Sridhar Vembu, the founder and chief scientist of Zoho Corporation, has accused Big Tech of abandoning sustainability commitments in the race to build AI infrastructure, labeling their past climate advocacy as mere “virtue-signaling.” In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Vembu highlighted rising electricity prices in the US due to AI data centers, noting President Donald Trump’s call for responsible development and Microsoft’s pledge to cooperate.
“Electricity prices going up due to AI data center construction across America has become a big enough political issue that President Trump is asking Big Tech to be responsible in their data center plans and Microsoft has pledged to cooperate,” Vembu stated.
However, he pointed out that the big tech firms have let go of their environmentally friendly concerns to push on in the AI race.
Vembu says Big Tech forgot its sustainability concerns in AI race
“Meanwhile, sustainability has disappeared from the Big Tech vocabulary in the rush to AI, and that tells you how much conviction they had about climate change. It was always part of their virtue-signaling, nothing more,” he added. This was a massive dig towards brands like Google, Apple, and Microsoft, all of whom made promises earlier of reducing their footprint on the environment.
Commenting on the situation in India, Vembu pointed out that going energy efficient is the only way ahead. “In India, we have no option but to seek an energy-efficient, sustainable approach to AI and I believe that is possible. I don’t view climate change as a political issue, but as part of the broader question of how humanity can live in harmony with nature,” he added.
The post comes amid growing concerns in the US, where data center energy demand is projected to double by 2030, potentially straining grids and raising utility bills. President Trump, in a Truth Social post on January 12, 2026, urged tech giants to “pay their own way” to avoid burdening consumers with higher costs. Microsoft responded the next day with a “community-first” initiative, committing to cover full electricity costs for its data centers, collaborating with utilities, and avoiding passing infrastructure expenses to ratepayers. The company also pledged to enhance efficiency and replenish water resources, addressing broader environmental impacts.
Reactions to Vembu’s concerns
Vembu’s remarks have sparked polarising responses on X. His supporters echoed his call for sustainable AI, with one user noting, “India’s constraint (Energy Scarcity) is actually its advantage. It forces innovation.” Another user wrote, “The bottleneck for AI isn’t Chips. It’s Joules (Energy).” Suggestions for solutions included small modular reactors (SMRs), solar, and microgrids, with some even advocating for aggressive R&D in renewables.
On the other hand, critics questioned Zoho’s practices, with one asking, “What actions have you taken for your Data centers?” Others pointed out India’s lag in AI, stating, “India is so far behind in AI tech that all this problems do not arise.” Some came up with practical suggestions, such as reducing data center power by 60% and proposal for distributed mobile computing.
