Despite the funding slowdown and global uncertainty, startups in India are on a hiring spree. Startups in India are likely to hire 1.7 lakh people this fiscal (including replacement and fresh jobs), a sharp increase over last fiscal when the gross hiring was 1.4 lakh, according to data collated by Xpheno (a specialist staffing firm) for ET.
ET also confirmed the hiring trend with executives at startups including MobiKwik, CashKaro & EarnKaro, InMobi, and Deel.
Xpheno analysis also suggests that the number of active job openings for the month of September 2025 was 16000, 23% higher than March 2025.
These active roles in demand include data science, cloud engineering, full-stack development, AI/ML engineering, program management, digital marketing, business development among others.
About 60,000-80,000 new jobs are likely to be created in fiscal 2026. “This (new jobs or net additions) is higher than the net additions recorded in FY2025, which was a moderate 35K,” said Kamal Karanth, co-founder, Xpheno.
Active white-collar talent demand in the startups sector is largely driven by startups in the tech industry, according to Xpheno.
Startups on a hiring spree
Bengaluru based unicorn InMobi has a bullish hiring plan for the coming year with a strong focus on both campus and lateral recruitment. “We intend to double our campus intake, particularly from IITs and other top-tier engineering colleges, and plan to hire about 5-10% of the top talent across IITs next year,” said Shefali Rai, CHRO, InMobi and Glance.
InMobi is hiring for roles in product management, technology, AI/ML, and business development.
AI/ML experts, advanced data engineers, programmatic ad-tech specialists, and senior product leaders are scarce, according to Rai. “We are addressing this with a “build and buy” strategy — hiring specialists from the market while also developing in-house expertise through exposure to our global platforms, cross-functional problem-solving, and structured learning programs,” she said.
CashKaro & EarnKaro currently employs close to 400 people with around 75 active openings, according to its co-founder, Swati Bhargava. “Over the next year, we plan to add approximately 100 new team members, translating to a 20–25% increase in workforce,” she said. Most of the hiring will be for technology and product roles. “Key openings include Android developers, automation testers (Selenium), PHP/LAMP engineers, React and Rust developers, UI/UX designers, and product managers,” Bhargava added.
Fintech startup MobiKwik has a total headcount of approximately 800 employees. “Currently, we have over 50 open positions across multiple functions, with a strong focus on software development and business development roles. We anticipate this hiring trend to persist in the coming year,” said its vice president and head of HR, Swati Singh.
According to Singh, there is a shortage of deeply skilled AI engineers, particularly those with hands-on experience in deploying scalable AI and machine learning solutions. “We are actively addressing this through targeted hiring initiatives and internal upskilling programmes,” she said.
Global HR and payroll startup Deel currently has over 6,500 employees across 104 countries, with 1,400 in India.
“Globally Deel is hiring across all functions, including engineering and product, go-to-market, customer success, and operations. The biggest demand is in software engineering, especially around AI and security, as these skills are shaping the future of work,” said Mark Samlal, general manager, APAC, Deel, and founder of PayGroup. Deel is also expanding its payroll and legal services teams to support businesses going global.
In India, it is currently hiring for engineering roles, payroll specialists, and customer onboarding roles, Samlal said.
Key highlights
ET also confirmed the hiring trend with executives at startups including MobiKwik, CashKaro & EarnKaro, InMobi, and Deel.
Xpheno analysis also suggests that the number of active job openings for the month of September 2025 was 16000, 23% higher than March 2025.
These active roles in demand include data science, cloud engineering, full-stack development, AI/ML engineering, program management, digital marketing, business development among others.
About 60,000-80,000 new jobs are likely to be created in fiscal 2026. “This (new jobs or net additions) is higher than the net additions recorded in FY2025, which was a moderate 35K,” said Kamal Karanth, co-founder, Xpheno.
Active white-collar talent demand in the startups sector is largely driven by startups in the tech industry, according to Xpheno.
Startups on a hiring spree
Bengaluru based unicorn InMobi has a bullish hiring plan for the coming year with a strong focus on both campus and lateral recruitment. “We intend to double our campus intake, particularly from IITs and other top-tier engineering colleges, and plan to hire about 5-10% of the top talent across IITs next year,” said Shefali Rai, CHRO, InMobi and Glance.
InMobi is hiring for roles in product management, technology, AI/ML, and business development.
AI/ML experts, advanced data engineers, programmatic ad-tech specialists, and senior product leaders are scarce, according to Rai. “We are addressing this with a “build and buy” strategy — hiring specialists from the market while also developing in-house expertise through exposure to our global platforms, cross-functional problem-solving, and structured learning programs,” she said.
CashKaro & EarnKaro currently employs close to 400 people with around 75 active openings, according to its co-founder, Swati Bhargava. “Over the next year, we plan to add approximately 100 new team members, translating to a 20–25% increase in workforce,” she said. Most of the hiring will be for technology and product roles. “Key openings include Android developers, automation testers (Selenium), PHP/LAMP engineers, React and Rust developers, UI/UX designers, and product managers,” Bhargava added.
Fintech startup MobiKwik has a total headcount of approximately 800 employees. “Currently, we have over 50 open positions across multiple functions, with a strong focus on software development and business development roles. We anticipate this hiring trend to persist in the coming year,” said its vice president and head of HR, Swati Singh.
According to Singh, there is a shortage of deeply skilled AI engineers, particularly those with hands-on experience in deploying scalable AI and machine learning solutions. “We are actively addressing this through targeted hiring initiatives and internal upskilling programmes,” she said.
Global HR and payroll startup Deel currently has over 6,500 employees across 104 countries, with 1,400 in India.
“Globally Deel is hiring across all functions, including engineering and product, go-to-market, customer success, and operations. The biggest demand is in software engineering, especially around AI and security, as these skills are shaping the future of work,” said Mark Samlal, general manager, APAC, Deel, and founder of PayGroup. Deel is also expanding its payroll and legal services teams to support businesses going global.
In India, it is currently hiring for engineering roles, payroll specialists, and customer onboarding roles, Samlal said.
Key highlights
- September 2025 saw 23% in job postings compared to March 2025.
- FY 26 expected to close with gross hiring of 1.7 lakh compared to 1.4 lakh in FY 25.
- Who all are hiring? InMobi, MobiKwik, Deel, CashKaro & EarnKaro, among others.
- Startups continue to hire for both-replacement and fresher roles.
- What's in demand? Roles like payroll specialists, customer onboarding roles, Android developers, automation testers (Selenium), PHP/LAMP engineers (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Perl/Python), React and Rust developers, UI/UX designers, product managers, deeply skilled AI Engineers, Data Science, cloud engineering, full-stack development, program management, digital marketing, business development.
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