MERAQUI

What MERAQUI does

Meraqui (legal name: Meraqui Ventures Private Limited) is an India-based workforce management and staffing company that operates a platform-plus-services model targeting enterprise and mid-market buyers across 30+ industries. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, with international offices in New York and Zurich. Its core product is karam.ai, an AI-driven platform that covers the full employee lifecycle — AI-assisted sourcing and candidate matching, OCR-backed digital onboarding, geo-tagged attendance capture, automated payroll processing, and statutory compliance management for PF, ESIC, TDS, and PT. The company also publishes a Workforce-as-a-Service (WaaS) offering, a sub-brand wrapper for its enterprise staffing deployments.

Meraqui generates revenue primarily through managed-services contracts and payroll processing fees rather than pure-software licensing. Pricing is custom, contract-based, and multi-year, tailored to each client's workforce size, contract duration, skill needs, and deployment locations. The GTM is sales-led and field-driven — direct enterprise engagement combined with PAN-India field operations across 26 states, 135 cities, and 400+ pin codes, reaching 300+ clients in manufacturing, logistics, BFSI, IT, telecom, energy, and (emerging) pharmaceutical/healthcare. The company also runs Meraqui Education, a B.Sc. Honours partnership program with affiliated colleges, which doubles as a captive skill pipeline.

Meraqui has raised $1M in seed funding (2022) and claims Indicorn status with an INR 100 Cr+ valuation, having been recognized by Forbes India (DGEMS 2024 Select 200), Forbes (Leap To Unicorn Top 100 for 2025), CII (Top 13 Startups 2024), and CNBC/HSBC (2024 SME Champion). The company is founder-led by Lalit Singh (Founder CEO) and currently employs 251-500 staff. Headcount-deployed workforce and managed payroll span 4bn+ records cumulatively; pricing and contract structures remain non-public.

Name

MERAQUI

Legal name

Meraqui Ventures Private Limited

Website

https://meraqui.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Meraqui is an India-based AI-powered workforce management and staffing firm operating a platform-plus-services model. It serves 300+ enterprise and mid-market clients across 30+ industries — manufacturing, logistics, BFSI, IT, and telecom — via its karam.ai platform, delivering end-to-end sourcing, onboarding, payroll, and statutory compliance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Management Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (56132), Professional Employer Organizations (561330), Payroll Services (541214), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Help Supply Services (7363), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Management & Scheduling (BPACAPAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Contractor Management Systems (CMS) & Workforce Management (BPACAGAE), Core HR & HRIS (BPACAPAA), Contingent Workforce / Contractor RPO (Contractor Recruiting) (BPACABAK), iBPMS (Intelligent BPM Suites) & Process Automation Suites (HDAEAHAG)

Keywords

• Workforce management services
• Staffing solutions
• AI recruitment platform
• Payroll processing services
• Blue-collar staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Mumbai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Staffing and Workforce Management Services: Meraqui provides contingent staffing, gig workforce, apprenticeships, and permanent/specialty hiring solutions. Revenue is generated through staffing fees and managed services contracts where the company deploys and manages workforce on behalf of clients, handling the full employee lifecycle from recruitment through payroll. The company also earns fees for on-the-job training, vendor management, payroll processing, and end-to-end hire-and-manage services.
2. Payroll Processing and Compliance Services: Meraqui manages payroll for over 4 billion payroll records across 300+ clients. Revenue is derived from payroll processing fees, statutory compliance management (PF, ESIC, TDS, PT), and attendance management services delivered through the karam.ai platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Meraqui delivers AI-powered workforce management and staffing solutions via its karam.ai platform, supporting the entire employee lifecycle from sourcing and recruitment through onboarding, attendance, payroll, and statutory compliance. Its service portfolio spans contingent staffing, gig workforce deployment, apprenticeship programs, permanent/specialty hiring, and managed services for telecom infrastructure, serving enterprise and mid-market clients across 30+ industries in India.

