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Economic Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Talent winning out at Indian gaming companies as focus shifts to high-end titles
ETtech As Indian gaming studios increasingly develop advanced intellectual properties with large budgets, strong visual design and complex gameplay mechanics, the demand for specialised talent is rising sharply. According to staffing firm TeamLease Digital, India's gaming industry has 50,000-60,000 open positions across fresher and experienced such as experienced gameplay engineers, backend developers, principal animators, 3D artists and environment designers are in demand, according to industry executives and studio founders. The industry now employs around 130,000 people, compared with 50,000 in 2022. 'The Indian gaming industry is hiring a combination of technical and creative skill sets,' said TeamLease Digital chief executive Neeti Sharma. Key roles in demand include game developers (especially with skills in Unity or Unreal platforms), backend engineers for multiplayer games, 3D artists, animators and game designers. Bengaluru-based gaming startup LightFury Games, which has a team of around 80, is hiring for roles across animation, game art, backend infrastructure and gameplay engineering, said cofounder Anurag Banerjee. 'We need to hire another 30-40 people at least… What we look for is talent that we can nurture and train to that degree that they can now start building AAA titles,' Banerjee told ET. In gaming parlance, an AAA rating refers to a classification given to big-budget, high-profile video games developed and published by major studios. It is not an official rating, but an industry term. AAA games often have tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in development year, the studio raised $8.5 million from Blume Ventures, Mixi and Gemba Capital, with Cred founder Kunal Shah and Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal also participating in the funding. It recently unveiled its first title, E-Cricket, a big-budget 'AAA' game being developed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), slated for launch in SuperGaming, currently expanding its team for its flagship Indus Battle Royale game, said while developers can earn through casual games like Teen Patti or Ludo, the challenge lies in finding talent motivated to build high-quality, technically complex titles.'A good gaming studio takes 10 years to be successful and to make a video game great, you have to assemble 20 different kinds of teams including engineering, narrators, art, music, servers, marketing. It is a task of complex coordination, and you can do it only with experience,' said founder and CEO Roby John. The company has hired over 25 professionals who previously worked at global studios like Ubisoft, indicating a trend of reverse brain drain, where experienced talent is returning to India to build homegrown IPs. To address local talent gaps, SuperGaming has also tapped into global hiring. The company employs full-time international staffers through its Singapore-based entity, SuperGaming Pte Ltd, said approach contrasts with other studios that often rely on freelance talent to fill immediate too, has focused on bringing back experienced Indian professionals who've worked on global AAA titles, and is also hiring internationally for some niche roles, said cofounder Tina shift is being driven by multiple forces including rising investor interest in gaming startups, the emergence of high-end mobile-first formats, and easier access to global development tools and cloud infrastructure. Long road Despite growing optimism, scaling a game studio remains a long and capital-intensive top-tier talent, especially professionals with experience in console or PC gaming, continues to be a major casual games, building mid-core or AAA titles typically demands years of sustained investment before any meaningful returns are realised.'A lot of the talent that (in India) is experienced in casual games, and in simulation-based games. Also, there's product and live operations talent available for mobile games,' said Anuj Tandon, partner at Bitkraft Ventures. 'But what's largely missing from India is the experience in certain genres, game designers and very specific technical talent. There's a lot of young, fresh talent, but the experience level is missing.' AI's growing role At the same time, artificial intelligence is starting to play a key role in reducing development timelines and production costs. Studios are beginning to integrate AI tools to create smarter non-player characters (NPCs), generate realistic and dynamic game environments, personalise gameplay, enhance graphics and visual effects, and streamline overall development processes. 'If you're not using AI, you're living under a rock. It has impacted game development timelines and efficiency. Has it replaced people? Absolutely not. But it has made people more efficient, and studios are adopting it in smarter, more cost-effective ways,' said Tandon of Bitkraft Ventures. 'Three to five years down the line, when AI is mainstream and we have a stronger talent pool and core skills, it's going to be very transformative for emerging markets like India.' However, studios caution that while AI enhances efficiency, the quality of a game still hinges on the creativity and collaboration of skilled to Avichal Singh, cofounder of Nodding Heads Games, AI is just another tool in a developer's toolkit and the core principles of what makes a great game remain unchanged.'It can help you get there faster, or even help you check for your idea, whether it's valid or not, faster. But beyond that, you will still need those skill sets, which are required to make video games,' he said. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Apple has a new Indian-American COO. What it needs might be a new CEO. Central banks existential crisis — between alchemy and algorithm What if Tata Motors buys Iveco's truck unit? Will it propel or drag like JLR? Paid less than plumbers? The real story of freshers' salaries at Infy, TCS. 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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Fastag adoption in slow lane; UIDAI CEO interview
