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‘I was blown away’: Sridhar Vembu on how AI boosted a single engineer’s productivity at Zoho
Sridhar Vembu shared how an engineer at Zoho used AI to build a complex security tool in a month.
Sridhar Vembu, co founder and Chief Scientist of Zoho, has shared a compelling example of how artificial intelligence is transforming software development, after an internal demonstration left him, in his own words, “blown away”.
A quiet experiment with big results
In a post on X, Vembu revealed that a senior engineer from Zoho’s R and D team had independently built an advanced assembly and machine code security tool in his spare time, without management even being aware of the effort. Sharing the experience, Vembu wrote, “Yesterday one of our experienced engineers who works in my R&D team, showed me an assembly and machine code security tool he built in his spare time over the past month. I did not know he was building it. I was blown away by the depth and breadth of the tool.”
What stood out even more was the speed of development. According to Vembu, “He has developed this alone, in a month, what a team of 3 to 4 would have taken a year at least.” The engineer attributed this leap in productivity to the Opus 4.5 AI model, which he described as transformative. Vembu added, “Until that model, he was not all that enthusiastic about AI generated code but now he has revised his opinion.”
Zoho’s culture of experimentation
Vembu used the moment to underline Zoho’s internal culture, saying, “This is how we learn in Zoho we let smart people experiment and find new path ways.” He also reflected on the broader shift underway in the software industry, noting, “Anyway, powerful machine looms have arrived for software development challenging the handloom weavers that we have been in software and the implications are enormous.”
Acknowledging the pressure this change brings, he concluded candidly, “At Zoho, we have our work cut out, and as Chief Scientist, I am under pressure. Wish us luck.”
Take a look here at the post:
Online reactions
The post has crossed more than 2 lakh views and sparked widespread discussion online. One user commented, “When one engineer can build in a month what once took a team a year, the leverage curve has shifted. The edge now lies in how organisations adapt their culture and workflows. Wishing you and the Zoho team the very best.”
Another wrote, “It’s impressive what talent can achieve outside of structured work hours,” while a third added, “This is such a powerful example of what happens when trust, curiosity, and the right AI tools come together.” A fourth user focused on work life balance, saying, “He made it in his spare time. Thanks for letting him have spare time.”
