AI won't replace software engineers, says Zoho's Sridhar Vembu
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu says AI isn't coming for software engineers' jobs just yet.
At a recent Zoho townhall, after Zoho engineers tried out Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.5 AI model, he explained that while AI can write code, it still needs experienced developers to guide it with prompts and step in when things get tricky.
How does Vembu see AI in coding?
Vembu noticed most of the code generated by the AI was pretty basic, with only a few complex bits.
He shared on X that these models are best at handling "glue code"—the stuff that connects systems or moves data around—but they're far from replacing skilled humans.
Has his view changed?
Interestingly, Vembu used to think AI would take over most coding because much of it is repetitive.
Now, after seeing the latest results firsthand, he sees AI more as a productivity booster than a replacement for real engineers.