In response to bank criticism of young recruits accepting offers that were made in the future, Apollo Global Management informed potential investment-banking prospects that it would neither interview nor give offers to the class of 2027 this year.
Apollo outlined its reasoning in a letter to applicants on Wednesday, stating that the company thinks recent graduates should take the time to further their business knowledge early in their employment. Marc Rowan, the CEO of Apollo, stated that he concurred with recent complaints that the hiring process for young candidates had begun too soon.
The recruiting decisions at Apollo are among the most important to the company’s operations, according to the letter sent by Nicole Bonsignore, head of human resources, and David Sambur, co-head of private equity. In light of this, Apollo will not conduct official interviews or make offers to the class of 2027 this year.
Banking Sector is Cautious About Losing Talented Employees
For over ten years, tensions have been building over private equity firms hiring junior investment bankers. Banks have tried to find a middle ground between taking action to keep its young, brilliant staff from leaving and not upsetting them or the buyout companies, which are frequently some of their largest customers.
In a speech at Georgetown University last year, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., expressed his disapproval of the practice of junior bankers accepting a second position with a private equity firm prior to beginning their first position at a bank. Dimon went on to say that this puts us in a difficult and conflicted situation. “I just don’t like that you are already employed by someone else and that you are handling extremely sensitive information from JPMorgan,” he continued.
According to a letter reviewed by a media house, JPMorgan warned recent grads that they would lose their jobs if they accepted offers from other companies before beginning work at the bank or within the first 18 months of their employment.
When someone says something that is simply true, Rowan stated in an emailed statement, “I feel compelled to agree with it.” “Bank CEOs and others have expressed what many of us have been thinking: It is not beneficial for students or our industry to ask them to make career decisions before fully understanding their options, as recruiting has been getting earlier and earlier each year.”
Race to Grab Fresh Talent from the Wall Street
In recent years, the competition to get new talent from Wall Street has intensified. After earlier attempts failed, private equity companies seeking to hire for their 2024 associate classes were obliged to conduct a second round of recruiting in 2023.
Only a few weeks after they started work in 2022, numerous buyout businesses began contacting banks’ first-year trainees in an attempt to outperform rivals. However, tensions had existed for a long time before that.
Following employee complaints, Morgan Stanley dropped its 2013 attempt to prevent first-year bankers from speaking with recruiters for outside companies.
As the Trump administration proposes massive budget cuts for the US space program, NASA issued a new plea this week for its employees to quit the agency with a new offer for job buyouts.
NASA officials announced the launch of a new early retirement and deferred resignation programme on June 9, in memoranda distributed to staff members with the goal of drastically reducing the number of posts within the space agency.
NASA is continuing its stepwise approach to lower its overall headcount and streamline its workforce, according to a statement released by NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner. He went on to say that this gives workers the freedom to leave while still enabling the organisation to fulfil its objective.
Each employee’s unique circumstances will determine their eligibility for these programmes. These initiatives, which include a voluntary separation incentive programme, a deferred resignation programme, and a voluntary early retirement authority, follow the Trump administration’s significant budget cuts for NASA in 2026.
These reductions are intended to shrink NASA’s workforce from its current 17,391 people to 11,853, a 32% decrease, and its overall budget by 24%. Congress is still reviewing the budget request, and it hasn’t been implemented yet.
Warner stated to a US news outlet that this endeavour is unrelated to DOGE and has no set goal or proportion. Earlier this year, the DOGE team issued similar requests for postponed resignations.
Musk’s relationship with Trump has degenerated since he resigned his temporary position in the White House on May 31 due to disagreements over the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill” programme.
NASA Employees to Decide their Fate by 25 July
The deadline for NASA personnel to choose whether to participate in any of the staff reduction programmes is July 25.
According to NASA officials, anyone enrolled in the Deferred Resignation Program would probably stop working soon after and continue to receive compensation until January 9, 2026.
According to Warner, most participants would be leaving the agency by January 9, 2026, and staff will be able to start administrative leave seven to fourteen days after signing their separation agreement.
