Zoho announces manufacturing power tools under its new venture 'Karuvi'

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) firm Zoho has announced its entry into the manufacturing of tools.

The Chennai-headquartered Zoho Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Sridhar Vembu, announced on Wednesday that the company would soon commence the commercial production of manufacturing power tools under a new brand, Karuvi.

Discussing this new venture, Vembu, in a post on X, shared that the company has developed a suite of tools after a research and development period of around two years.

“A lot of designs and redesigns later, we have a suite of tools ready for commercial production. The brand name is Karuvi, the Tamil word for instrument or tool,” Vembu said.

“We are trying some innovative ideas in the factory being built in Tenkasi. A new adventure begins,” he added.

This venture is a notable addition to the diverse portfolio that Zoho, primarily known as a software company, boasts.

Zoho is the parent company of well-known technology brands, including ManageEngine, Zoho.com, TrainerCentral, and Qntrl.

The company also recently announced Zakya, which offers point-of-sale (PoS) solutions for retail shops.

Vembu explained that the idea for starting Karuvi originated from a Zoho customer. “A few years ago, during the pandemic, a Zoho customer and fan, Mr Abdul Gafoor, who owns Mr Light Global, came to see me in Tenkasi with a box full of handheld tools from his company. He expressed his desire for Zoho to make these products and his willingness to distribute them. Initially hesitant due to lack of expertise, I was persuaded by the prospect of creating rural jobs,” he recounted.

“Embracing the challenge, we set up a small engineering team nearly two years ago. After numerous designs and redesigns, we now have a suite of tools ready for commercial production,” he further added.

In the financial year 2022-23, Zoho’s net profit saw a 3 per cent increase at Rs 2,836 crore, compared to Rs 2,749 crore in the previous financial year.

The company's revenue for the fiscal year 2023 stood at Rs 8,703 crore, a 30 per cent rise from the prior year’s revenue of Rs 6,710.8 crore.