‘Legacy code will become liability’: Zoho's Sridhar Vembu tells developers to brace for AI coding takeover

The foundations of modern software development may be eroding. Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, has issued a blunt warning: in an AI-driven world, massive legacy codebases could shift from being prized assets to costly liabilities.

In a series of posts on X, Vembu said traditional software architectures are at risk as AI tools become increasingly capable of generating new code with unprecedented speed. 

“If AI makes us 100x productive, why not rewrite the whole thing with AI help?” he asked, suggesting companies may soon find it more efficient to start fresh rather than maintain outdated systems.

This rethink comes amid industry criticism that AI struggles with navigating complex, existing code. Vembu agrees – but sees that limitation as temporary. “It is not there yet, but perhaps not for long,” he warned.

For companies built on sprawling code infrastructures, the implications are stark. “Viewed that way, large existing codebases may no longer be assets,” Vembu said. “They may be liabilities.”

He pointed to tools like Zoho Creator and Google AI Studio, now capable of building standard CRUD applications with minimal human input. “Even I was surprised how well it does on CRUD apps,” he noted in response to a user query.

Vembu, who recently stepped away from his CEO role to focus on research, has predicted that AI will eventually handle up to 90% of programming tasks, particularly the boilerplate code that consumes most developer time. While essential complexity – true innovation – still requires human creativity, he believes the age of routine coding is rapidly ending.

His warning to developers is unambiguous: don’t count on high salaries or job security. “Only the paranoid survive,” he said, quoting Intel’s Andy Grove. As AI rewrites the rules, Vembu urges the industry to stay vigilant – or risk becoming obsolete.