WhatsApp who? Arattai is India’s new messaging sensation!
Has India just got its WhatsApp killer? Well, this newly launched instant messaging app has topped the charts on app stores, leaving behind WhatsApp and creating a strong buzz. It’s being noticed not only by India’s union ministers but also by the likes of Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas.
If you haven’t yet guessed what I am talking about, here’s the answer: Arattai. In Tamil, it means “casual chat.” In Hindi, it’s pronounced अरट्टै. It’s a Made-in-India instant messaging app developed by the Tamil Nadu-based global technology company, Zoho. The Indian-based tech company is led by legendary tech entrepreneur Sridhar Vembu, who runs operations from rural Tamil Nadu.
Indian-made messaging app
The app’s website calls it “an easy-to-use instant messaging app that helps you stay connected.” Underlining its simple user interface and security features, the platform also highlights its “Indian-made” tag. What distinguishes it from other multinational platforms is that data from Arattai is stored in India.Like other instant messaging apps, Arattai lets you send texts and voice notes, make audio/video calls, and share photos, documents, and stories, among other functionalities. As a cross-platform messaging app, Arattai is available on iOS and Android phones, as well as Mac, Windows PCs, and Linux.
Massive surge in downloads
In just a few days since its launch, the app has seen tremendous growth in downloads and traffic, leading to some teething issues, which the company says it is addressing. https://x.com/Arattai/status/1971964980368208092
Sridhar Vembu added that the company faced a 100x increase in Arattai traffic in three days, with new sign-ups soaring from 3K/day to 350K/day. He added that Zoho was adding infrastructure on an emergency basis for another potential 100x surge.Vembu also said that as they add more infrastructure, they are fine-tuning and updating the code to fix issues as they arise, with “all-hands-on-deck working flat out.”
Launch was planned for November
In fact, the company had just soft-launched Arattai and was planning a big release by November with “a huge capacity addition” and a marketing push. However, it has already generated huge interest from users.
Government endorsement
Part of this buzz could potentially be attributed to the endorsement from the Central government. On 24 September, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan took to X to talk about the app, appealing to everyone to switch to India-made apps.
Even Aravind Srinivas, the Indian-American CEO of AI firm Perplexity, has taken note of the app’s success. Responding to a post by Sridhar Vembu on X, Srinivas congratulated him on the successful launch.
Arattai: The road ahead
Will Arattai be successful in sustaining this initial momentum? That will depend on how well and quickly it manages to address its teething challenges. A lot will also depend on the marketing push from its parent company, Zoho.However, its emergence and initial buzz are worth taking note of. In fact, Sridhar Vembu wrote in a post that Arattai was a "hopelessly foolish" project, and even Zoho employees had expressed scepticism that it would ever gain traction. From there, the app has come a long way
