Sridhar Vembu flags AI impact on Zoho

Zoho Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu said the business outlook for software is uncertain and AI has raised costs dramatically.

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In a post on X, he pointed out that there is a massive 4-fold increase in server prices which is needed for data centers.

AI usage increasing rapidly, leading to much higher expenses, which we are trying to control, Vembu said.

“On top of that is the challenging geopolitical backdrop. We have cut down on our marketing budget. We have also told our employees that we cannot have our usual pay increase this year,” he said.

“I have apologized for not being able to avoid this. We will work hard to avoid mass layoffs but the outlook for software jobs in general is grim. We have not been growing our employee count for 18 months now. Most of our employees understand the situation,” Vembu said.

“We are in the middle of reinventing ourselves. The next 3-5 years will decide how our reinvention has worked. Please pray for us,” he said.

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