Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu has publicly raised concerns about artificial intelligence ‘wiping’ jobs, warning that India must urgently find answers to safeguard its massive youth workforce. In a post on social media platform X, Vembu said the real issue facing the nation is how to create jobs in an uncertain global landscape, noting that the IT industry, including Zoho, has not generated significant new employment in recent years. He explained that money once earmarked for new employees is now being spent on AI and rising data center costs, driven by steep increases in server and memory prices. While Zoho has avoided layoffs, the company is also not expanding its workforce. “AI allows us to produce more software quicker, but does the over-saturated global software market need a lot more software?” he asked, adding that growth in the sector will be slower as focus shifts to quality and brand. Vembu argued that while automation makes goods cheaper, the challenge is ensuring people have income to afford them. He pointed to Universal Basic Income (UBI) as one possible solution, referencing Sam Altman’s $14 million investment into UBI research. “Some people think the answer is UBI, and some of that is already happening in India — we call them freebies. We can expect the political pressure to do a lot more. Is there a better answer?” Vembu asked. Altman, as CEO of OpenAI, has long warned that AI could displace millions of jobs