'Just mention Zoho and get discount on Microsoft Office license': Sridhar Vembu says India will catch up in AI

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has claimed that an Indian customer managed to secure a steep reduction in Microsoft Office licensing costs after indicating that it was considering switching to Zoho's office productivity suite.

In a post on X, Vembu recounted a recent conversation with the customer who was facing a significant increase in Microsoft Office license renewal charges.

According to Vembu, the customer told him that Microsoft had sharply raised the renewal price of its Office software licenses. The company then informed Microsoft that it was evaluating Zoho's office suite as an alternative.


"A big Microsoft Office license renewal came up and they hiked the price drastically. We told them we are looking at the Zoho office suite and they dropped the price by 90%," Vembu quoted the customer as saying.

The Zoho founder added that the customer thanked him for helping save money "even without buying our office suite." Vembu went on to suggest that businesses negotiating Microsoft Office renewals could mention Zoho as a competing option.

Competition Benefits Customers

Using the anecdote to make a broader point about competition in the technology industry, Vembu argued that competitive pressure plays an important role in preventing dominant firms from overcharging customers.

He also referenced Microsoft's antitrust history in the United States, noting that the company was found to have maintained a monopoly by a US federal court in 2000. The monopoly finding was later upheld by a US appeals court, though the proposed remedies were modified.


Vembu said competition remains essential across industries and geographies, including in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence sector.

Bullish on India's AI Prospects

The Zoho founder also expressed optimism about India's ability to develop competitive AI models.

"The fact that American AI models have serious competition from China is important for India and other countries," he wrote.

Vembu said he is now confident that India will catch up in AI model development, citing ongoing efforts in academia and industry. He added that the cost of training AI models is beginning to decline, making development more accessible.

He also praised the progress being made by the BharatGen initiative led by researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

"Recently I met people from the BharatGen team (IIT Bombay) and they are making great progress. I will write more about BharatGen soon," Vembu said.

The remarks come as Indian companies, startups and academic institutions step up efforts to build indigenous AI models and reduce dependence on foreign technologies.