**Zoho IPO Soon? Here’s What Founder Sridhar Vembu Said**
*By Mudit Dube | Sep 29, 2025, 11:29 AM*
Sridhar Vembu, the co-founder and CEO of Zoho, has once again emphasized that the company is not in a hurry to go public. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), he shared insights into why Zoho prefers to remain private for now, highlighting how key projects like Arattai might not have been possible under the financial scrutiny and pressures typical of publicly-listed companies.
### Engineering Focus: Building Strong Capabilities in India
Vembu explained that their decision to develop innovative products such as Arattai originated from a commitment to building strong engineering capabilities in India, or “Bharat,” as he called it. Despite Arattai being considered a “hopelessly foolish” project with internal skepticism about its success, the team pursued it to foster deeper technical expertise.
“We built it because we felt we need that kind of engineering capability in Bharat. We need a lot more of such capabilities in Bharat and we are on it,” said Vembu.
### Long-Range Research and Development Initiatives
Going beyond immediate returns, Zoho is investing heavily in long-term research and development projects spanning diverse areas such as compilers, databases, operating systems, security, hardware, chip design, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI). Vembu described Zoho as “a kind of an industrial research lab that also makes money to fund itself.”
He also mentioned that the company has invested in several R&D-focused firms, where profitability is not expected in the short term, reinforcing their focus on innovation and future growth.
### A Frugal and Sustainable Approach
Vembu highlighted that Zoho’s leadership team embraces a frugal lifestyle, drawing parallels to scientists and engineers at ISRO. This intentional simplicity allows the company to allocate resources toward innovation and long-term initiatives rather than chasing short-term profits.
He referred to this mindset as the “essence of Bharat,” comparing it with Japan’s developmental model, which emphasizes sustained growth and disciplined resource management.
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For those interested, you can read Sridhar Vembu’s full post on X for more detailed insights into Zoho’s unique philosophy and approach to business growth.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/zoho-founder-sridhar-vembu-comments-on-potential-ipo-plans/story
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