Hype around Zoho's apps and ghost of Koo: Will it soar or stumble?

Renewing his call to go vocal for local, Home Minister Amit Shah announced his switch to Zoho Mail. But its rapid rise is reminiscent of Koo, which struggled against the global network giants

As India pushes for digital self-reliance, homegrown platform Zoho is stepping into high-stakes roles, with offerings like Zoho Mail and its instant messaging app Arattai aimed at replacing US tech giants such as Gmail and WhatsApp. With several ministers switching to Zoho Mail and Arattai topping India’s app charts, the platform’s success draws comparisons to the trajectory of another tech favourite Koo, which positioned itself as an alternative to social media platform X. 

While Koo’s shadow looms large, the question remains: can Zoho avoid past pitfalls and emerge as the leading go-to platform for users accustomed to WhatsApp and Gmail? Let’s take a deep dive into Zoho, its offerings, and the factors working in its favour.

 

What’s happening?

Renewing calls to buy Indian, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday announced his switch to Zoho Mail. In an X post, he said, “I have switched to Zoho Mail. Kindly note the change in my email address. My new email address is amitshah.bjp@zohomail.in. For future correspondence via mail, kindly use this address. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.”

 

Shah’s move was quickly followed by several other ministers, all of whom announced their adoption of Zoho Mail.

 

Some other ministers who adopted Zoho Mail included:

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
• Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Minority Affairs
• Vinod Tawde, National General Secretary, BJP
• Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand

Why Zoho Mail matters

The adoption assumes significance as it signals a broader push in line with the government’s Make in India initiative. The surge in Zoho’s offerings followed Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s posting a video of the app on X, highlighting his switch as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to embrace homegrown platforms. 

“I am moving to Zoho, our own Swadeshi platform for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. This is phenomenal. I am so impressed with the capabilities of Zoho,” Vaishnaw said, urging citizens to adopt indigenous products and services.

 

Meanwhile, Zoho’s messaging app Arattai, launched in January 2021, has also gained significant popularity. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently encouraged users to try Arattai, underscoring its Indian origin.

Zoom in: The Koo cautionary tale

Zoho’s rapid rise is reminiscent of Koo, launched in 2020 as an Indian alternative to X. Backed by major venture capitalists and supported by government adoption, Koo initially saw rapid growth. Despite its promising start, it shut down in 2024, citing high infrastructure costs and a failed acquisition.

 

Koo’s founders envisioned a social media platform in local languages, spoken by four out of five people globally, a unique differentiator from similar global platforms. However, this focus on multiple languages limited scalability. Koo struggled against the network effects that platforms like X enjoy with English’s global reach. Even within India, dominance would have required adoption across roughly 20 languages, with success in one region offering no guarantee of a similar replication in another.

Reality check: Zoho is not Koo

Unlike Koo, Zoho is a stable, well-established company with a large global presence. While Koo relied on a free, ad-based model, Zoho operates via Software as a Service (SaaS) subscriptions. Launched in 1996, Zoho has steadily built a loyal user base worldwide through its suite of cloud-based solutions, including Zoho Mail, Zoho CRM, and productivity tools. Its success stems from affordability, customisation, and catering to the unique needs of small and medium-sized businesses.

Zoho in numbers*

• 130 million: Users worldwide
• 29: Years of presence
• 150: Countries active in
• 16: Data centres
• 18,000: Employees worldwide
• 55: Apps in the suite

 

 [*As of Oct 8, 2025]

Yes, but…

Despite government promotion, enterprise migration remains a mammoth task. Moving users from Gmail or Outlook is a slow, high-friction process, and converting millions accustomed to WhatsApp and Gmail will be challenging.

 

Privacy concerns also persist, with several users questioning the lack of end-to-end encryption. Founder Sridhar Vembu clarified, “Our entire SaaS business is based on the trust that we do not access customer data and we do not use it for selling stuff to them. End-to-end encryption is a technical feature that is coming. Trust is far, far more precious, and we are earning that trust daily in the global market.” However, users were not convinced. 

Zoho’s future is unlikely to mirror Koo’s collapse, but it is far from an automatic success. Its trajectory will depend on execution, enterprise trust, and whether India’s push for tech sovereignty translates into sustained user support.