Zoho co-founder warns AI could erase jobs and urges India to find solutions

Sridhar Vembu, co-founder of Zoho, used his X platform to raise alarm over artificial intelligence siphoning resources that would otherwise fund new hires, leaving India's large youth labor pool vulnerable. He observed that recent years have seen little job creation in the Indian IT industry, with spending redirected to AI development and costly data-center infrastructure. While Zoho has avoided layoffs, it is also not expanding its workforce, prompting Vembu to ask if an oversupplied software market truly requires additional products.

He argued that automation can make goods cheaper but stresses the need for income sources to purchase them, citing Sam Altman's push for universal basic income and his $14 million research investment as a possible path. Vembu noted that some UBI-like schemes already exist in India as "freebies" and warned that political demand for solutions will intensify. He concluded by asking whether better alternatives exist beyond basic income.