Zoho CEO Exclusive: Swadeshi push validates our 20-year bet; H1B curbs a net positive for India

Zoho’s new CEO Mani Vembu has welcomed Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s public endorsement of Zoho’s Work Suite, saying it underscores the potential of India’s SaaS ecosystem to stand on its own against global giants. At the same time, he played down concerns over H1B visa restrictions, stressing that Zoho’s "transnational local" model insulates it from policy shocks while creating opportunities for India’s homegrown talent.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 exclusively, Vembu said, "It was very heartening to see the IT Minister announce on Twitter that he had shifted to Zoho. For us, that means a lot. Because our Office Suite was actually our very first product… after 20 years of being in this business, to see our Office Suite get recognised at this level was a really heartening thing for us. It validates our belief that we can build globally competitive products in India."

He acknowledged that building adoption in this segment was always going to be a long haul. "Competing with the giants is not easy. So when we started Zoho Writer, we knew it was going to be a 20 to 30-year journey —and we are here now."

Vembu argued that government recognition of domestic SaaS platforms is not symbolic but vital for building credibility at scale. "When the minister says he uses Zoho, it gives confidence to a lot of other users in India. It creates a domino effect. We are seeing adoption of Zoho grow rapidly across BFSI, auto, and manufacturing," he added.

H1B Curbs Seen as Net Positive for India

On the H1B front, Vembu dismissed concerns of a business hit, explaining, "We don’t see a huge impact in terms of our numbers because we have the transnational localism where we do have local people in every location we have and it’s all customer-facing. So, in that sense, we don’t see a big impact for us."

In fact, Vembu said visa tightening could turn into a long-term positive for India. "For India in future, we see it as a positive thing where a lot of talent will stay and a lot of innovations will happen and a lot of local problems need local solutions," he added.

Asked if Zoho could absorb some of that talent, Vembu said: "Yes, definitely, yes. Some of those… because it’s based on what projects you have. If there is an interest, definitely we are looking for tapping some of those talent."

Zoho’s operations highlight that strategy in action. The bootstrapped SaaS company now serves 100 million+ users across 150 countries, has 200,000 customers in India, and runs 16 global data centres. India is its fastest-growing market, expanding at 30%+ year-on-year.

"What worked here, we are now trying to replicate in other markets," Vembu said, pointing to marquee clients such as UBA and Force Motors.

Heavy R&D Focus, No IPO Plans Yet

The company invests around 35% of revenues into R&D annually, which Vembu said is deliberate, "We keep investing and reinvesting our profits back into newer products, newer markets, newer technologies. We are not driven by acquisitions. We are driven by long-term R&D."

Despite its size, Zoho has no plans to go public. Vembu reiterated Zoho is in no hurry: "Business is about equal exchange of values. Today we add some value, the customer pays us. Adding one more shareholder will shift our focus. For now, we want to focus on solving problems through R&D."

With revenues over $1 billion and profits exceeding ₹2,000 crore, Zoho is betting that an India-first, visa-agnostic model, reinforced by Swadeshi recognition, will shape the next phase of its global growth.