Factrika, an on-demand industrial workforce platform, has raised Rs 8.9 crore in a seed funding round led by Info Edge. The company, founded in July 2024 by Kshitij Puri and Gaurav Asthana, plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its team, enhance its technology, and expand into more industrial clusters across India. The investment highlights growing confidence in digital platforms that address workforce availability and reliability challenges in the manufacturing sector.
Targeting a Persistent Factory Worker Shortage
Indian factories face a daily worker shortage of 20 to 25 percent, according to Factrika. The startup attributes this gap to fragmented and low-tech contractor staffing models that cause lost output, higher costs, and operational disruption. Factrika addresses the problem by matching manufacturers with verified workers based on skills, shift preferences, and availability, enabling more reliable deployment.
How the Platform Works
Manufacturers using Factrika can identify and deploy workers within two hours, supported by a show-up rate above 90 percent and reduced dependence on traditional contractor delays. Workers accept shifts digitally, while the platform manages attendance, payments, and verified digital work records. This system is designed to support skill-based progression and help workers access higher-paying opportunities.
Early Traction and Client Base
Factrika currently has more than 10,000 registered workers across over 20 skill categories, with deployment hours growing 50 to 70 percent month on month. Its client base includes Lenskart, Munjal Kiriu, Asahi India Glass, Jubilant Foods, Epack Durables, PG Technoplast, Hanon Climate, Bidso, and Talbros Auto Components. The company says workers on its platform can increase their earnings by 20 to 30 percent through skill progression.
Expansion Plans and Market Opportunity
The new funding will support hiring, technology development, and expansion in industrial clusters such as Bhiwadi, Manesar, Bawal, Noida, and Bahadurgarh. Factrika estimates that the manufacturing workforce opportunity in India is worth USD 23 billion. The company is positioning itself to capture a share of this market by making industrial workforce supply more real time, skill led, and transparent.
Founder and Investor Perspectives
Founders Kshitij Puri and Gaurav Asthana stated that India's manufacturing workforce has a fundamental availability and reliability problem, and they are building Factrika to address it. Info Edge Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Hitesh Oberoi said Factrika is solving deep use cases in Indian manufacturing recruitment with an innovative platform based approach. He added that Info Edge is excited to back the team.
Leadership and Operating Experience
Kshitij Puri is a second time founder who previously built and scaled ZipLoan, a fintech non-banking financial company, and is an alumnus of UCLA Anderson and ICAI. Gaurav Asthana is an alumnus of BITS Pilani and IIM Ahmedabad with more than two decades of experience across technology, operations, and product roles. The founders bring combined expertise in recruitment, fintech, agritech, and marketplace businesses to the manufacturing workforce sector.
A Competitive Landscape
The industrial workforce segment is attracting multiple platforms that use mobile hiring, worker verification, and workforce management tools. WorkIndia raised Rs 97 crore in a Series B round led by Aavishkaar Capital in December last year, while Nia.one raised USD 2.4 million in seed funding from Elevar Equity in November last year. Apna is also active in the digital blue and grey collar hiring space, reflecting broader momentum in the sector.
Factrika's seed funding round underscores the need for reliable and transparent workforce solutions in Indian manufacturing. With plans to expand across key industrial clusters and strengthen its technology, the startup aims to improve deployment speed, attendance management, and worker income progression. Its early traction and investor backing suggest that real time workforce platforms could play a significant role in reducing factory staff shortages.