In some cases, the agency may authorise deferring an employee’s administrative leave start date to April 1, 2026, and terminating their employment with the agency no later than September 30, 2026, in the event of a severe need.
Almost 75000 Government Employees Accepted the Offers
These new NASA initiatives come after multiple rounds of agency departures (altogether, nearly 75,000 government employees accepted offers of deferred resignation) and staffing changes at important agency facilities, like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, which recently terminated its remote work policy for almost 5,500 employees, forcing the majority of staff to either return to the office or leave.
(The California Institute of Technology oversees JPL, NASA’s principal robotic planetary exploration centre.) According to media accounts, DOGE’s activities have also resulted in the termination of hundreds of probationary employees at NASA and other government institutions.
Not every inspiring story comes from a big office or a startup pitch. Sometimes, it arrives quietly, with your dinner order. A recent post on X (formerly Twitter) has made people pause and reflect. A customer shared how their Swiggy delivery partner handed them a printed resume, offering something more than just food.
That partner is Padmanaban Ebbas, a full-stack developer with over 19 years of experience in tech. He once ran a software company, led teams, and worked with global clients. Today, he delivers food to support himself while working hard to bring his business back to life.
From Coding for Clients to Delivering with Purpose
Padmanaban’s journey shows what determination really looks like. Life took a turn, but instead of giving up, he chose to rebuild, step by step. Alongside each delivery, he shares a flyer that outlines his skills and the services he offers.
These include website and mobile app development, UI/UX and logo design, SEO, graphic design, video editing, and software maintenance. He is experienced with tools and technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, WordPress, React, Flutter, Kotlin, MySQL, Figma, Photoshop, and more.
He is not asking for charity, he is offering his skills. And he is doing it with quiet confidence.
“Just Trying to Get My Business Back on Track”
The customer who shared his story asked if he was looking for a job. Padmanaban’s reply was simple: “No, just trying to get my business back on track.” That one sentence speaks volumes about his mindset. He is not waiting for opportunities, he is creating them.
On the flyer, he adds a powerful message:
“Dreams don’t die. They wait for us to rise again.”
Padmanaban Ebbas shares his skills flyer while delivering for Swiggy
In a world where personal branding often feels loud and flashy, Padmanaban’s approach, which is humble, direct, and skill-focused, is a refreshing reminder of quiet determination.
It is a reminder that behind every delivery person, there is a story, a skill, and sometimes a dream waiting to be restarted.
As India’s startup and tech community watches, perhaps this delivery, built with care and code, will find its way to the right doorstep.
After considering industry input from consultations and evaluating market participants’ preparedness, regulator SEBI announced the “Valid” mechanism on June 11, which will give market intermediaries a unique Unified Payments Interface (UPI) address to collect money from clients.
According to Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairman of SEBI, the innovative UPI payment system will launch on October 1, 2025. According to Pandey, by offering a validated and secure payment channel, this novel mechanism is expected to greatly increase the security and accessibility of financial transactions inside the securities market.
Market intermediaries can use SEBI’s special and secure investor payment system, called “Valid”, to collect money from customers for payments to brokers, mutual funds, research analysts, investment advisers, and other parties.
SEBI Issuing Circular Asking Intermediaries to Promote Valid Among Their Investors
The SEBI has released a circular on the subject, stating that although investors will not be required to use this structured UPI method, intermediaries must acquire and provide their investors with this structured UPI address.
Furthermore, it is recommended and encouraged for intermediaries to actively support and facilitate their investors’ adoption of this technique. Banks only issue “Valid”, a distinct payment ID based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), to organisations that are registered with SEBI. To make it easier for investors to identify the regulated entities, their UPI IDs will contain the handle name “@valid” along with the bank name.
To demonstrate the authenticity of the transaction, a triangle with a green thumbs-up emblem will also be highlighted. For instance, the handle would be abc.brk@validhdfc if it was for a broker named ABC and funds were to be collected using HDFC Bank’s UPI platform. Likewise, it will be abc.mf@validhdfc for a mutual fund.
