Arthum’s ₹10 Cr Seed Round Signals a Shift in Workforce Tech

India’s contract workforce, one of the largest yet least formalised segments of the economy, is increasingly becoming a focus area for technology-led intervention. Gurgaon-based startup Arthum has raised ₹10 crore in seed funding, led by Caret^Capital, with participation from Keynote Financial Services Limited and JS Global, to scale its integrated platform for contract workforce management and financial inclusion.

The funding comes at a time when enterprises, contractors, and financial institutions are reassessing how informal labour ecosystems can be brought into structured, auditable systems without disrupting scale.

Building Infrastructure for a Fragmented Workforce

Founded in 2023 by Darpan Sharma, co-founder & CEO, Arthum, and Vishal Mishra, co-founder & CTO, Arthum, the company was shaped by the operational challenges exposed during the post-COVID labour migration crisis. Arthum was built to address a core issue: the absence of a unified system connecting enterprises, labour contractors, and workers.

Arthum positions itself as an operating system rather than a point solution. Its platform brings together attendance tracking, payroll, digital payments, contracts, and statutory compliance into a single digital infrastructure. Features such as geo-tagged attendance and automated compliance workflows are designed to reduce manual errors and improve traceability across large, distributed workforces.

According to the company, Arthum currently automates key operational workflows for over 3 lakh labour contractors, creating a shared data layer across stakeholders.

When Workforce Data Enables Financial Access

Beyond workforce management, Arthum is building a parallel neo-banking layer that leverages verified employment and transaction data. This data foundation enables access to banking, insurance, loans, and investment products for blue-collar workers, many of whom remain outside the formal financial system due to the absence of documented work histories.

By linking employment records directly with financial services, Arthum is attempting to turn informal labour into digitally verifiable economic participation. The approach reflects a broader shift where financial inclusion is increasingly driven by operational data rather than standalone credit assessments.

“Arthum is an operating system that connects every stakeholder in the contract labour ecosystem,” said Darpan Sharma, co-founder & CEO of Arthum. “This investment will help us strengthen our technology stack, expand geographically, and unlock deeper financial inclusion through data-led credit and banking innovation.”

The company said it has onboarded more than 1,500 labour contractors and over 6 lakh workers across the Delhi NCR region and is now expanding into Dehradun, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and other industrial clusters.

Investor Focus on Formalisation at Scale

For Caret Capital, the investment reflects a focus on platforms that combine operational automation with economic inclusion.

“By investing in Arthum, we aim to accelerate the formalisation of India’s 120 million-plus blue-collar workers and leverage the tech stack of Arthum to drive inclusion of 300k-plus labour contractors into the formal economy,” said Pankaj Bansal, Caret^Capital. “Arthum’s integrated operating system, combining workflow automation with financial enablement, has the potential to redefine how contractors and workers engage with enterprises and financial institutions alike.”

The firm said the investment aligns with its broader objective of supporting job creation through scalable technology infrastructure.

Partnership-Led Financial Enablement

To support its financial inclusion strategy, Arthum has partnered with banks including Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, and IDFC, along with more than 15 NBFCs such as Ugro Capital, Bajaj, Aditya Birla, Godrej, BlackSoil, and Protium. These partnerships are aimed at designing financial products suited to the income patterns and risk profiles of contract workers.

For lenders, access to verified workforce data provides a clearer view of cash flows and employment stability—two factors often missing in traditional underwriting for blue-collar segments.

Arthum’s full-stack approach reflects a broader evolution in workforce technology. Platforms are no longer limited to managing attendance or payouts; they are increasingly becoming infrastructure layers that connect compliance, operations, and finance.

By combining workforce management with financial access in a single ecosystem, Arthum is positioning itself at the intersection of enterprise software and financial services. As regulatory scrutiny of labour practices intensifies and enterprises seek greater transparency, such platforms may play a pivotal role in how India’s contract workforce transitions from informal arrangements to structured participation in the economy.