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

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu

Zoho founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu told Moneycontrol that India's artificial intelligence ecosystem is showing promising signs of momentum, with affordable innovation emerging from domestic players.

“Sarvam AI coming out is really good. What is coming out now is good because it is affordable,” Vembu said, referring to Sarvam AI. The Zoho founder added that he believes AI will eventually be commoditised, making advanced capabilities widely accessible.

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. He pointed out that Indian IT companies are already close to their global customers, positioning them well to integrate AI solutions quickly.

“I believe the IT services industry can flourish if they rapidly deploy AI tools,” he said.

Addressing concerns around job displacement, Vembu said technological shifts historically create more opportunities than they eliminate.

“All these technologies create more jobs than they destroy. Jobs are going to get created,” he said.

He also highlighted India’s broader economic strength.

“India’s consumption story is very good and people are adaptive,” he said, adding that societal openness to change will help the country navigate the AI transition.

Vembu struck an optimistic tone about the future.

“I would say be optimistic about India. India is the most AI-optimistic country in the world,” he said, underscoring his confidence in the country’s ability to harness AI-led growth.