After consulting with banks, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and market participants such as brokers, the regulator created the “Valid” payment mechanism. The system protects investors from scammers and guarantees that they only pay to legitimate SEBI-registered businesses.
Because there won’t be any fraud, both registered entities and investors will benefit. Intermediaries will be paid more quickly, and investors will know they are paying a legitimately regulated company. For capital market transactions conducted using UPI, the market regulator has set a daily cap of Rs 5 lakh, which may be periodically reviewed in cooperation with the NPCI.
In 2019, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was first made available to the public as a payment method by SEBI. Because of UPI’s effectiveness and great track record, it has been incorporated into numerous other procedures.
Move will Curb Unregistered Entities
In its consultation paper, the regulator said that numerous unregistered businesses had deceived investors over the years by collecting money without authorisation, most of which was then syphoned off for their own personal benefit.
In order to allow investors to find a SEBI-registered intermediary and make the necessary payments to them in a more practical, effective, and lawful manner, it felt the need to aggressively limit the growth of unregistered firms.
In an effort to further empower investors, SEBI also unveiled the “SEBI Check” tool. “SEBI Check” is a new feature that SEBI is creating. With the use of this new technology, investors will be able to confirm the bank details, including the IFSC and bank account number of a registered intermediary, and validate the authenticity of UPI IDs by manually entering the UPI ID or scanning a QR code.
It is anticipated that this new system will provide important advantages such as improved investor protection, an additional layer of security, and the ability for investors to confirm an entity’s legitimacy prior to making any financial transactions.
Iom Bioworks is dedicated to using the gut microbiome’s power to revolutionize contemporary healthcare.
The funds will be used to boost customer outreach, secure IP rights, scale infrastructure, and grow the core team.
In its first year, Iom Bioworks reached 500 users, secured two patents globally (with two more underway), and published multiple papers in the microbiome and computational biology space.
So far, Inflection Point Ventures has invested over INR 800 Cr across 210+ startups.
Iom Bioworks, a deep science company pioneering microbiome-focused healthcare, has secured INR 4 crore in seed round funding led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). The capital will be leveraged for marketing, securing intellectual property claims, strengthening core infrastructure and scaling scientific and commercial teams.
Founded in 2022, Iom Bioworks personalises health by identifying key bacteria in the gut and modulating them in a targeted manner for enhanced, improved overall health and well-being. Their patented platform combines large-scale knowledge graphs mined through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced modelling techniques that ensure Iom achieves precise and personalised recommendations for its users.
Iom Bioworks reached more than 500 customers in just the first year and has 2 patents granted and 2 in advanced stages. They have key scientific publications in leading scientific journals. Iom Bioworks have Pan India logistics and has established digital access for personalised microbiome services.
Bipin Pradeep Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, brings a strategic vision and collaborative approach to leadership, integrating microbiome research with technology, artificial intelligence and customer focus. Dr. Samik Ghosh, Co-Founder & Chief of Science & Technology, uses his expertise at the intersection of computation and biology to develop innovative microbiome-driven health and wellness solutions that drive sustainable health for life of people and the planet. Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, Co-Founder & Chief of Research & Collaboration, a world-renowned systems biologist and AI specialist, brings decades of leadership in robotics, systems biology, and AI-driven scientific discovery to create innovative collaborations.
“Lifestyle diseases have been on the rise due to multiple reasons like poor diet, stress, lack of sleep and are intimately linked to poor gut health and microbial composition. The gut microbiome plays a huge role in your digestion, immunity, metabolism, and even mood. Understanding it can help prevent a myriad of these diseases and also provide a better quality of life. Iom Bioworks is making this cutting-edge science accessible, personalised and importantly, actionable. With their vision and science, they make a compelling bet in preventive and therapeutic healthcare”, says Vinay Bansal, Founder, IPV.
