A Mint review of more than 300 job descriptions showed that startups such as Javis, Abacus AI, Auxo AI, and others are extending annual packages in the ₹39-60 lakh range—with some US-based positions touching ₹2.6 crore+ for roles spanning voice AI, multimodal engineering, and core machine language (ML) development.
In contrast, established firms—from BlackRock and IndiGo to major FMCG and IT services players—are offering ₹16-35 lakh for AI-linked roles, with IT services firms continuing to hire at scale but at far lower compensation levels compared to the AI startup cohort.
However, according to Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, a recruitment firm specializing in tech and startup staffing, startups usually hire in smaller numbers—one or two students for niche roles—while traditional firms recruit at scale.
“Startups, however, value fresh talent because they bring a fresh pair of eyes, especially in implementing AI-led solutions,” Karanth said. “While there isn’t a large pool of ready-made AI talent, young recruits tend to learn faster than experienced professionals.”
He further highlighted that hardcore AI engineering roles remain the forte of Silicon Valley, while AI support roles are more frequently hired in India.
The startup hiring surge
Mint’s review of job descriptions revealed interesting instances of the trends at play.
Mumbai-headquartered AI startup Javis is stepping up hiring as the industry is shifting its focus towards curated AI services rather than using generic AI software, necessitating highly skilled engineers in the workforce.
“This shift is creating a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity for organizations like us,” Amanpreet Singh, founding member of the AI firm, told Mint. “Our hiring drive reflects our commitment to innovate and lead in this rapidly evolving landscape.”
According to Singh, Javis has increased its packages by up to 40% to attract the right minds for roles such as voice AI engineer, agentic AI engineer, and machine learning (ML) engineers—specializing in creating “computer vision and multimodal AI capabilities”.
“Compensation packages ranging from ₹39-52 lakh were offered to attract the best minds into our AI engineering and research teams,” Singh added.
California, US-based AI firm Giga is also scouting for software engineers for its San Francisco office as well as for remote work from India. For the US role, it is expected to offer $210,000 (over ₹2.66 crore), including $120,000 of its stock vested over four years and $30,000 annual bonus. For the India-based roles, Giga is expected to offer ₹25-45 lakh with minimum ₹10 lakh bonus. The hired candidates may also receive Esops.
In an emailed response to Mint queries, the company highlighted that in 2025, it had increased the median salary and bonuses to attract and retain candidates from IITs.
“We’ve made adjustments in response to the exceptional talent we’re seeing from IITs. Our updated packages aim to attract the brightest minds… The offers vary depending on the location and the candidate’s skill level. The maximum range significantly exceeds $150,000 per year,” a company spokesperson wrote in the email.
It also emphasized that Esops have been beneficial in keeping the employees engaged in the past, and expects them to work for their IIT recruits, too.
“We want our new hires to align with us for the long term. When we succeed over time, everyone who holds shares benefits along with us… The most significant rewards come when we establish ourselves as a generational company,” said the spokesperson.
Auxo AI, a San Francisco, US-based AI firm looking for AI engineers for one of its India offices, is expected to pay a little above ₹27 lakh, with a joining bonus of ₹1 lakh, retention bonus of ₹10 lakh after three years, and an annual performance bonus of ₹2.1 lakh.
“Our focus on AI engineering hiring at IITs is not about chasing a trend; it is about building the core engine of our business. By bringing in world-class AI talent, we can transform messy, fragmented enterprise data into intelligent systems that automate workflows, augment decision-making, and create entirely new revenue opportunities,” Deepesh Hiran, AuxoAI’s managing director heading India operations, told Mint.
“An AI‑native team lets us move from pilots to production at startup speed, while still meeting the reliability and governance standards large customers expect,” he added.
Abacus AI, another San Francisco-based AI firm hiring software and ML engineers to work remotely from India, may offer ₹50-60 lakh in annual compensation. “These roles are very core to the tech we are building in an extremely competitive AI/ML space,” said Manish Vora, an alumnus of IIT Bombay, heading the operations in the country for the firm.
Mumbai-based AI and analytics firm Fractal Analytics, which is also exploring an initial public offering, may offer ₹35 lakh for an AI engineering role, accompanied by a retention bonus of ₹3 lakh after 13 months, with a 12-month clawback period, according to the job descriptions reviewed by Mint. The firm declined to comment.
Smaller offers, but larger scale
Meanwhile, legacy firms seem somewhat reluctant to loosen their purse strings. Asset management giant BlackRock is looking for data analyst engineers specializing in AI development for its Aladdin Data team for its Gurugram and Mumbai offices, and is expected to offer ₹22 lakh annual compensation.
Interglobe Aviation, the parent company of India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is hunting for AI engineers to “translate state-of-the-art research around agentic AI, autonomous and adaptable AI and other data science and engineering methods into robust, maintainable, and scalable systems”. It may offer ₹16.5 lakh for the role.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd, which is hiring for its leadership programme with an expected salary exceeding ₹35 lakh, is also looking for candidates skilled at “creating AI-led forecasting tools to improve demand planning accuracy in volatile markets”.
Queries emailed to BlackRock, InterGlobe Aviation, and HUL remained unanswered.
On the other hand, IT firms, which typically hire in large numbers, have slowed their intake from engineering colleges. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro are expected to hire 42,000, 20,000, and up to 12,000 freshers, respectively, in 2025-26, according to their management commentaries. In contrast, HCL Technologies plans to hire more than 7,800 freshers, albeit in specialized, skill-based roles, Mint reported earlier.
Meanwhile, beyond engineering, top management consulting firms are eyeing talent from top B-schools such as the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) to hire management talent specializing in AI, Mint reported earlier.
