Key facts
- Known for: Founder of Infosys; Global Delivery Model
- Born: 20 Aug 1946, Sidlaghatta, Karnataka
- Age: 80 years (as of 10 Nov 2026)
- Spouse: Sudha Murty
Early life and family
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy was born on 20 Aug 1946 in Sidlaghatta, in present-day Karnataka, into a middle-class family. The IIT Kanpur alumni office, which holds his postgraduate record, gives that date and place. He later married engineer, author and philanthropist Sudha Murty. They have two children, Akshata Murty and Rohan Murty.
Akshata, a fashion designer and investor, is married to Rishi Sunak, who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from October 2022 to July 2024. Rohan is a computer scientist who founded the software company Soroco. The family's public life is now split between Indian business and philanthropy and, through Akshata, British politics, but Murthy has remained based in Bengaluru and associated with Infosys.
Education
IIT Kanpur records that he attended a government school, took a degree from the University of Mysore, and completed a master's in electrical engineering at IIT Kanpur in 1969. Standard biographical accounts identify the Mysore degree as a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the National Institute of Engineering, then affiliated to the University of Mysore, in 1967. Where those wordings differ, we follow IIT Kanpur for the master's year and treat the NIE/Mysore bachelor's as the widely reported undergraduate path, not as a separate, conflicting degree.
Career milestones
- 1969
Completes an M.Tech at IIT Kanpur and begins work at IIM Ahmedabad
- 1981
Founds Infosys with six colleagues; CEO until 2002
- 1999
Infosys lists on Nasdaq, a first for an Indian company
- 2008
Padma Vibhushan; Officer of the Legion of Honour
- 2013
Returns as executive chairman for a year, then chairman emeritus
Early career
Murthy began his career at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad as a chief systems programmer, working on early time-sharing systems. He then started a firm called Softronics. When that company failed after about a year and a half, he joined Patni Computer Systems in Pune. Those years, rather than the later honours, are what he has often pointed to as the practical schooling behind Infosys.
Founding Infosys
In 1981 Murthy and six software professionals founded Infosys. The official Infosys profile says he founded the company that year and that it is now a global software-services firm listed in the United States and in Mumbai. Sudha Murty has said, including in a 2024 interview carried by The Economic Times, that she gave him ₹10,000 from her savings as the seed capital. That figure is part of Indian business lore because it is hers to tell, not because it is a substitute for later, audited accounts.
Murthy has long been credited, including on Infosys's own pages, with conceptualising and implementing the Global Delivery Model: distributed teams in India and at client sites delivering software to agreed quality, time and budget, and a working day that could span time zones. Under his leadership Infosys became a reference name for technical training, quality processes and, in 1999, the first Indian company listed on Nasdaq.
Leadership and the 2013 return
He served as CEO from 1981 to 2002, when he was succeeded by co-founder Nandan Nilekani, and remained as chairman and later chief mentor until he stepped back in 2011 as chairman emeritus. In June 2013, after a difficult period for the company, Infosys appointed him executive chairman. He stood down from the executive role in June 2014 and again became chairman emeritus later that year.
The official Infosys profile lists current board and trustee roles at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the United Nations Foundation, and earlier service on boards including Ford Foundation, HSBC and Unilever. He is a trustee of the Infosys Science Foundation, which awards the Infosys Prize. In late 2023 and again in later interviews he argued that young Indians should be willing to work very long weeks; the remarks were widely debated, and in 2024 he said the 70-hour comment was meant as introspection, not a rule to be mandated.
| Year | Honour | Awarded by |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Padma Shri | Government of India |
| 2003 | World Entrepreneur of the Year | Ernst & Young |
| 2007 | Honorary CBE | United Kingdom |
| 2008 | Officer of the Legion of Honour | France |
| 2008 | Padma Vibhushan | Government of India |
| 2012 | Hoover Medal | American Society of Mechanical Engineers |
| 2018 | IEEE Founders Medal | IEEE |
Awards and honours
The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. Infosys's official profile also records France's Legion of Honour, an honorary CBE from Britain, the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year award, and IEEE honours including the Founders Medal (2018), the Hoover Medal (2012) and the Ernst Weber Medal. Fortune included him among "the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time" in 2012. IIT Kanpur has given him its Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Personal life
Murthy and Sudha Murty have kept a relatively modest public style by the standards of Indian business families. She chaired the Infosys Foundation for many years, was later nominated to the Rajya Sabha, and is a widely read author in English and Kannada. Their daughter and son-in-law's years in Downing Street brought a new kind of attention to the family, which Murthy has generally answered with brevity rather than commentary.
Net worth
Forbes has estimated N. R. Narayana Murthy's net worth in the low billions of US dollars; one widely cited figure was US$5.0 billion as of January 2025. We treat that as a dated magazine estimate, not an audited personal account, and we don't invent a newer number. The family's wealth is tied mainly to its Infosys shareholding, which is disclosed in company filings as they stand at each reporting date.
Legacy
Murthy's lasting mark is not a single product but a way of building and listing an Indian software firm that could serve global clients at scale, pay professional wages, and talk about corporate governance in public. The Global Delivery Model became the industry's default language. In that sense he sits alongside other Indian business builders on CareerMasti, including Ratan Tata, Dhirubhai Ambani and Mukesh Ambani, and of course Sudha Murty. See all business biographies.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Narayana Murthy?
N. R. Narayana Murthy was born on 20 Aug 1946 in Sidlaghatta, Karnataka, so he is 80 years old as of November 2026.
Who is Narayana Murthy's wife?
He is married to author, engineer and philanthropist Sudha Murty. They have two children, Akshata Murty and Rohan Murty.
When did Narayana Murthy found Infosys?
He founded Infosys in 1981 with six colleagues. Sudha Murty has said she gave him ₹10,000 of her savings as the seed capital.
What awards has Narayana Murthy received?
They include the Padma Shri in 2000, an honorary CBE from Britain, France's Legion of Honour, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
What is the Global Delivery Model?
It is the distributed software-development approach Murthy articulated at Infosys, with teams in India and at client sites working around the clock, which became the template for Indian IT services.
Who are Narayana Murthy's children?
Akshata Murty, a fashion designer and investor who is married to former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, and Rohan Murty, a computer scientist who founded the software firm Soroco.
Sources
- Infosys: official management profile of N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder
- IIT Kanpur (Dean of Resources and Alumni): Narayan Murthy profile (MT/EE/1969)
- The Economic Times (PTI): Sudha Murty on the ₹10,000 that started Infosys, March 2024
- The Economic Times: Infosys appoints Murthy executive chairman, 1 June 2013
- ASME: Hoover Medal, 2012, N. R. Narayana Murthy
- Wikipedia: N. R. Narayana Murthy (cross-checked dates and honours)
