Zoho Corporation co-founder Sridhar Vembu has highlighted the transformative potential of AI in rural education, describing purpose-built AI tools as a “massive learning booster” that can help address foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) issues, while enabling students to undertake innovative, hands-on projects.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Vembu drew from Zoho’s direct experience serving a mostly rural student population. “We serve a predominantly rural student population, and so we have seen the education from the ground up,” he said. He expressed particular excitement about applying AI to the FLN challenge. “The FLN challenge is where I’m most excited to use AI tools: to help teachers better reach students. Teachers could use tools to help the students improve,” he said.
Purpose-built AI models drive innovation, says Vembu
At the summit, Vembu advocated for smaller, purpose-built AI models designed to solve specific problems efficiently. “These are purpose-built, small models that can solve a specific problem well,” he noted. He highlighted how Zoho encourages students to build real-world projects, including small-scale custom electric vehicles (EVs), with AI serving as a powerful accelerator for learning and creativity.
“Nowadays, we are even building small-scale, custom EVs… Here, the way AI is working is as a massive learning booster,” Vembu added, highlighting AI’s role in bridging educational gaps in underserved rural areas.
Vembu says India’s youth leads global AI adoption
Vembu shared his optimism about India’s demographic edge in the AI era. “With our vast youth population, we have the most AI-enthusiastic population in the world. We are adopting AI faster than any other nation,” he said. He pointed to rapid AI deployment at Zoho, particularly in software development, where the company is witnessing “massive productivity gains.”
On the employment front, he remained positive. “There will be new jobs created, and software engineers have to get closer to the customer, solve customer problems,” he added.
Vembu’s focus on grassroots, efficient AI applications ensures India’s push under the IndiaAI Mission to develop locally relevant tools that empower rural communities, enhance education, and foster innovation from the ground up.