Fastag adoption in slow lane; UIDAI CEO interview Also in the letter: Fewer use cases take toll on Fastag growth In numbers: Limited application: Fastag was initially meant to digitise highway tolls, but over time, it was expected to evolve into a broader vehicle-linked payment system, covering everything from fuel to parking. While some adoption has trickled in for parking, fuel remains largely untouched, according to a fintech founder. Cost issue: Roadblocks: Yes, but: Also Read: UIDAI searches for more ways to curb Aadhaar, UID fraud Driving the news: Harnessing AI: Also Read: What's next: Also Read: Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch! Why it matters: The opportunity: Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers. Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community. Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals. What's next: IT companies tighten belt as AI, macro headwinds squeeze biz margins Reading signs: For instance: HCLTech trimmed its margin guidance for the first time in several quarters, now projecting 17%-18%, down from 18%-19%. TCS took an 80 basis point margin hit in Q1, mainly due to rising employee costs. Experts said top-tier firms are tightening the screws with measures such as cutting variable pay, deferring raises, and managing bench strength more stringently. Expert take: Keeping Count Other Top Stories By Our Reporters ETtech Explainer: CoinDCX cyberattack | Rebel Foods' new CEO: Towards D-Street: Global Picks We Are Reading Happy Monday! Fastag saw limited growth last fiscal, with momentum tapering off. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.■ IT firms face double whammy■ Explained: CoinDCX cyberattack■ Rebel Foods' new CEOFastag, the electronic toll payment system for vehicle owners, has been stuck in neutral since early user base remains flat at around 350-380 million, and the number of participating banks has held steady at 38. Both figures have shown no movement in over a year, pointing to an apparent plateau in adoption.A key reason, industry insiders say, is the lack of fresh use cases beyond highway economics don't help either. Installing Fastag-enabled gates costs between Rs 1.5-2 lakh per gate, making it a tough sell for smaller commercial fintech startups have also stepped back, industry insiders say. They added that disillusioned with the revenue potential from digital payments, they have largely avoided launching new initiatives. The lack of incentives has further stalled innovation.'No new-age fintech is currently pumping funds into digital payments. Fastag and such payment methods needed incentives for more customers to use them readily. In the absence of incentives, new use-cases are not building up,' said the founder of a digital payments to that the headache of poor bank-led customer service—especially for recharge failures or blacklisted tags—and Fastag's once-impressive momentum has all but Kumar, CEO, UIDAIAmid rising concerns of Aadhaar-related fraud, the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) is tightening safeguards around the national ID system, CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar told curb misuse, the agency tasked with issuing Aadhaar will now verify changes to birth dates and biometrics directly with source databases across states, Kumar said. So far, UIDAI has integrated records from 35 states, linking them with key databases such as PAN, CBSE mark sheets, and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).Technology is central to the effort. UIDAI is rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to flag fake fingerprints, enable 'live finger' checks, improve facial recognition, and estimate age using visual data. It also matches photos against the Bureau of Immigration records to catch fraudulent attempts.'When someone submits documents for Aadhaar enrolment or updates, we'll check them at the source to ensure they're genuine,' Kumar agency is working to move Aadhaar applications fully online. Demand from non-citizens living in India has also picked up. Still, UIDAI remains firm that they must complete 180 days in the country and apply under the correct category before becoming Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@ to explore sponsorship Q1 earnings roll in, India's top IT firms are grappling with a double whammy : persistent macroeconomic pressures and AI-led efficiencies that are beginning to squeeze April and June, companies pulled every internal lever to shield profitability, even as momentum on large deals continued to slow. Analysts believe this playbook will likely persist through the rest of the fiscal added that revenue may see a modest lift from pent-up demand. However, margins are expected to stay under pressure as firms double down on cost discipline and operational rigour.'FY26 is a margin protection and margin expansion year,' Gaurav Vasu, CEO of data and research platform UnearthInsight, told ET. 'Large deal wins are not yet translating to revenue acceleration, so lead indicators (pipeline, bookings) matter—but execution and conversion will be critical in H2 FY26.'Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX suffered a cyberattack on July 19, stealing digital assets worth around $44 million from one of its internal operational kitchen company Rebel Foods has named cofounder Ankush Grover as its new chief executive, replacing Jaydeep Barman, who will transition into a chairman and group CEO AceVector Group, the holding company of Snapdeal and Unicommerce, said in a newspaper advertisement on Saturday that it has filed draft documents with the capital markets regulator for an initial public offering.■ AI groups spend to replace low-cost 'data labellers' with high-paid experts ( FT ■ A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data ( MIT Tech Review ■ How the rise of green tech is feeding another environmental crisis ( BBC
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
IT companies tighten belt as AI, macro headwinds squeeze biz margins
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills ETtech India's leading IT companies are facing the double whammy of persistent macro headwinds and AI-led productivity impact, squeezing fiscal first quarter showed companies are stretching all internal levers aggressively to protect profits amid slowing large-deal momentum. This includes lowering sales and admin costs, delaying pay hikes, and rejigging bench expect the trend to continue through the fiscal second half as the IT sector is turning into a 'negotiator's market'. While revenues may see an uptick due to pent-up demand created in the last few quarters, margins will remain stretched and firms will focus on operational excellence, analysts to Nitin Bhatt, technology sector leader at EY India, margin pressures will worsen with investments in 'new sales and go-to-market motions, solution-build and reskilling, large deal conversions, and in some cases, providing discounts to protect the current estate.''IT firms are shifting from time & material to outcome-based pricing for AI projects, linking fees to business impact like cost savings or efficiency gains. This may pressure short-term margins but promotes high-value, long-term engagements,' he instance, HCLTech 's management highlighted that generative AI delivers substantial efficiency gains in software development (25–30%) and business processes (up to 50%), with contact centres seeing up to 75% headcount reduction by implementing conversational AI, brokerage firm Emkay Research noted in a for the first time in several quarters, lowered its margin guidance to 17%-18% from 18%-19%. 