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Subrah Iyar

Subrah S. Iyar (born June 11, 1957) is an Indian-American entrepreneur, technologist, and investor renowned for co-founding WebEx Communications in 1995, a pioneering web conferencing platform that revolutionized remote collaboration and was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007 for $3.2 billion. Born in India, Iyar graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 1981 with a B.Tech. degree in electrical engineering before immigrating to the United States in 1982. His early career included nearly 15 years at major tech firms such as Intel and Apple, where he contributed to hardware and software development, before venturing into entrepreneurship. As co-founder and CEO of WebEx alongside Min Zhu, Iyar led the company from its inception through rapid growth, establishing it as a leader in real-time online meetings and e-business solutions during the dot-com era. The acquisition by Cisco marked one of the largest tech deals of its time and propelled WebEx—now Webex—into widespread enterprise use, serving millions globally. Following the sale, Iyar remained with Cisco briefly before launching Moxtra (later rebranded as Moxo) in 2013, a mobile-first collaboration platform inspired by his daughter and designed to streamline team workflows, client interactions, and digital services for enterprises like banks and financial institutions. Under his leadership as co-founder and CEO, Moxo—as of 2015—supported over 2 million users and focuses on AI-enhanced relationship intelligence and secure communication tools. In 2025, Moxo continues to release new features, including expanded workflow capabilities. Iyar's contributions extend to venture investing, with early backing of companies like Zoom Video Communications, which he supported with seed funding in 2011 and credits for advancing video conferencing accessibility. Recognized as an immigrant entrepreneur in Forbes' lists of influential founders, he has been inducted into the Immigrant Learning Center's Hall of Fame for his role in fostering innovation in Silicon Valley. As of 2025, Iyar continues as CEO of Moxo and an active angel investor, emphasizing authentic leadership and the integration of mobile and AI technologies in business transformation.

Early life and education

Birth and family background

Subrah Iyar was born in 1957 in Mumbai, India. He was raised in a Tamil family in Mumbai, reflecting his cultural roots in the Tamil community, many of whom had migrated from Tamil Nadu to urban centers like Mumbai. Iyar grew up in the bustling environment of Mumbai, where the city's diverse and dynamic setting laid the foundation for his later pursuits in engineering and technology.

Academic career at IIT Bombay

Subrah Iyar graduated in 1981 from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay with a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering. The Electrical Engineering program at IIT Bombay during this era emphasized core principles in electronics, circuits, signals, and systems, along with introductory exposure to computing and communication technologies, which formed the basis for Iyar's technical proficiency in software development and networking. No specific student projects or extracurricular activities involving computing are documented from his time at the institute.

Professional career

Early roles in technology firms

Following his graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Subrah Iyar moved to the United States and joined Apple Inc. in 1983, where he held senior positions in business development, marketing, and sales management until 1989. During this period, he played a key role in establishing the company's first proprietary operating system licensing business within the Newton Group, focusing on mobile and wireless technologies. From 1989 to 1995, Iyar worked at , directing and () in the software and systems group. In this , he oversaw strategies for promoting solutions and building partnerships with manufacturers to integrate software components. In 1995, Iyar served as president of Future Labs, a subsidiary of Quarterdeck Office Systems, until 1996. This role involved leading software development efforts in collaboration technologies, including early innovations in online presentation and multimedia sharing tools. Through these positions at major technology firms, Iyar developed expertise in sales strategies, product marketing, and navigating software ecosystems, laying the groundwork for his subsequent entrepreneurial ventures.

