The global capabilities centre will be used to spearhead global product development
Zendesk has inaugurated its new Innovation Hub for Research and Development in Pune, marking significant milestones in the growth of the company’s footprint in India, as well as the global product development team. The Zendesk Pune Innovation Hub (“Pune Hub” or “the Hub”) has been established as part of Zendesk’s strategy of scaling new sources of talent and enhancing collaboration across global teams. Pune is now home to one of the company’s global growth centres with the team set to expand in scale and significance as part of worldwide operations.
Zendesk’s Pune Hub will play a pivotal role in advancing the company’s leadership in AI-powered solutions, centred around the Zendesk Resolution Platform. The Pune Hub operates as a holistic innovation site, housing a comprehensive suite of functions – including Product Management, UX Design, Engineering and Service Reliability Engineers -that empower the Hub to drive global roadmaps with independent, end-to-end accountability. The teams own critical segments across the entire technology stack, from core cloud infrastructure and platform services to the sophisticated application layer. A key focus for the Hub is the strategic evolution of Zendesk’s Agent and Admin Workspaces, which serve as the essential foundation for our growing Employee Service (ES) offering.
“India has evolved from a support hub into a strategic engine for innovation. By establishing this function, we are moving beyond execution to full ownership of global product roadmaps. And this facility is a cornerstone of our smart global footprint, providing the high-caliber collaboration space necessary to drive our global vision of AI-led service excellence worldwide.”
– Shashi Upadhyay, President of Product, Engineering and AI at Zendesk
“In an AI-accelerated world, the landscape of innovation shifts by the day and the establishment of our Pune Innovation Hub represents strategic acceleration. The team is built for agility and scale, enabling us to deliver meaningful advancements to our customers faster than ever before,” said Shashi Upadhyay, Zendesk’s President of Product, Engineering and AI, “India has evolved from a support hub into a strategic engine for innovation. By establishing this function, we are moving beyond execution to full ownership of global product roadmaps. And this facility is a cornerstone of our smart global footprint, providing the high-caliber collaboration space necessary to drive our global vision of AI-led service excellence worldwide.”
The Pune Hub is currently a team of nearly 300 employees. The team is set to grow by another 15% before the end of 2026. Largely comprising engineers, the Pune-based team complements a team of sales and support professionals serving customers from bases across India where Zendesk works with leading brands across verticals like B2B tech, retail, e-commerce and travel. Zendesk’s Pune Hub will play a critical global role in enhancing service efficiency, driving growth, and supporting innovative solutions that empower businesses around the world to better serve their customers.
The team is led by Vinod Shah, Vice President of Software Engineering. He joined Zendesk with over 24 years of experience in engineering, leading all phases of the product development cycle from ideation to launch, with a focus on creating scalable and customer-centric software products.
“By having our global R&D core in Pune, our local customers and GTM teams get direct access to the people building the system, while our developers gain first-hand insights into real-world workflows and customer challenges. This proximity allows us to build an exceptional customer service platform that is globally scaled but locally informed,” said Shah, commenting on the value of the Hub being located in Pune.
The Pune team works out of a cutting-edge space in ABIL Boulevard designed to foster innovation, creativity and collaboration.
