Rao Ramela came to the United States and joined Microsoft in 1981.

The couple first established a fund at the Seattle Foundation and then established their family foundation, the Satya and Rao Remala Foundation, in 1998. In a recent year, the foundation gave away around $581,000. The couple’s children, Srilata and Srilakshmi, manage the operations at the foundation which is focused on health and education initiatives and programs.