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Sridhar Vembu

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  • AI Summit: 'I believe IT services will flourish if they deploy AI, be optimistic about India', says Zoho's Sridhar Vembu

    According to Vembu, India has the momentum in AI adoption. “Today AI can write code really well,” he said, noting that this could significantly enhance productivity across industries.

  • Sridhar Vembu shares 5-step framework to prevent AI from taking white collar jobs: 'I'm in stage 1 and 2'

    The Zoho co‑founder's response was prompted by a professor from the London School of Economics who argued for cautious, conviction‑based decision‑making especially at workplaces affected by AI.

  • Don’t chase Big Tech’s AI race, India should build smarter, smaller models: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu

    Sridhar Vembu said Zoho itself is actively exploring smaller models and alternative AI approaches that are less capital- and energy-intensive.

  • I ask employees to calmly contemplate our death: Sridhar Vembu on Zoho surviving AI wave

    According to Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu, accepting the possibility of failure is not pessimism but a strategic discipline. The remarks come amid sharp volatility in global and Indian IT stocks following the launch of new AI tools by US startup Anthropic.

  • 'Legacy players are bloated and expensive; we’re building the alternative:' Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu on ERP

    Zoho enters the ERP market to take on SAP and Oracle, launching India-first software as Sridhar Vembu bets on affordability, rural tech hubs and long-term R&D.

  • Small town, Big tech: Sridhar Vembu on Zoho’s rural push, AI Bubble, SaaS consolidation & many more

    In this conversation, Zoho founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu explains why the company is expanding its operations in Kumbakonam and how rural India fits into Zoho’s long-term technology strategy. He details plans to grow the local workforce from 250 to 2,000 employees and describes the hub-and-spoke model that connects R&D with regional development. The interview also covers Zoho’s entry into the ERP market, a space dominated by global players like SAP and Oracle, and why the company believes an India-first, AI-native ERP can compete globally. Vembu shares his views on the AI investment bubble, foundational models versus applied AI, SaaS consolidation, and why patient, long-term R&D matters. From small-town expansion to global technology ambitions, this conversation highlights how Zoho is building products and talent outside traditional tech hubs.

  • Zoho to take 'hub-and-spoke' model to Uttar Pradesh's small towns in 2026: Sridhar Vembu

    The Uttar Pradesh move is expected to follow Zoho’s hub-and-spoke model, similar to its centres in smaller towns such as Tenkasi and Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu.

  • Sridhar Vembu rules out active politics, says focus remains on technology-led nation building

    Vembu says his goal is to contribute towards making India a technologically strong and self-reliant nation, which is as critical to the country’s prosperity and long-term civilisational revival

  • Sridhar Vembu believes India’s image improved in 10 years. Netizens say it's 'never been worse'

    Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu’s assessment drew sharp disagreement from several users, who questioned the basis of his claim and cited indicators such as tourism trends and passport strength to counter his argument.

  • Namita Thapar 'shocked' at Sridhar Vembu's 'marry in your 20s' tip: 'Similar to 70-hour work week'

    Highlighting how comments from leaders can have a negative impact towards women's health and empowerment, Namita Thapar said, 'What’s wrong with our leaders? What numbers are we discussing? 70-hour work weeks? Marry in your twenties?'

  • Zoho's Vembu announces end-to-end encryption for Arratai, says app's drop in users expected

    Vembu reacts to drop in active users, says 'initial buzz rarely equals long term success'

  • Zoho’s Arattai messaging app loses steam, drops out of top 100 apps on Android and iOS in India

    Arattai has also seen a sharp decline in its App Store rankings, slipping from the top position in mid-October to 123rd place in the apps leaderboard on November 4, Moneycontrol observed.

  • Gold is flashing a big warning signal: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu

    Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu’s comments come amid heightened global market volatility and renewed concerns about economic stability as investors seek safe-haven assets such as gold.

  • 'Learn Kannada, Marathi if you are moving to those states,' says Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu on Indian elite and nationalism

    Vembu also cited countries like Japan, Korea, and China as examples where national pride and self-reliance have powered rapid development.

  • Zoho chosen for government's email service after 20 security audits, says founder Sridhar Vembu

    Amid scrutiny over government adoption of Zoho Mail, the company’s founder has said that it was selected by National Informatics Centre (NIC) after extensive vetting, while MeitY has maintained it does not favour any single firm for tender.

  • AI is entering bubble territory, says Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu

    On the role of AI in programming, Vembu said he is a fan of AI-based coding and uses it extensively, but emphasized that it augments rather than replaces skilled programmers.

  • India cannot afford the scale of investment in data centres, if power bills go up, it will become a hot political issue: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu

    He drew parallels with the U.S., where AI investment has soared into the trillions of dollars but raised concerns about rising electricity costs and limited productivity gains.

  • Sridhar Vembu dedicates 70% of his time to coding as Zoho's Chief Scientist

    The Zoho founder has also been engaging more with the company’s rural teams, visiting several rural centers and spending time with young engineers.

  • Must invest in critical tech, India got bad advice from economists trained at Columbia, Chicago, Harvard: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu

    Calling for balanced trade, Vembu said India must avoid both large deficits and surpluses and focus on technological self-reliance to restore equilibrium.

  • Foreign AI companies and GCCs need to register IP here, they are harvesting Indian brains: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu

    Vembu urged the government to make it mandatory for companies developing technology or AI models in India to register the resulting IP locally or license it to the parent entity abroad.

  • MC Interview: There is a Swadeshi movement underway, India must be self-reliant in tech and trade on equal terms, says Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu

    In this detailed and candid conversation, Zoho’s Chief Scientist and founder Sridhar Vembu opens up about the growing Swadeshi movement in India-a push for self-reliance in technology and trade amidst a global landscape where tech is increasingly weaponised

  • Sridhar Vembu on Zoho, Arattai. Swadeshi Tech, AI, and India’s Digital Future | Exclusive Interview

    In this insightful conversation with Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist at Zoho, we dive deep into how his role has evolved and what it means for the future of Indian technology. From his push for the Swadeshi (self-reliance) movement to the challenges of building Arattai as a homegrown messaging platform, Sridhar shares candid thoughts on innovation, privacy, and India’s place in the global tech ecosystem.

  • Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu says Indian user data stays in India as Arattai climbs app charts

    Vembu also stressed that Zoho does not rely on hyperscalers like AWS, Azure, or GCP for hosting its services.

  • Zoho’s Arattai sees renewed interest as WhatsApp rival but can it succeed where others failed?

    The app has climbed to the top of Apple's App Store and is on track to break into the top 100 on Google Play, after previously ranking outside the top 500

  • 'Switch to Swadeshi!': IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw makes Cabinet briefing presentation using Zoho instead of Powerpoint

    Ashwini Vaishnaw used Zoho Show instead of Microsoft PowerPoint for official presentation

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