Sweden-based caller identification platform Truecaller has announced plans to cut about 70 jobs, representing roughly 15% of its workforce, following a decline in revenue and profitability in the first quarter of 2026.
The company disclosed the planned layoffs alongside its Q1 2026 earnings report, where it cited weakening advertising revenues, disruptions linked to India’s real-money gaming crackdown, changes in advertising partner algorithms, and ongoing tensions in the Middle East as major factors behind the downturn.
Truecaller’s net sales for the quarter dropped by 27% year-on-year to 362 million Swedish krona (about $39.3 million), while revenue from its largest market, India, declined by 41%.
Advertising revenue, a major source of income for the company, also fell sharply by 44% during the period.
Speaking during the earnings call, Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said comparisons with the previous year appeared particularly weak because the company had benefited significantly from advertising spending by India’s real-money gaming sector during the Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2025.
“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. The situation in the Middle East also reduced our revenues from that region,” he said.
India last year intensified restrictions on real-money gaming applications such as Dream11 and MPL, which allowed users to wager money on fantasy sports and online gaming activities.
Industry estimates previously valued India’s real-money gaming market at about $23 billion, making it a significant advertising segment for digital platforms such as Truecaller.
The company also blamed part of its advertising revenue decline on changes made by one of its major programmatic advertising partners.
Analysts earlier identified the partner as Google, whose algorithm adjustments reportedly affected ad performance and monetization.
