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Funding · HR & Future of Work

Arthum raises ₹10 crore in seed funding to formalize India’s blue-collar workforce

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Date
Company
Arthum
What it does
contract workforce management platform
Kind
Funding
Amount
₹10 crore
Stage
seed
Based in
Gurugram
Founded
2023
Sector
HR & Future of Work

What they do

Arthum is a Gurugram-based startup that connects enterprises, labour contractors, and workers on a single digital platform

What happened

The ₹10 crore seed round, led by Caret^Capital, will help expand the platform and unlock financial inclusion for blue-collar workers

Why it matters

Arthum automates payroll, compliance, and attendance tracking for over 3 lakh labour contractors and provides banking, insurance, and credit services to 6…

The details

  • Arthum, a Gurugram-based startup, raised ₹10 crore in seed funding led by Caret^Capital, with participation from Keynote Financial Services Limited and JS Global.
  • The funding will be used to strengthen Arthum’s technology stack, expand geographically, and unlock deeper financial inclusion through data-led credit and banking innovation.
  • Arthum was founded in 2023 by Darpan Sharma and Vishal Mishra, who identified inefficiencies in India’s contract labour sector after the post-COVID labour migration crisis.
  • The platform acts as an integrated operating system that connects enterprises, labour contractors, and workers on a single digital infrastructure.
  • Arthum’s platform includes geo-tagged attendance, payroll processing, digital payouts, contract management, and statutory compliance.
  • It automates key operational workflows for over 3 lakh labour contractors and provides banking, insurance, and credit services to 6 lakh workers.
  • Arthum has onboarded over 1,500 labour contractors and 6 lakh workers, primarily in the Delhi NCR region, and is expanding to Dehradun, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.

The bigger picture

  • The post-COVID labour migration crisis exposed deep inefficiencies in how contract workers were managed, including fragmented records, delayed payments, and compliance gaps.
  • Arthum’s integrated approach combines workflow automation with financial enablement, addressing both operational and financial challenges in the contract labour ecosystem.
  • By leveraging verified workforce data, Arthum enables access to formal financial products for blue-collar workers, many of whom lack documented work histories.
  • Caret^Capital’s investment aligns with its long-term vision of job creation and economic formalization, aiming to bring over 300,000 labour contractors into the formal economy.

About the business

  • Arthum is a contract workforce management platform that connects enterprises, labour contractors, and workers on a single digital infrastructure.
  • The platform automates payroll, compliance, and attendance tracking for over 3 lakh labour contractors.
  • It provides banking, insurance, and credit services to 6 lakh blue-collar workers, using verified workforce data to build digital credit identities.
  • Arthum’s integrated Neo-banking layer enables access to formal financial products for workers who were previously excluded due to lack of documentation or credit history.
  • The startup is expanding to key industrial and labour hubs across India, including Dehradun, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.

What happens next

  • Arthum plans to expand its footprint to key industrial and labour hubs across India, including Dehradun, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.
  • The startup aims to strengthen its technology stack and unlock deeper financial inclusion through data-led credit and banking innovation.

The deal

Type
funding

Investors

  • Caret^Capital (lead) — A $50 million thematic venture capital fund focused on sustainability and job creation.
  • Keynote Financial Services Limited (investor)
  • JS Global (investor)

Founders

  • Darpan Sharma, Co-founder and CEO
  • Vishal Mishra, Co-founder and CTO

About Arthum

Product
Digital platform offering attendance tracking, automated payroll, contract management, statutory compliance, and integrated financial services.
Customers
Enterprises and labour contractors managing contract and blue-collar workforces.
How it makes money
Software subscriptions for workforce compliance tools and transaction fees on integrated financial services.
What sets it apart
Connects enterprises, labour contractors, and blue-collar workers on a single digital system combined with verified-data neo-banking.

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