By India supplies a disproportionate share of the world’s engineering talent, yet globally dominant software products built and headquartered in India remain rare. The gap is not technical. It is structural and cultural: an ecosystem that historically rewarded career stability over product risk, and services revenue over platform ownership. That dynamic is changing, but slowly and unevenly.
In this interview on TFiR, Tony Thomas, Co-founder at Zoho Corporation, covers how Zoho built a globally competitive software business from India, what the convergence of AI and software means for the next generation of Indian product companies, and what cultural and ecosystem shifts must happen for India to produce a wave of globally dominant tech products.
Guest: Tony Thomas, Co-founder at Zoho Corporation
Show: The Agentic Enterprise
Watch the discussion on YouTube
Here is what every founder, product leader, and technology strategist watching India’s tech market needs to know.
Technical Deep Dive
Q: Can India build and sell globally competitive software products at scale?
Tony Thomas, Co-founder at Zoho Corporation, argues that Zoho itself is the proof point. By building software in India and selling it globally, Zoho set an early precedent and demonstrated the model is viable. Thomas says that early positioning has encouraged more companies to pursue the same path, treating Zoho as both a template and a signal to the broader market that India-origin products can compete worldwide.
“By being an early mover in this space and setting the tone, Zoho can encourage many more companies to follow suit, build products in India, and sell them globally.”
Tony Thomas, Co-founder, Zoho Corporation
Q: What role will AI and software convergence play in India’s next product generation?
Thomas believes most future products will not be purely software. He points to the convergence of AI, automation, and software across industries, using autonomous vehicles as one illustration of where every sector is heading. For India, this convergence represents an opportunity: software and AI are core enabling layers, and Indian product companies already operating in those layers are positioned to contribute to that cross-industry transformation.
“Most products are not going to be just software. There will be a convergence of multiple technologies in these products, with AI being a key component of that convergence.”
Tony Thomas, Co-founder, Zoho Corporation
Q: How is Zoho engaging with India’s emerging startup ecosystem?
Thomas describes Zoho’s role as active rather than passive. Beyond building its own products, Zoho engages with new companies in India working on emerging technologies and helps promote their solutions internationally. Thomas frames this as ecosystem building: established companies like Zoho providing access, credibility, and global distribution reach that early-stage Indian startups cannot yet build on their own.
“We see ourselves engaging with India’s ecosystem of companies and helping them promote their solutions around the world.”
Tony Thomas, Co-founder, Zoho Corporation
Q: Is entrepreneurial culture actually shifting in India, or is career pressure still dominant?
Thomas acknowledges the cultural pressure is real but says the awareness that entrepreneurship is a credible path to success has grown meaningfully, particularly in India’s major cities. He stops short of claiming the shift is complete, noting it needs to grow further. The optimism is conditional: the mindset change must be matched by structural support, not treated as sufficient on its own.
“The realization that entrepreneurship is a path to success has definitely grown in India, but awareness still needs to increase further.”
Tony Thomas, Co-founder, Zoho Corporation
Q: What ecosystem elements are most critical to unlocking India’s entrepreneurial potential?
Thomas identifies three interlocking requirements: mentors, peer companies already doing it, and funding. He is explicit that no single element is sufficient. Government initiatives including Make in India are contributing positively, but Thomas frames them as supporting factors rather than primary drivers. The whole ecosystem, he argues, must come together simultaneously for India to produce a sustained wave of globally competitive product companies.
“Everything, from mentorship and support from other companies to funding, needs to come together to make it a big success.”
Tony Thomas, Co-founder, Zoho Corporation
Resources & Documentation
- ManageEngine / Zoho Corporation, enterprise IT management and business software suite built and headquartered in India
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Swapnil Bhartiya: I mean when we look at India, I originally come from India and we don’t see Yahoo from India or I’m not talking the Yahoo version of India, but we don’t. But the thing is Google, Microsoft, you know, a lot of big companies, you know, they are being led by Indians. Do you see Zoho is kind of paving a path or showing the world what they can expect from India. What role do you see of Zoho in changing that perspective? And now here we’re not talking about just the, what you call it the optics. It’s more about solving real problems that customers face in a most efficient manner. At the same time, cost efficiency. Also you don’t have the baggage of all the other companies, you know, so you can be nimble, you can just, you can move fast. So how do you, what role do you see Zoho is playing in changing that perspective from both optics and practical point of view?
Tony Thomas: So I think, you know, just being a early company in this and setting the tone, Zoho is able to, you know, encourage a lot more people to come in and do similar things. Build product in India and sell it globally. And we are also engaging with the ecosystem of new companies in India working on new technologies. We do think in the future, you know, most products are not going to be just software. There’s going to be a convergence of many technologies in products. Just like with cars and self driving. Automation is going to reach into every industry and software is a key piece, AI is a key piece of all of that. So we see ourselves engaging with the ecosystem of companies in India and really helping them, you know, promote solutions across the world.
Swapnil Bhartiya: One, one last parting question would be that I grew up in India and when I talked to Linus Torvalds and I was like, hey, you know, when we look at open source, I personally come from open source, background in European, Western, you know, economies, kids, you know, or students, you know, they don’t have to worry about career in India. You have to worry about career parents and then you have to get married, then get settled and then you start vacating when you are at the last stage of your life. Can you talk from the culture perspective? What mindset is changing or needs to change? So India also kind of start taking that risk, that entrepreneurial, you know, kind of gets into there and how they should start looking at, not worry about building a career, build something first.
Tony Thomas: No, I think that’s definitely emerging in India already. You know, the realization that entrepreneurship is a path to success, that awareness has definitely grown in India. It has to grow some more. But if you look at the cities in India, you’re seeing the entrepreneurship energy coming out. And I think the government is doing number of things to support it. They are trying to, you know, from make in India to other, you know, initiatives, it’s helping. But I think the biggest piece of it is really the ecosystem, as I said, you know, from mentors to other companies doing this to funding, the whole thing has to come together to make it a big success. And I’m quite optimistic that’s going to happen.
