With Catalyst 3.0, Zoho focuses on what happens after AI writes the code

Zoho on September 2 launched Catalyst 3.0, an agent-ready full-stack cloud development platform aimed at helping developers move applications created with AI coding assistants into production without assembling services from multiple vendors, the company said.

AI tools have sharply reduced the time needed to write software, but deployment, security and scaling remain largely manual and fragmented, Anand Nergunam, Global Vice President, Revenue Growth at Zoho, told The Economic Times Digital.

“What AI has done is make writing code extremely simple and quick. However, taking that code live can still take months,” he said.


Catalyst 3.0 is Zoho’s attempt to close that gap by connecting AI coding assistants directly with the cloud infrastructure needed to run an application. It supports Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, VS Code and JetBrains, according to Nergunam.

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The platform uses machine-readable skill files to tell an AI assistant which Catalyst components are available and how they should be used. Once a developer approves the proposed architecture, model context protocol (MCP) integrations can carry out the actions and a command-line interface can handle deployment, the company said.

“When a prompt is given without a skill file, the system meets about 35% of the requirements correctly. With the skill files, that can increase to more than 90%,” Nergunam said, adding that the files also reduce hallucinations and token consumption.

Zoho has open-sourced Catalyst 3.0’s skill files, software development kits, command-line interface and Slyte JavaScript framework so developers can check them and help with improvements, the company said. The underlying platform, however, remains proprietary, Nergunam said.

He said Catalyst automates several steps, but developers remain in control. They can review the architecture, decide how features such as authentication are set up and approve the deployment.

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“Good developers want control. They want to know which components are being used, how those components are configured and whether that is the right architecture,” Nergunam said.

Nergunam said Zoho is targeting enterprise technology teams, system integrators, independent developers, entrepreneurs and students with Catalyst 3.0. For enterprises, Catalyst can bring applications spread across different vendors onto one platform, he said. It can also move software built by teams outside the central IT department onto centrally managed infrastructure. For system integrators, the platform could reduce the infrastructure and DevOps work needed after coding, allowing the same teams to handle more projects, he added.

Catalyst competes with specialised providers of frontend, backend, database and authentication services, as well as public cloud companies, Nergunam said. It brings frontend hosting, authentication, serverless functions, computing and data management onto one platform, he added.

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Applications can run in Zoho’s data centres in India, the US and Europe and also use the security systems of Zoho’s cloud infrastructure, which supports more than 150 million users, the company said.

The company is also using pricing to differentiate the platform. The platform has no per-user fee or charges for moving data out and customers pay only for what they use, Nergunam said. It also offers budget alerts, spending limits, a monthly free tier and Rs 15,000 in credits for six months, the company said.

Catalyst 3.0 is free for students using it for educational and non-commercial purposes. They will get access to all its features, rather than a limited version, Nergunam said.