Indian American Mom Who Reinvented the School Bus Builds 1.7 Billion Company

Ritu Narayan, who grew up in the foothills of the Himalayas in India, has built Zum into a $1.7 billion school transportation company, earning her a place on the 2026 Forbes 50 Over 50 list.

Narayan left a senior role at eBay in 2015 after struggling to arrange safe, reliable rides for her young children in the Bay Area. She recalled her own mother, an educator in India, leaving her job over the same challenge. Determined not to repeat that pattern, Narayan cofounded Zum with her brothers, Vivek Garg and Abhishek Garg, based in Redwood City, California.

Zum modernizes school transportation with GPS tracking, optimized routing and electric bus fleets, giving parents real time visibility through an app, similar to Uber for school buses.

The company has raised $430 million and now serves about 5,000 schools across 18 states. Revenue hit $333 million in 2025, up 35 percent year over year.

Narayan's journey, from an immigrant mother juggling career and childcare to leading a transportation unicorn, reflects a growing wave of Indian American women reshaping major US industries through entrepreneurship and innovation.