Zoho Corporation has officially entered the hardware business with the launch of Nathu La, its first indigenously designed server platform. This milestone marks Zoho’s pivotal step toward building its complete technology stack—from hardware to software applications.
The Nathu La server was developed over five years at Zoho’s Nagpur R&D centre, led by Mangesh Sadafale’s team. Every bit of intellectual property is owned in India, making it truly indigenous. Built in collaboration with Intel and powered by Intel Xeon 6 processors, the server is optimized for AI inference, virtualization, and storage applications.
Key performance data shows Nathu La achieves equivalent performance while delivering:
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12–18% lower power consumption
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20–30% lower total cost of ownership (TCO)
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Reduced inference costs
Zoho currently runs more than 10,000 servers across 16+ data centres globally and has already deployed several hundred Nathu La units. The company plans to scale to nearly 2,000 servers by end of 2026.
Named after the Himalayan mountain pass connecting India and China, Nathu La follows Intel’s tradition of naming platforms after geographical locations. Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu stated the server will go into production worldwide, saving energy and money.
Notably, Zoho is not planning to sell Nathu La commercially soon. This launch positions Zoho among select tech firms with domestic server platforms, strengthening India’s technological sovereignty.
FAQs [Frequently Asked Questions]
1. What is Nathu La?
Nathu La is Zoho’s first indigenously designed server platform, built entirely in India with Intel Xeon 6 processors, optimized for AI inference and delivering 12–18% lower power consumption.
2. Where was Nathu La developed?
It was developed over five years at Zoho’s Nagpur R&D centre, led by Mangesh Sadafale’s team, with all intellectual property owned in India.
3. Will Zoho sell Nathu La commercially?
Zoho is not planning to sell Nathu La commercially soon. The server will be deployed across Zoho’s global data centres to reduce costs and energy usage.