Tier-2 cities emerging as new startup hotspots

BENGALURU: Startups are now looking beyond metros for talent as the job share of tier-2 cities has surged from 9% in April 2024 to 31% in April 2025. This three-fold rise shows a shift in the country’s start-up hiring.

Coimbatore, Indore, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar are now the preferred locations for startups.

Also, the latest findings by jobs platform foundit shows that startup hiring has surged 32% y-o-y in April and 12% over the last three months. The hiring momentum is further reinforced by a 22% increase in new start-up registration over the past year.