Caller ID company based in Sweden Truecaller said it would cut 70 jobs, or about 15% of its workforce, in the second quarter as the company posted first-quarter 2026 results with lower revenue and profit. Truecaller blamed real-money games in India, changes to ad partner algorithms and conflicts in the Middle East for transparency.
As TechCrunch reported last month, the company is already facing challenges from India’s telecom solutions, such as Call Name Presentation (CNAP) recognition service and a 5% year-over-year drop in downloads last year.
In Q1 2026 results, Truecaller’s net sales fell 27% to SEK 362 million ($39.34 million). In its biggest market, India, net sales fell 41% year-on-year. In addition, advertising revenue fell by 44%.
“The year-over-year comparison looks particularly weak given that the first and second quarters of last year included a large contribution from the real-money gaming segment in India relative to the IPL season currently taking place. The situation in the Middle East also reduced our revenue from this 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 players estimated that the real money gaming industry was worth $23 billion in India. Due to this shutdown, the platforms where these real money apps are advertised were deprived of this revenue.
Truecaller also said the decline in revenue in its ad business was also due to a programmatic partner, identified as Google by an analyst earlier this year, changing its algorithms.
There were only a few positives for the company this quarter. First, it crossed the 500 million active user mark. Additionally, subscription revenue grew 27%, accounting for 31% of net sales. The company has added features like AI Assistant and Family Protection to make its paid offerings more attractive.
Truecaller stock is down more than 26% this year and more than 79% over the past 12 months. However, after the first quarter results, it has seen some recovery.
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