(August 29, 2025) From her base in the United States, Chaitra Vedullapalli is on a mission to change the way women access the trillion-dollar cloud economy. As co-founder and president of Women in Cloud and co-founder and CMO of Meylah, she’s not just breaking barriers — she’s redesigning the blueprint. “If women weren’t invited into trillion-dollar markets, we needed to build our own doors,” she remarks in a chat with Global Indian.
The challenge is clear: while women are driving innovation in technology, too many are shut out from the very systems that could help them scale—cloud marketplaces, enterprise buyers, and investor networks. This lack of access isn’t about skill or ideas; it’s about gatekeeping. Women in Cloud is Chaitra’s answer. Talking about the global movement, she mentions, “Today, we’ve unlocked $500M+ in economic access, created 100,000+ opportunities, and influenced global policy. Each chapter wasn’t just a job; it was a vantage point to see where the system worked and where it didn’t.”
Roots in systems thinking
Born and raised in Bengaluru in a middle-class family where dreams were “measured in degrees and grit,” Chaitra’s love for technology began early. She chose electrical engineering at RV College of Engineering. “That choice wasn’t just academic; it was foundational. It taught me how to think in systems, solve real-world problems, and stay endlessly curious,” she shares.
When she moved to the US after marriage, she didn’t treat it as the end of her learning journey—it was the start of a reinvention. “I layered business and tech certifications onto my technical background. The result? A global mindset with local impact.”
That mindset would later drive her success at Oracle and Microsoft in the US, where she not only learned how global markets functioned but also saw who was left out.
Corporate climb to changemaker
Her US career began during the rise of Windows 95 between 1996 and 1999. At Oracle, she spent seven years leading global licensing and GTM strategies for database technologies, learning “the power of platform thinking and how enterprise tech could shape economies.”
She then joined Microsoft in the US, where for 11 years she focused on partner GTM strategies, scaling technology adoption, and enabling partner ecosystems. “This was a pivotal moment. I saw firsthand how billion-dollar shifts were being made and who was left out.”
What she saw was an entrenched barrier for women in tech: despite having products, passion, and purpose, they lacked access to the cloud economy’s key players—buyers, marketplaces, and capital. In 2017, she decided to act, co-founding Women in Cloud, Meylah, and MXW Ventures.
Architecting access in the cloud
Women in Cloud was officially launched in 2019, but the idea had been forming for years. Chaitra had watched women tech founders repeatedly hit the same “glass gate” — unable to enter the ecosystems where deals were made and opportunities flowed.
“It wasn’t a pipeline issue. It was a gatekeeping issue. So, we stopped asking for access and started architecting it. Women in Cloud is built on the belief that economic power is the greatest lever for gender equity. Today, we work across workforce development, entrepreneurship, cloud innovation, and policy, all aligned to the UN SDGs and ESG goals. We’re not here to just be in the room. We’re here to redesign the blueprint,” says Chaitra.
She is candid about why change is urgent. “Tech wasn’t built for women. And for too long, we tried to fit into a system that wasn’t designed for us. Bias shows up everywhere: in boardrooms, performance reviews, venture funding, and even in algorithms.”
But her focus is on building new systems—not fixing old ones. “Here’s the shift: we’re no longer just asking to be included; we’re building new systems entirely. From equity-centred innovation labs to women-led AI solutions, the future of tech is being redesigned right now. We have the power to reimagine the narrative. And that’s what gives me hope.”
Her work is rooted in both advocacy and innovation. She holds a U.S. patent—‘Method and System for Managing Styles in Electronic Documents’ (EP1512084B1)—developed to make digital collaboration more consistent, automated, and efficient. “This patent is about making technology work smarter for humans. It reflects my belief that great innovation starts with everyday friction, and solving that friction at scale is where real impact begins,” she remarks.
Lessons and legacy
For Chaitra Vedullapalli, two lessons rise above all else: access is not given, it’s architected, and it’s not about breaking the glass ceiling—it’s about redesigning the whole narrative.
To young women in tech—whether in Seattle, Singapore, or Surat—her advice is clear: “Build systems of significance. Know your values, your worth, and your voice, and then use your success to unlock doors for others. Every career is a story. Make yours a movement.”
Chaitra’s own story has been shaped by challenges that could have stopped her—funding barriers, bias, and the isolation of being the “only” in the room. But she’s learned to treat them as signals, not setbacks.
“They don’t stop you; they reveal you. I’ve faced all the usual suspects: funding barriers, bias, and being the ‘only’ in the room. But partnerships and collaborating with hyperscalers like Microsoft, EY, and Accenture have been game-changing. Digital marketplaces help bypass gatekeepers and scale impact faster, and increases visibility—if people can’t find you, they can’t fund you. Publicity isn’t vanity; it’s strategy. Also, I treat every challenge as a design flaw in the system, and I go back to redesign it.”
Her greatest inspiration remains her younger self—the girl from Bengaluru who dared to see beyond the roles prescribed to her. “She reminds me why I do this.”
That younger self is the reason she measures legacy differently. “Legacy is not what you leave behind; it’s what you leave within others. I want every person I work with to walk away more empowered, more connected, more transformed, and more convinced of their own potential.”
Outside the boardroom
Outside the boardroom, Chaitra’s creativity takes other forms. She is a storyteller—producing documentaries like ICONS, her Oscar-qualified film celebrating women breaking barriers in tech—and a mentor who finds joy in nurturing the next generation of changemakers. “I also love mentoring youth, exploring art, and sipping a good chai while sketching visions for what’s next. My creative fuel comes from the intersection of impact, community building, and imagination,” she mentions.
Future plans
Looking ahead, she envisions a future where the access gap no longer exists. “I’m focused on building and democratising access to a $100 million fund designed to fuel inclusive innovation across three pillars: tech, film, and wellness. In tech, we’ll accelerate workforce, leadership, and economic development through cloud marketplaces and AI partnerships. In film, we’ll produce stories that rewrite narratives and give visibility to changemakers the world needs to see. In wellness, we’re designing solutions to close the gender health gap because women can’t lead if they’re not well. The vision is clear: empower creators, founders, and leaders with capital, community, and credibility so they don’t just survive, they scale with purpose. It’s about infrastructure for access. And we’re just getting started.”
For a woman who built her career in the US, rooted in the values of her Indian upbringing, the mission has come full circle: to ensure that women everywhere – no matter where they start — can step into the global cloud economy not as outsiders seeking entry, but as architects of their own future.
- Follow Chaitra Vedullapalli on LinkedIn
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