Zoho Halts 700 Million Chip Project in India Over Lack of Tech Partner

Zoho Corporation has suspended its $700 million chip venture plan in India. The company has stated that the decision is the result of not finding a knowledgeable technology partner for the advisory on the chipmaking process. 

A similar situation can be witnessed with Gautam Adani’s $10 billion Israel’s Tower semiconductor chip project, which has been halted.

Sridhar Vembu, the CEO of Zoho corporation stated in his X account, “My operating thesis: what we are seeing is not just a cyclical downturn, and it is not just AI-related. Even without the uncertainty induced by tariffs, there was trouble ahead. The broader software industry has been quite inefficient, both in products and services. These inefficiencies have accumulated over decades of a prolonged asset bubble.” Pointing towards the inefficiency in the software industry.

Previously in the year 2024, the Zoho company had revealed to be investing in a chipmaking industry in India. The Karnataka government had officiated the project by granting landmark approval for Zoho Corporation. If things had gone right, Zoho’s plan of building a $400 million semiconductor plant in the Mysuru region would have been commenced by now. According to one of the sources, the project would have generated 460 jobs in Karnataka.