In a candid social media post that has garnered over 10,000 likes and sparked widespread discussion, Zoho Corporation’s founder and CEO, Sridhar Vembu, revealed all the layers on Arattai – the viral homegrown messaging app that wants to take the fight to WhatsApp. Describing the app as “simple on the surface but with a lot of depth inside,” Vembu highlighted decades of proprietary homegrown engineering that underpins the app’s seamless performance.
In the post on X, Vembu mentions that at the heart of Arattai lies Zoho’s highly tested messaging and audiovisual (AV) framework – a “real-time workhorse” refined over 15 years. This technology ensures lightning-fast connections for calls and meetings, which has been a hallmark of Zoho’s broader software ecosystem.
Zoho CEO takes pride in R&D
Complementing it is a robust distributed computing framework tuned for more than two decades, which balances workloads across servers and databases while delivering fault tolerance, performance monitoring, and ironclad security. “This is the backbone of Zoho,” Vembu wrote, crediting his dedicated teams for ongoing enhancements that keep the systems protected against threats.
Vembu’s revelation underscores Zoho’s engineering-first ethos. Recently shifting full-time to research and development (R&D), Vembu hinted at an innovation surge ahead. “Our staying power comes from the depth of all the R&D we do,” he stated, framing dedicated engineering as akin to the ascetic focus of a “Rishi.”
Addressing his Arattai team, Vembu said, “After five years of toil without fanfare, allow neither praise nor criticism nor fame to distract you, resolutely stay the course.”
Vembu’s post comes at a time when Arattai has quietly built momentum since its debut. The app’s Tamil-inspired name—meaning chat—evokes debates from followers, with some requesting a generalised name to appeal to India’s diverse audience. Vembu countered that the name’s ‘funky’ vibe aids memorability, while clarifying that Zoho Cliq serves enterprise needs akin to Slack or Microsoft Teams.
Arattai gets user feedback
User feedback has also poured in, with many requesting features like UPI integration and message timers to fixes for timezone glitches in cross-continental chats. One enthusiast proposed a “Friends of Arattai” community for feature voting, echoing broader demands for a Zoho engineering blog to demystify its innovations.
Arattai, which was launched as an Indian alternative to global giants like WhatsApp in August 2025, is designed as a secure, user-friendly platform for text and voice messaging, audio/video calls, group chats, and story sharing. Available on both Google Play and the Apple App Store, it promises end-to-end encryption for calls and a ‘safe space’ for connecting with friends and family, free from the data privacy concerns plaguing many of its competitors.
Early adopters have praised its clear call quality, with one user noting it surpasses WhatsApp’s audio experience.