Nithin Kamath (born 5 October 1979) is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder and chief executive of Zerodha, India’s largest retail stockbroker. He started the company in 2010 with his brother, Nikhil Kamath, after a decade as a trader, and built it without venture capital or advertising. He is known for speaking plainly to small investors about the risks of trading and for promoting fitness.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Nithin Kamath |
| Born | 5 October 1979, Shivamogga, Karnataka, India |
| Age | 47 |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder and CEO of Zerodha |
| Education | Bangalore Institute of Technology (engineering) |
| Spouse | Seema Patil |
| Children | 1 (Kiaan) |
| Sibling | Nikhil Kamath |
Early Life
Kamath grew up in Bengaluru, the son of a bank executive and a musician. He began trading shares at 17 using his father’s account. He studied engineering at the Bangalore Institute of Technology. In 2001–02 he lost his trading capital in a market fall and took a night job at a call centre for about four years to pay his debts, trading by day.
Career
In 2006 he became a sub-broker with Reliance Money and managed money for clients. The experience convinced him that brokerage fees were too high and trading software too poor.
He launched Zerodha on 15 August 2010; the name joins “zero” with rodha, the Sanskrit word for barrier. Its flat-fee pricing was new to India. In 2015 it made investing in shares for the long term free. The company built its own technology: the Kite trading platform, the Coin mutual-fund platform, the free education site Varsity and the Sensibull options tool. By 2020 it had more active clients than any other broker in India. Kamath has repeatedly said that most people who trade in futures and options lose money.
Through Rainmatter, Zerodha invests in fintech, health and climate start-ups. In 2023 Zerodha Fund House, a joint venture with smallcase, began offering low-cost index funds.
Health
In February 2024 Kamath revealed that he had suffered a mild stroke some weeks earlier, which he put down to overwork, poor sleep and the death of his father. He recovered and has used the episode to urge people to rest.
Personal Life
He is married to Seema Patil, who works at Zerodha and has written about surviving breast cancer. They have a son, Kiaan, and live in Bengaluru.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Nithin Kamath born?
Nithin Kamath was born on 5 October 1979 in Shivamogga, Karnataka, India and is 47 years old.
What is Nithin Kamath known for?
Known for: Founder and CEO of Zerodha.
Featured image: Nithin Kamath, founder and chief executive of Zerodha, December 2020. Photo by Karthik Rangappa, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