'Margin guidance came in as a negative surprise to the Street since HCLT has been keeping margin guidance intact despite changes in revenue target for the past few quarters,' Elara Capital said in a the case of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), increase in employee costs because of hiring, excess capacity, and mid-quarter benefits led to an 80 basis points impact during Q1FY26. The company's employee cost reached an all-time high, now constituting 59.45% of revenue, even as attrition remains high at 13.8%, data showed.'FY26 is margin protection and margin expansion year,' said Gaurav Vasu, founder and CEO of data and research platform UnearthInsight. 'Growth, especially in the US and core verticals, is weak across the board. Large deal wins are not yet translating to revenue acceleration, so lead indicators (pipeline, bookings) matter—but execution and conversion will be critical in H2 FY26.'Vasu added that top-tier IT firms are adopting tight controls—reducing variable compensation, deferring salary hikes, and tightly managing bench policies.'H2 FY26 for top Indian IT firms will likely see gradual but not dramatic growth improvement, driven by geopolitical risks, US tariff stance and slowing global economy which delays deal conversions and recovery in client spend,' said UnearthInsight's Vasu, stating a 3-5% revenue growth guidance for research firm Incred Equities said clients' procrastination over long-term decisions has increased.'…deal conversations are underway but advisory-led proposals (RFPs) with long-term road-maps have complex constructs and are elongating the decision timeframe,' InCred said in a report. It added that although the pipeline opportunity could be at its peak currently given the delays, it is a highly negotiator's market where companies need to be agile, flexible and accommodative.'Clients continue to seek 'doing more for less' i.e. to optimise legacy projects to fund small-ticket AI-led ones. This, in turn, is driving vendor consolidation, driving the competitive intensity higher, creating staffing challenges, and pressurising the margin profile of deals. Hence, building margin expansion for FY26F could be aggressive,' said InCred Equities.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
ETtech Deals Digest: Startups raise $124 million this week, down 59% on-year
ETtech Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills ETtech Startups raised around $123.9 million during the week of July 12 to 18, marking a 59% decline from the $307.7 million raised during the same period last year, according to data from the funding amount saw a rebound from the previous week, nearly doubling from $62.1 activity, too, declined this week on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, with 26 transactions recorded during the period, compared to the 37 deals seen in the corresponding week last payments firm PayU received a capital infusion of $35.1 million from its parent, Prosus , the Dutch-listed arm of South African technology investor computing startup QpiAI raised $32 million in a funding round led by Avataar Venture Partners and India's National Quantum startup Truemeds raised $20 million as part of a funding round from Peak XV Partners . The company has raised a total of $113 million to date, according to Tracxn.
Economic Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Missing the data bus? India must act fast, says top statistician
ETtech Representative Image A senior Indian statistician has called for enhanced data-sharing between institutions and the central government, including access to mobile payments and official records, to boost the accuracy and reliability of key economic indicators. Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar, chairman of the National Statistical Commission, the top advisory body to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, said many organisations, from banks and payment firms to transport services and even government departments such as tax and railways, are hesitant to share data. The reluctance, he noted in an interview reported by Bloomberg, stems from privacy and legal concerns. 'But high-level policy decisions need to be taken as to what can be shared,' he said. Talks are currently underway to enable sharing of masked or aggregated data based on area codes, a move Karandikar said could significantly improve data accuracy, although discussions remain in early India's economy continues to grow and attract global investor attention, official economic data is under increasing scrutiny. There is a growing demand for more accurate indicators that reflect real conditions on the ground and help policymakers design better-informed strategies to meet the country's evolving data sharing between government departments remains difficult due to administrative gaps, infrastructure limitations, and ongoing concerns about data protection. These challenges make it difficult to strike a balance between transparency and privacy. To address these issues, the government has recently taken several steps. These include plans to conduct the long-pending population census, publishing monthly labour data, and releasing more frequent surveys to strengthen economic indicators such as inflation and said many developed nations have already created effective systems to internally share relevant data. 'India has not done that fast enough. We need to move in that direction,' he National Statistical Commission has also recommended that the government speed up the release of official statistics. Karandikar believes that wider use of digital tools and greater access to existing data would help reduce delays. 'Unless we change and bring in this information technology infrastructure, we will become obsolete,' he further stressed the need to replace long, annual surveys with shorter, quicker ones to make data collection and processing more efficient. 'The old methodology of data collection, transmitting, compiling and processing has to change,' Karandikar said, noting that the government has already started implementing some of these improvements. With inputs from Bloomberg
