Zendesk sets up innovation hub in Pune

Zendesk said it has set up an Innovation Hub for Research and Development in Pune thus growing its footprint in India.The Hub has been as part of the company’s strategy of scaling new sources of talent and enhancing collaboration across global teams.

The Pune Hub is 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, the company said.

“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,” it added.  

“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,” he added.

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, the company said.