Made-in-India Arattai app being finetuned on the go, had planned big release by November: Zoho CEO

Zoho's Sridhar Vembu announces a major update by November, amid a surge in user sign-ups, highlighting Arattai's ‘made in India’ factor.

Published on: Sep 29, 2025, 14:41:27 IST

By HT News Desk

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After Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently endorsed the made-in-India Arattai messaging app, its Chennai-based parent firm Zoho Corporation's chief scientist Sridhar Vembu said “a big release” was planned for November though the app has gone viral already.

“As a matter of fact, we had planned on a big release by November, with a lot of the features you expect, a huge capacity addition and a marketing push. And then it suddenly went vertical,” Vembu wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

He added that while more infrastructure is added as they foresee a potential surge in traffic, the firm is also finetuning and updating the code to fix issues as they arise and that they have “all hands on deck working flat out”.

Vembu also said that there has been a massive surge in Arattai traffic in three days as sign-ups rose from 3000 to 3,50,000 per day.

“We have a lot more planned for Arattai, please give us some time. Thank you for your patience and support! Jai Hind 🙏,” Vembu wrote on X.

Also read | Union minister endorses ‘swadeshi’ Arattai app: What is it and why is it making waves?

What is Arattai app?

Arattai, which means "casual chat" in Tamil, is a messaging app similar to WhatsApp designed for simple, everyday communication.

Launched by Zoho, Arattai enables people to send messages, images, videos, and documents, initiate voice and video calls, share stories, and manage channels.

In the wake of India's effort to push indigenous 'swadeshi' platforms and products, minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently endorsed the app as a “swadeshi” (indegenous) alternative to other similar apps, such as WhatsApp. Observers have noted that it provides end-to-end encrypted calling but not end-to-end encrypted messaging, which might be a turn-off for users who value extra privacy.

Arattai, built by Chennai-based technology firm Zoho Corporation, is making waves with its "free, easy-to-use, secure, and safe" user interface.

"Arattai instant messaging app developed by @Zoho is free, easy-to-use, secure, safe and 'Made in India'. Guided by Honourable PM Shri @narendramodi ji's call to adopt Swadeshi, I appeal to everyone to switch to India-made apps to stay connected with friends and family," Pradhan wrote on X.

Addressing a different gathering, Union IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also mentioned Zoho's products in a Cabinet briefing, citing a government presentation created using Zoho Show rather than Microsoft PowerPoint.

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