Founding and growth of WebEx

Subrah Iyar co-founded WebEx Communications in 1995 with Min Zhu as Silver Computing, Inc., in California, initially focusing on consulting services to generate revenue while developing web-based collaboration tools. Drawing briefly on his prior business development roles at Intel and Apple, Iyar identified the potential for internet-based conferencing to replace costly travel and traditional systems. The company underwent several name changes—Stellar Computing in mid-1997 and ActiveTouch in December 1997—before acquiring assets from Future Labs in 1998 and launching its first products, ActiveTouch Server and ActiveMeetings. Under Iyar's leadership as CEO starting in 1997, WebEx pioneered early web conferencing technology that enabled real-time collaboration by integrating data sharing, audio, and video through standard web browsers, without requiring uniform client software installations. A key innovation was the development of an HTTP-tunneling protocol, which improved accessibility and performance for multimedia interactions over firewalls and proxies, setting WebEx apart in the emerging online meeting space. In February 1999, the company introduced the free WebEx Meeting Center service, later enhanced with telephone conferencing capabilities, allowing users to conduct interactive sessions seamlessly across platforms like Windows, Macintosh, and Solaris. WebEx achieved significant growth milestones in the late 1990s and early 2000s, transitioning from client-server products to a subscription-based hosted model that positioned it as a leader in business web communications services. The company raised $57.1 million in private equity funding by mid-2000 through multiple rounds, including a $24.4 million Series C in 1999 from venture firms like Baan Investments. Revenue expanded from $1.3 million in 1997 to $2.6 million in 1999, with first-half 2000 reaching $6.7 million, driven by over 25,000 businesses adopting the free service by fall 1999 and more than 1,100 paying customers by June 2000. The initial public offering in July 2000 on NASDAQ further fueled expansion, selling 3.5 million shares at $14 each. Iyar drove strategic decisions that scaled the business, emphasizing direct sales—which comprised over 90% of revenue—and building partnerships with more than 130 distributors by 2000, while growing the workforce from 105 employees in late 1999 to 293 by mid-2000. He oversaw the shift to web-based services and planned global reach through network expansions into Europe and Asia, establishing WebEx as a scalable platform for real-time business collaboration despite its U.S.-centric operations pre-IPO.

Acquisition by Cisco and interim period

In 2007, Systems acquired WebEx Communications for $3.2 billion in , marking a significant in the of tools. The , announced on and completed on , positioned WebEx's as a cornerstone of 's expanding portfolio in unified communications. Following the acquisition, Subrah Iyar, as WebEx's chairman and CEO, continued to lead the team during the initial integration into Cisco, reporting to Cisco's Chief Development Officer Charles Giancarlo to ensure a smooth transition of technology and operations. However, Iyar soon decided to step away from active management, opting to exit operational roles at Cisco to pursue personal endeavors. After the acquisition, Iyar embarked on a six-year sabbatical from 2007 to 2013, a period he used for personal recharge away from the demands of executive leadership. Financially, the transaction proved highly rewarding, as the Cisco stock Iyar received appreciated substantially over time; for instance, Cisco's share price, which hovered around $27 at the time of the deal, more than doubled by its 2021 peak near $64, amplifying the overall value of his holdings.

Establishment of Moxo

Following a sabbatical after the 2007 acquisition of WebEx by Cisco, Subrah Iyar co-founded Moxtra in 2012 alongside Stanley Huang, a former senior engineering director at WebEx, and assumed the role of CEO. The company, headquartered in Cupertino, California, was established to address gaps in enterprise collaboration by developing a secure, mobile-first platform for customer engagement, drawing directly on Iyar's experience building WebEx's real-time communication tools. Moxtra emphasized integrated workflows, secure messaging, and content sharing to streamline interactions between businesses and their clients, vendors, or partners, positioning it as a bridge between consumer-grade simplicity and enterprise-grade security. Key early milestones included the product's public launch at the Techcircle Demo event in early 2013, which showcased its capabilities in mobile content collaboration. That September, Moxtra secured $10 million in seed funding led by Cisco Investments and Starwood Capital Group, validating its potential in the burgeoning digital engagement space. In 2015, the company raised an additional $10 million in a Series B round from investors including Sinovation Ventures, enabling expanded development of its service orchestration features. By 2022, Moxtra rebranded to Moxo to reflect its evolution into a comprehensive platform for automating high-value client interactions, coinciding with the release of its Digital Resilience Report highlighting opportunities in workflow automation. Under Iyar's leadership, Moxo has grown through strategic partnerships and enterprise adoption, serving sectors like financial services and real estate with tools for onboarding, project management, and compliance workflows. Notable clients include FIS, Scotiabank, Emirates NBD, Procore, and Savills, where implementations have reduced email volume by up to 95% and process lengths by 54%, demonstrating scalable impact. Iyar's vision for Moxo centers on human-centered digital communication, integrating AI to orchestrate complex processes across people, systems, and departments, thereby modernizing how businesses engage externally in an increasingly hybrid world. As of 2023, Moxo was recognized as a leader in G2's Best Software Awards for client portals, onboarding, and communications, underscoring its role in enterprise transformation; in 2024, it won Best UX/UI Design in a SaaS Product at the Cloud SaaS Awards.

