Archive · 13 Sep 2026
From Panoh to Zscaler: Jay Chaudhry’s Billion-Dollar Journey
Jay Chaudhry grew up in a small Indian village where his family farmed and had very few modern facilities.
He walked several kilometres to school and studied hard.
His success in school helped him attend IIT (BHU) Varanasi.
A scholarship supported his move to the United States for more education.
He later studied engineering, management and business.
After working at technology companies, he and his wife started SecureIT with their savings.
They sold that company to VeriSign and later built other technology businesses.
In 2007, Jay started Zscaler, which helps companies stay safe online using cloud technology.
Zscaler became very successful, but Jay says honesty, hard work and happiness matter more than money.
Jagtar Singh Chaudhry, now known as Jay Chaudhry, grew up in Panoh, Himachal Pradesh, without running water or electricity.
He walked about 4 kilometres to school, ranked first in Himachal Pradesh and earned an electrical engineering degree from IIT (BHU) Varanasi.
A three-minute interview with JRD Tata helped him receive a Tata loan scholarship to study in the United States.
Chaudhry and his wife, Jyoti, invested $500,000 of their savings to launch SecureIT in 1997 before selling it to VeriSign in 1998.
He founded Zscaler in 2007, building a cloud-based cybersecurity company now valued at a reported $26.6 billion, while Forbes estimates his wealth at $9.3 billion.
- Who
- Jay Chaudhry, formerly Jagtar Singh Chaudhry, and his wife, Jyoti.
- What
- Chaudhry’s rise from a resource-poor Indian village to founder and chief executive of Zscaler is profiled.
- When
- He left for the United States at age 22, founded SecureIT in 1997, sold it in 1998 and founded Zscaler in 2007.
- Where
- He grew up in Panoh, Himachal Pradesh, studied at IIT (BHU) Varanasi and the University of Cincinnati, and built his companies in the United States.
- Why
- His academic achievement, professional experience, willingness to invest his savings and focus on cloud-based cybersecurity contributed to his business success.
- Reported net worth
- $9.3 billion, according to Forbes
- Reported Zscaler market capitalization
- $26.6 billion, according to Yahoo Finance data cited in the articles
- Reported departure funds
- The headline cites ₹20,000, while the article text says he left India with $200
- First startup
- SecureIT, founded in 1997 with $500,000 of the couple’s savings
- SecureIT sale
- VeriSign acquired SecureIT in 1998
- Zscaler founding
- Zscaler was established in 2007 and went public in 2018
- Reported annual recurring revenue
- $3.77 billion, up 25% year over year
- Reported customer base
- More than 11,000 customers
