AI Gone Rogue? Zoho CEO Says Startup’s Bot Apologised For Leaking Acquisition Info

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu sparked fresh debate on AI governance after revealing an unusual email exchange in which a startup’s autonomous “browser AI agent” sent him an unsolicited apology for leaking confidential acquisition information.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sridhar Vembu said he first received an email from a startup founder proposing an acquisition and even disclosing the price another company had offered.

“I got an email from a startup founder, asking if we could acquire them, mentioning some other company interested in acquiring them and the price they were offering,” Sridhar Vembu wrote. What followed stunned him: a second email- not from the founder, but from their AI agent- attempting to correct the earlier message.

“Then I received

an email from their ‘browser AI agent’ correcting the earlier mail saying ‘I am sorry I disclosed confidential information about other discussions, it was my fault as the AI agent’,” he said.

According to Sridhar Vembu, the founder seemed unaware that the AI assistant had followed up on their behalf. The apology email, generated automatically, admitted to sharing confidential details that should not have been included in the initial communication. Sridhar Vembu did not disclose the name of the founder or the startup involved.

The episode quickly drew reactions online, many mixing humour with alarm. One user joked, “If you were also using an AI agent, all conversations would be between agents only, and mistakes would remain between agents if agents were forgiving within their fraternity.”

Another offered a pointed assessment, saying, “This is exactly the new kind of chaos AI is introducing into business communication. We’ve officially entered the era where humans negotiate, AI accidentally spills the deal terms, and then AI tries to clean up the mess. It’s amusing, yet also a poignant reminder. AI can assist in communication, but it can also miscommunicate, over-share, or break confidentiality if not properly controlled.”

The incident reopened discussion on how far AI should be trusted with sensitive executive communication and whether companies are moving too fast in delegating high-stakes interactions to autonomous systems.