Investments and later contributions

Key startup investments

Subrah Iyar has established himself as an influential , focusing on early-stage in areas such as software, , and tools, from his extensive in building WebEx and Moxo. One of his most notable investments was in , where he participated as an early and advisor, contributing to the 's in the video conferencing sector. Iyar joined Zoom's in May 2011 with $3 million in and followed on in the of $6 million in 2013. His involvement helped leverage his expertise from WebEx to guide Zoom's growth amid rising demand for remote communication solutions. The investment yielded significant returns following Zoom's successful initial public offering on April 18, 2019, which priced at $36 per share and valued the at approximately $9.2 billion, marking one of the strongest tech IPOs that year. Iyar also invested in Aviso, an AI-powered sales forecasting platform, participating in its $8 million Series A round in April 2014 led by Shasta Ventures. This investment aligned with his interest in AI applications for business productivity, as Aviso uses machine learning to analyze sales pipelines and predict outcomes, serving enterprise clients in revenue operations. The company has since evolved into a comprehensive revenue intelligence platform, continuing to operate independently and expanding its AI capabilities for sales teams. In the telehealth space, Iyar backed Musely, a digital platform connecting patients with dermatologists for personalized skincare treatments, joining its Series A round of $6 million in November 2013 and later its Series B-II extension of undisclosed amount in January 2022. Musely's model emphasizes remote consultations and prescription fulfillment, reflecting Iyar's strategic emphasis on software-driven health innovations that enhance accessibility. The company has raised over $22 million in total funding and remains a key player in virtual dermatology services. More recently, Iyar invested in Mechademy in its seed round on January 21, 2023, supporting the development of a cloud-based SaaS platform for AI-driven monitoring and predictive maintenance of turbomachinery in industries like oil and gas. Mechademy integrates machine learning with domain expertise to provide prescriptive analytics, reducing downtime for rotating equipment and exemplifying Iyar's focus on industrial AI applications. The startup, led by CSL Capital Management, continues to advance its Turbomechanica platform for performance optimization in energy sectors.

Advisory roles and sports ventures

Following the acquisition of WebEx by Cisco in 2007, Subrah Iyar transitioned into advisory and board roles that leveraged his expertise in cloud computing and enterprise software. He served as an early investor and strategic advisor to Zoom Video Communications starting in 2011, providing guidance on scaling video conferencing technology during its formative years. In 2015, Iyar joined the board of Tactile (now Tact.ai) as a board observer and strategic advisor, contributing to the company's growth in AI-driven sales intelligence. More recently, in 2020, he became a member of Aviso's advisory board, where he offered insights on revenue intelligence platforms alongside other Silicon Valley leaders. These roles extended to other portfolio companies, emphasizing mentorship in SaaS innovation and market expansion. Beyond technology, Iyar has invested in sports ventures to promote cricket in the United States, reflecting his passion for the sport from his Indian roots. In 2020, he became a founding investor in American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the parent organization behind Major League Cricket (MLC), a professional T20 league aimed at professionalizing and popularizing the game domestically. This investment supported the league's launch in 2023, including the development of world-class stadiums and talent pathways, with MLC securing over $120 million in total funding by 2022 to build infrastructure and grassroots programs. Iyar's involvement has helped elevate cricket's profile in the U.S., attracting high-profile backers and fostering international collaborations. Iyar's entrepreneurial journey has been recognized through initiatives honoring immigrant innovators. In 2012, he was inducted into the Immigrant Entrepreneur Hall of Fame by The Immigrant Learning Center, celebrating his role as a co-founder of WebEx and his contributions to American technology as a Tamil immigrant from India. This accolade highlights his broader impact on entrepreneurship, inspiring programs that support immigrant-led businesses. Through these advisory positions and ventures, Iyar continues to shape technology and cultural landscapes, drawing on his experience to mentor emerging leaders in both sectors up to 2025.

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