “career leftist.”

 

Loomer criticized Krishnan's appointment to the Trump administration, targeting his stance related to visa and green card policy reforms. Loomer argued that Krishnan's views were in direct opposition to Trump’s America First agenda.  She questioned how Trump can promote American innovation and control immigration when he’s appointed someone advocating for the removal of green card caps, potentially allowing foreign students—who make up 78 per cent of Silicon Valley’s workforce—to take jobs that should go to American STEM graduates.

 

For instance, the H-1B visa program, which permits U.S. companies to hire skilled foreign workers in specialized fields, has long been a source of controversy.

  Loomer’s remarks followed Krishnan's recent advocacy for removing country caps in the green card allocation process for skilled immigrants.

 

In support of Krishnan, David Sacks responded to Loomer's post and clarified that Krishnan does not advocate for removing all green card caps.

 

“Sriram didn’t say he wants to remove all caps on green cards. He said he wants to remove ‘country’ caps on green cards. Right now, every country in the world gets allocated the same number of green cards, no matter how many qualified applicants it has. So applicants from India have an 11 year wait whereas applicants from many other countries have no wait at all. Sriram still supports skills-based criteria for receiving a green card, not making the program unlimited. In fact, he wants to make the program entirely merit-based. Supporting a limited number of highly skilled immigrants is still a prevalent view on the right. Sriram is definitely not a ‘career leftist’,” said Sacks on X.

 

> Born in Chennai into a traditional middle-class family, Krishnan’s life took a pivotal turn when he persuaded his father to buy him a computer—a significant luxury in the late 1990s. He later became a well-known figure in the technology world of Silicon Valley and beyond and served in senior product positions at big tech companies such as Microsoft, Facebook (Meta), Snap, and Twitter.