Truecaller cuts 70 jobs as advertising revenue weakens

Sweden-based caller identification company Truecaller said it will lay off 70 employees, representing around 15% of its workforce, during the second quarter of the year after reporting a sharp decline in revenue and profits in its Q1 2026 earnings results.

The company attributed the downturn to several factors, including the collapse of India’s real-money gaming advertising sector, changes in advertising partner algorithms, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Truecaller has already been facing increasing pressure in its core Indian market. Last month, reports highlighted growing competition from telecom-backed caller identification services such as Calling Name Presentation (CNAP), as well as a 5% year-over-year decline in app downloads.

According to the company’s latest earnings report, Truecaller’s net sales fell 27% year-over-year to 362 million Swedish kronor (approximately $39.34 million).

India, which remains the company’s largest market, saw an even steeper decline. Net sales in the country dropped 41% compared to the same period last year. Advertising revenue also declined significantly by 44%.

“The year-on-year comparison looks especially weak given that Q1 and Q2 last year included a large contribution coming from the real money gaming sector in India in connection with the IPL season that takes place around this time,” Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said during the company’s earnings call.

He also pointed to geopolitical instability affecting business performance in other regions.

“The situation in the Middle East also reduced our revenues from that region,” Jhunjhunwala added.

India’s crackdown on real-money gaming platforms has had a major impact on advertising across digital platforms. Last August, the Indian government banned several real-money gaming apps, including Dream11 and MPL, which allowed users to wager money on fantasy sports contests.

Industry groups had previously estimated the real-money gaming market in India at around $23 billion. Following the ban, many digital advertising platforms lost a major source of revenue tied to these companies.

Truecaller also explained that weakness in its advertising business was partly linked to changes made by one of its programmatic advertising partners. Earlier this year, an analyst identified that partner as Google, which reportedly adjusted its advertising algorithms in a way that negatively affected revenue performance. Despite the weak quarter, the company highlighted a few positive developments.

Truecaller said it crossed 500 million active users globally during the quarter, marking a major milestone for the platform. The company also reported growth in its subscription business. Subscription revenue increased 27% year-over-year and now accounts for 31% of total net sales.

In recent quarters, Truecaller has been expanding its premium offerings by introducing features such as AI Assistant and Family Protection to make paid subscriptions more appealing to users. Truecaller’s stock has struggled significantly over the past year. Shares are down more than 26% since the beginning of the year and have fallen over 79% during the past 12 months. However, following the release of the company’s Q1 earnings report, the stock has shown signs of a modest recovery.