Zoho Founder Warns: AI’s Energy Cost Could Strain India
Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu has raised concerns that the massive energy requirements of current AI models could pose a serious challenge for India. He said AI in its present form is “extraordinarily energy inefficient” and could push electricity costs to unsustainable levels if deployed at scale.
Example from the US
Vembu cited a case from Athens, Georgia (USA), where electricity bills reportedly rose by 60 percent since 2023 due to the arrival of AI data centers. He noted that while wealthy nations might absorb such spikes, India cannot afford to pass on such costs to households and factories without severe consequences.
Call for Rethink in AI Design
The Zoho founder urged the global technology community to rethink the way AI systems are designed. He stressed the need for energy-efficient architectures, arguing that power consumption must be treated as a core issue, not a secondary concern.
India’s Infrastructure Challenge
India is expanding its AI and digital infrastructure, but experts highlight that power distribution and grid resilience remain weak points. A sudden rise in demand from AI data centers could strain local systems and affect both industrial and domestic consumers.
Future Roadmap
Vembu warned that even if India could afford costly GPUs and servers, the real burden would be the electricity bill. He said the country must innovate in energy-aware computing and localized processing to ensure AI adoption does not become an economic or social liability.
