Caller ID company based in Sweden true caller said it will cut 70 jobs, or about 15% of its workforce, in the second quarter, as the company released its first-quarter 2026 results with a decline in revenue and profits. Truecaller blamed real-money gaming in India, changes to advertising partners’ algorithms and conflict in the Middle East for the decline.
As TechCrunch As reported last month, the company is already facing challenges in Indian telecom solutions, such as Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) identification service and a 5% year-on-year drop in downloads last year.
In its first quarter 2026 results, Truecaller’s net sales fell 27% to SEK 362 million ($39.34 million). In its largest market, India, net sales fell 41% year-on-year. Additionally, advertising revenue decreased by 44%.
“The year-over-year comparison looks especially weak given that the first and second quarters of last year included a large contribution coming from the real money gaming sector in India relative to the IPL season taking place around this time. The situation in the Middle East also reduced our revenue in that region,” Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said during the earnings call.
Last August, India banned real money gaming apps like Dream 11 and MPL that allowed users to use money to play fantasy sports. Industry bodies estimated that the real money gaming industry was worth $23 billion in India. Due to this closure, the platforms on which these real money applications are advertised were deprived of that income.
Truecaller also said that the drop in revenue in the advertising business was also due to a programmatic partner, identified as Google by an analyst earlier this yearchanging their algorithms.
There were only a few positives for the company this quarter. First, he crossed the mark of 500 million active users. Additionally, its subscription revenue increased by 27%, representing 31% of net sales. The company has been adding features like AI Assistant and Family protection to make your paid offers more attractive.
Truecaller shares have fallen more than 26% this year and more than 79% in the last 12 months. However, after the first quarter results, it has experienced some recovery.
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