Truecaller Slashes 70 Jobs Amid Declining Ad Sales

Sweden-based caller ID institution Truecaller said it will trim 70 jobs, aliases astir 15% of its workforce, successful nan 2nd quarter, arsenic nan institution posted its Q1 2026 results pinch a diminution successful gross and profits. Truecaller blamed real-money gaming successful India, changes successful advertizing partner algorithms, and conflict successful nan Middle East for nan slide.

As TechCrunch reported past month, nan institution is already facing challenges from India’s telecom-led solutions, specified as Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) recognition service, and 5% year-on-year diminution successful downloads past year.

In its Q1 2026 results, Truecaller’s nett income dropped 27% to 362 cardinal SEK ($39.34 million). In its biggest market, India, nett income dipped by 41% year-on-year. In addition, advertisement revenues declined by 44%.

“The year-on-year comparison looks particularly anemic fixed that Q1 and Q2 past twelvemonth included a ample publication coming from nan existent money gaming assemblage successful India successful relationship pinch nan IPL play that takes spot astir this time. The business successful nan Middle East besides reduced our revenues from that region,” Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said during nan net call.

Last August, India banned real-money gaming apps specified arsenic Dream 11 and MPL that allowed users to usage money to play imagination sports. Industry bodies estimated that nan real-money gaming manufacture was worthy $23 cardinal successful India. Because of this shutdown, platforms connected which these real-money apps are advertised were deprived of that revenue.

Truecaller besides said that nan gross diminution successful nan advertisement business was besides owed to a programmatic partner, identified arsenic Google by an expert earlier this year, changing its algorithms.

There were only a fewer positives for nan institution this quarter. First, it crossed nan people of 500 cardinal progressive users. Plus, its subscription gross accrued by 27%, representing 31% of nett sales. The institution has been adding features like AI Assistant and Family Protection to make its paid offerings much attractive.