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Atlanta-based DataSeers plans to open a new office in Mumbai, add 80 new employees this year and reduce commute times for some existing employees as it continues to fight for India's tech talent. is planned to be shortened.
The Alpharetta-based fintech company's flagship platform uses artificial intelligence to mine transaction patterns to help predict fraud by banks and prepaid mobile wallets like Venmo and Cash App.
India has been key to the company's growth, both as a market in its own right and as a springboard into the broader Asian region, as well as providing software solutions that facilitate market expansion in the United States.
He told Global Atlanta that Mumbai is a natural location not only because CEO Adwait Joshi and his family are from there, but also because most of India's biggest banks operate there. He said that is also the reason why he is there. This proximity was also the main reason why he did not go to other tech hubs like Bangalore or Hyderabad, he said.
“We sell to banks and every bank is in Mumbai. Why go to another city?” he said.
Global Atlanta reported on DataSeers' decision to expand globally in 2019. At the time, the company had only eight employees in its 2,000 square foot Alpharetta office. Currently, he has 65 employees in the United States, and over the next year he plans to add 100 people worldwide (including 80 in India).
Five years ago, the company opened an office in the Navi Mumbai (New Bombay) region, east of the peninsula where Mumbai's mainland is located.
CEO Adwait Joshi
The company has since outgrown that space, but instead of opening one larger office and consolidating, the company realized it could better serve its employees by splitting into two campuses, Joshi said. .
He said a large portion of the team was struggling with traffic jams trying to get into different municipalities, so they decided to meet where they live.
“It's much better than just having space in an existing town,” he said, pointing to the challenge of attracting and retaining top talent. “The challenge now is how to attract talent.”
Unlike other tech hubs like Bangalore, where many Indian workers have migrated from their homelands in search of opportunities, Mumbai residents tend to stay with their families, Joshi said.
“Mumbai people are born and brought up in Mumbai and will spend the rest of their lives in Mumbai,” he said.
Living in multigenerational households, they are reluctant to move for work and start paying rent.
“It's like moving to New York City. It costs money.”
Given the financial industry's compliance and security demands, and the hands-on training provided by DataSeers in areas such as data science, remote work isn't really an option for new employees.
While some veteran employees have earned the right to work virtually, more appealing to new hires is the prospect of being able to come to the U.S. on an L-1A visa, typically after three years, after growing into a supervisory role. .
DataSeers had to scour the globe for the right talent as demand for its services continued to rise amid compliance violations in fintech and banking. In February, the Reserve Bank of India ordered Paytm, which provides 330 million digital wallets in the country, to shut down its payment banks by the second week of March, citing oversight and compliance concerns.
“If you follow global fintech news, you'll see that many banks and fintechs are in trouble,” Joshi said. “Honestly, other people's mistakes, ignorance, and lack of safety help me.”
DataSeers recently brought seven “very smart” new team members to the U.S. from Turkey, where “the competition is not as intense as it is in India,” he added.
Joshi said getting U.S. government approval to hire new talent was a daunting task at first, but the rewards were great.
The company, which has been self-made and debt-free, now leans towards an international culture, with eight team members from Africa, three from China, six from India and Morocco. Several of them are from Europe. Joshi said some new employees wonder why tech companies ask about the language spoken during the interview process.
“Our team is very global, so we're actively participating in that,” he said. “They are absorbing our culture.”
The company prides itself on creating jobs and retaining team members at a time when many venture-backed tech companies are cutting jobs. For more information about the new office, check out his LinkedIn post for the company.
