new delhi
Zoho co-founder and chief scientist Sridhar Venbu shared insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the company's software development, emphasizing that engineers remain fully responsible for the code they write.
“We use AI coding tools across the company, with the caveat that engineers must review, approve, and be accountable for all code,” Vembu explained in a post on Friday. He made it clear that AI tools are optional for staff, saying, “We are not forcing them to use AI tools. Our experienced engineers will decide how best to utilize AI in their work.”
We use AI coding tools across the company, but we remind our engineers that they must review, approve, and hold all code accountable. We don't force feeds or force AI tools, and we leave it to our experienced engineers to decide how best to use AI.
Along with that…
— Shridhar Vembu (@svembu) December 12, 2025
Weeks of work done in one day
Vembu highlighted the example of a senior engineer with 20 years of experience handling complex UI tasks where performance is critical. This engineer reported that AI allows him to “release features in one day that used to take three weeks.” Vembu emphasized that human expertise remains essential, explaining, “While the AI fleshed out the details, the AI needed to provide structure to the humans. Experience remains important.”
Training young engineers
AI opens up new opportunities for even less experienced team members. Venbu shared an example of a junior engineer who developed an in-house tool using AI. This tool is currently being adopted by other teams within Zoho. Venbu said the engineers “couldn't build the tools without AI” and demonstrated how AI accelerates learning and productivity for young staff.
Optimism towards UI development
Reflecting on these experiences, Vembu said he is very optimistic about AI in user interface development, noting that AI will act as an accelerator rather than a replacement for human skills. He clarified that these observations are based on the collective experience across Zoho and are not tied to any personal research project.
