Key Takeaways
- Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu is stepping back from public engagements to focus on coding commitments
- He stated he needs to “practice what he preaches” about deep tech development
- Separately, Vembu praised MapMyIndia’s Mappls app as a superior indigenous alternative to Google Maps
Zoho Founder Steps Back to Focus on Technical Work
Sridhar Vembu, founder and chief scientist of Zoho Corporation, announced on October 15 that he will take a temporary break from external engagements to concentrate on his core technical responsibilities.
In a candid post on his official X account, Vembu acknowledged falling behind on a coding project he had committed to complete. “I have to ship some code I had committed to ship and I have fallen behind,” he wrote, confirming he would “take a break from external engagements after this week.”
Practicing What He Preaches
The entrepreneur, known for advocating deep technology development and leading the successful Arattai platform, emphasized the importance of aligning actions with words.
“I am sorry to have to impose this hard restriction but I cannot do both deep tech work (which I am preaching constantly about in my external engagements) and then only do the preaching and not practising it myself,” Vembu explained.
He added that continuing public engagements without the technical work would contradict his personal philosophy: “do not preach what you do not practise.”
Vembu Endorses Indigenous Mapping Platform
In related news, Sridhar Vembu commended MapMyIndia’s navigation platform Mappls, describing it as “very nice” and highlighting its “decades of R&D, much longer than Google Maps.”
On October 12, Vembu extended congratulations to Rohan Verma and the MapMyIndia team for their achievement through a social media post.
Minister Demonstrates Swadeshi App
Vembu’s endorsement came as a repost of a video originally shared by Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT.
On October 11, Minister Vaishnaw had encouraged users to try the indigenous “Swadeshi Mappls” app, praising its practical and innovative features.
In the demonstration video, the minister showcased the app’s capabilities while driving, including its 3D visualization of bridges and underpasses, and precise location tracking of shops and venues within multi-level buildings.
Vaishnaw described Mappls as packed with “useful features” and urged citizens to explore the homegrown navigation solution.
