Zendesk establishes innovation hub in Pune to lead global AI product development

India-based R&D centre takes end-to-end ownership of product roadmaps and advances AI-powered Zendesk Resolution Platform.

Cloud based customer service and engagement platform Zendesk has established an innovation hub for research and development in Pune to drive global product development and advance its AI-powered service platform strategy.

The hub brings together product management, UX design, engineering, and service reliability teams under one roof, enabling it to own and execute global product roadmaps end to end.

It operates with full accountability across the technology stack, from core cloud infrastructure and platform services to the application layer.

The hub will help advance the Zendesk Resolution Platform, with a focus on strengthening the company’s Agent and Admin Workspaces and supporting the growth of its Employee Service offering.

Zendesk’s president of product, engineering and AI, Shashi Upadhyay, said, “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.”

“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,” Upadhyay added.

The hub currently houses nearly 300 employees and is set to expand by another 15 percent before the end of 2026.

The team largely comprises engineers and works alongside Zendesk’s sales and support teams serving customers across India.

Zendesk positions the Pune facility as a global growth centre rather than a support extension.

The company says the move aligns with its strategy to scale new sources of talent and enhance collaboration across global teams.

The Pune centre is led by Vinod Shah, vice president of software engineering, who brings over 24 years of engineering experience.

He oversees all phases of the product development lifecycle, from ideation to launch.

The Pune-based team complements a team of sales and support professionals serving customers from bases across India where Zendesk works across verticals like B2B tech, retail, e-commerce and travel.

Shah says having a global R&D core in Pune enables closer engagement between product teams, customers, and go-to-market teams.

This allows developers to gain direct insights into real-world workflows and customer challenges while supporting globally scaled product delivery.

The team operates out of a facility at ABIL Boulevard, designed to support collaboration and product innovation.

With the new centre, Zendesk expands its global R&D presence and adds India to its core product development network.