Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu Reveals Arattai’s Secret: 20 Years of Indian Tech Innovation Behind a Simple Chat App
Introduction
Zoho’s founder and CEO, Sridhar Vembu, has shared the real story behind Arattai, the company’s homegrown messaging app.
While it may appear to be just another simple chat app, Vembu revealed that Arattai is built upon two decades of Zoho’s in-house technology and innovation — a result of years of patient engineering and long-term vision. The Deep Tech Inside Arattai
Vembu explained that the foundation of Arattai comes from Zoho’s internal communication and distributed systems, refined for nearly 20 years.
These systems were originally developed to power Zoho’s cloud products like Zoho Mail, Zoho Meeting, and Zoho Cliq, and later evolved into a complete framework for Arattai.
According to him, every chat, call, and notification inside Arattai runs on Zoho’s own servers and software stack, not on rented cloud platforms — giving it full control over privacy and performance.
Why Arattai Is Different
Arattai, which means “chat” in Tamil, is designed as a Made-in-India, privacy-focused alternative to WhatsApp and Telegram.
Here’s what makes it stand out:
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✅ No ads, no trackers, no data selling
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🔒 End-to-end encryption for messages and calls
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📞 High-quality voice and video calls using Zoho’s custom-built framework
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🧩 Smooth performance powered by Zoho’s distributed backend
Vembu emphasized that the simplicity of the app hides complex engineering underneath — the product of years of research, design, and testing by Zoho’s in-house teams.
Vembu’s Vision: Innovation from Rural India
What makes this story even more remarkable is where it’s happening.
Sridhar Vembu runs a large part of Zoho’s operations from Tenkasi, a small town in Tamil Nadu, proving that world-class technology doesn’t have to come from Silicon Valley.
He has shifted his focus to research and development, encouraging Indian engineers to create original solutions rather than copying existing global apps.
“We don’t chase investors or trends. We chase innovation,” Vembu often says — a philosophy that drives every Zoho product, including Arattai.
The Bigger Picture: Building India’s Tech Backbone
Zoho remains fully bootstrapped — meaning it has grown without outside funding.
This independence allows the company to invest deeply in long-term infrastructure, privacy, and education, including its Zoho Schools of Learning, where young students are trained to become developers directly from small towns.
Arattai represents this same vision: technology made in India, powered by Indian talent, and built for the world.
Conclusion
Behind Arattai’s clean interface lies 20 years of hard-earned experience, innovation, and a strong belief in self-reliant Indian technology.
With Sridhar Vembu leading Zoho’s R&D efforts, Arattai isn’t just another chat app — it’s a symbol of India’s growing deep-tech power and a reminder that true innovation often begins quietly.
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