Product overview

MERAQUI is an AI-powered workforce management and staffing solutions company in India operating a platform-plus-services model. The core offering centers on the karam.ai AI platform which provides end-to-end workforce management including candidate matching, onboarding, attendance tracking, and payroll processing. This is complemented by service offerings including Contingent Staffing, Gig Workforce management, Value Hiring (permanent and specialty hiring), and Managed Infratel Services. The WaaS (Workforce as a Service) platform enables businesses to scale talent instantly. Educational services through Meraqui Education partnerships complete the ecosystem by developing skilled workforce pipelines. The company serves 300+ clients across 30+ industries, managing 4 billion+ payroll records across 26 states and 135 cities in India.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• karam.ai: An advanced AI companion designed to streamline recruitment. AI-Driven Recruitment platform that ensures precise candidate matching and verified hiring.
• WaaS (Workforce as a Service)

Products and services

• karam.ai Advanced AI companion platform that streamlines recruitment through precise candidate matching, verified hiring, and end-to-end workforce management covering attendance, payroll, and statutory compliance — for enterprise and mid-market clients across India.
• Contingent Staffing Flexible workforce solutions for contingent labor needs including apprenticeships and contractual staffing arrangements across 30+ industries in India.
• Gig Workforce Manages gig economy workers and temporary workforce deployments for telecom, infrastructure, and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) projects across India.
• Value Hiring Offers permanent hiring and specialty hiring solutions enabling companies to find and retain long-term talent aligned with their workforce strategy.
• WaaS (Workforce as a Service) AI-driven Workforce-as-a-Service platform that enables enterprises to scale talent instantly, providing flexible workforce management and integrated hiring, assessment, onboarding, attendance, payroll, and compliance workflows.
• Meraqui Education Educational partnership program offering workforce development and skill-training courses through affiliated Indian colleges for building skilled workforce pipelines.
• Managed Infratel Services Managed services for telecom infrastructure operations, handling telecom workforce deployment and management for Infratel operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Out of 202 startups, Meraqui is 1 of only 8 to hit Indicorn status (INR 100 Cr+) in under 5 years, demonstrating exceptional revenue growth trajectory.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024CII selected Meraqui as one of the Top 13 Startups for 2024, shortlisting from a large applicant pool. This recognition by India's premier industry association provides strategic visibility, networking opportunities, and validation of Meraqui's role in India's startup ecosystem.
• Forbes IndiacoreOthers · 1 January 2024Forbes India featured Meraqui in the DGEMS 2024 Select 200 list recognizing entrepreneurial excellence and disruptive growth. Additionally, Forbes featured Meraqui in the Leap To Unicorn Season 3 'Top 100 Startups to Watch in 2025' list. These media features provide high-visibility brand exposure and credibility for Meraqui's market positioning.
• UAE-India CEPAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeraqui was shortlisted from 10,000+ applicants for the UAE-India CEPA Start-Up Series, a bilateral startup initiative under the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This provides Meraqui with cross-border ecosystem access and recognition in both Indian and UAE markets.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Keka HR: Indian HR and payroll software platform focused on SMB and mid-market. Overlaps with Meraqui's payroll and HR compliance management capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• ADP India: Global payroll and HCM services provider with significant India presence. Competes with Meraqui on payroll processing and statutory compliance for large enterprises.
• TeamLease Services: Major Indian staffing, HR services, and apprenticeship provider operating across IT, telecom, BFSI, and manufacturing verticals. Broad incumbent with similar service lines as Meraqui.
• Quess Corp: Largest Indian staffing and facility management company with broad workforce solutions across IT, BFSI, manufacturing, and healthcare. Broader and far larger incumbent competing with Meraqui in enterprise staffing.

Direct peers

• Darwinbox: India-headquartered HCM platform providing HRIS, payroll, attendance, and workforce management. Competes with Meraqui on the platform layer for enterprise HR and payroll.
• Xpheno: India-based specialist staffing firm with strong tech and IT talent focus, also expanding into non-tech verticals. Comparable business model of specialized staffing with managed services.
• PeopleStrong: Indian HCM/HR tech platform offering HRIS, payroll, talent management, and workforce solutions. Comparable on the tech-enabled HR platform side of Meraqui's karam.ai offering.
• Betterplace: Indian blue-collar workforce management platform offering staffing, payroll, and compliance services across frontline and grey-collar segments. Direct competitor to Meraqui's core offering.
• Apna: India's leading blue-collar job platform and recruitment app, connecting employers with frontline talent. Competes head-on with Meraqui's contingent staffing and gig workforce offerings.
• WorkIndia: Indian blue-collar and grey-collar job platform focused on volume hiring across manufacturing, retail, and logistics. Closely comparable to Meraqui's frontline deployment model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meraqui

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MERAQUI