“Iom Bioworks envisions a world where a healthy mind and body are achievable through informed choices that nurture the microbiome. By empowering our inner ecosystem through prebiotics and a food and lifestyle centred around the bacteria, we aim to energize daily life while preserving the joy of living. Partnering with IPV has been transformative; their supportive and diligent approach has set us firmly on the path toward this vision”, says Bipin Pradeep Kumar.
At a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28%, the worldwide market for health tests, subscriptions, and wellness platforms is expected to reach USD 900 billion by 2030. Iom Bioworks is well positioned to lead this transformation to personalised, accessible gut health with its scalable approach, user focus and the foundation of deep science and research.
About Iom Bioworks
Iom Bioworks is a Bengaluru-based deep science company advancing health through identifying and therapeutically modulating key bacteria to improve well-being. Combining cutting-edge biological network theory, mathematical modelling, and nutritional science with the power of AI, the company provides personalised food and prebiotic recommendations.
These individualised microbiome solutions are offered to customers throughout India with at-home gut profiling kits and an end-to-end digital experience. Founded in 2022, Iom Bioworks is led by a team of global experts across biology, AI, and systems health.
About Inflection Point Ventures and Physis Capital
Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) is an angel investing platform with over 23,500+ CXOs, HNIs, and Professionals to together invest in startups. The firm supports new-age entrepreneurs by providing them with monetary & experiential capital and connecting them with a diverse group of investors. IPV has launched a $50 Mn CAT 2 VC fund, Physis Capital, to invest in Pre-Series A to Series B growth-stage start-ups. The fund has already deployed capital in two startups so far, with a few deals in advanced stages of the pipeline.
OpenAI‘s ChatGPT is now operational after more than 16 hours of non-operation. According to a status report from OpenAI, almost all of ChatGPT’s features began functioning correctly for users at 4:00 AM on 11 June.
The platform is still experiencing high mistake rates, though. According to the company’s report, consumers should be aware that ChatGPT is still experiencing a high rate of errors when using voice mode but that this component is being fixed.
On June 10, starting at 12:00 PM, customers worldwide experienced high error rates and latency problems in all mentioned services, according to OpenAI. At approximately 6:00 PM on 10 June, OpenAI determined the underlying source of the problem.
Users Across the Globe in a Panic Mode
Around 12 PM, users from all across the world reported the disruption. About 4,740 Indian customers have reported that they are unable to access ChatGPT, according to the outage tracker website Downdetector.
Indian users have reported that OpenAI’s GenAI chatbot displays an error message stating that “Something went wrong while generating the response” after they have written a prompt. According to 88% of users in India, the GenAI chatbot is giving them trouble.
OpenAI has admitted to the problem and stated that it is looking into issues with its ChatGPT platform, APIs, and Sora, an AI tool for creating images. Some users are reporting higher error rates and latency across all of the mentioned services, according to a status report from OpenAI. The business is still looking into this matter.
The problem has been plaguing customers for the past five hours, according to the report. According to the Microsoft-backed global AI platform, 300 million people utilise it every week.
The company provides a variety of large language models (LLMs) from GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and GPT-4.1 nano, in addition to its AI chatbot. Furthermore, it offers its clients system APIs and reasoning models.
Second Time ChatGPT Faces Global Outage
This is the second time ChatGPT has reported a worldwide outage this year. Thousands of customers globally reported a 40-minute outage and a two-hour partial outage of the platform in January.
According to OpenAI at the time, the GenAI chatbot experienced a severe gateway fault problem that resulted in higher error rates. India has surpassed the US as one of ChatGPT’s biggest markets. By August 2024, the number of AI apps downloaded by Indians had topped 2.2 billion, according to digital intelligence company Sensor Tower.
Additionally, the development coincides with OpenAI being under intense scrutiny due to a growing number of copyright infringement claims.
Several more organisations, including Network18 and NDTV, joined suit against the AI giant for using their content to train AI models after the Indian media outlet ANI filed a case against it last year.
However, OpenAI informed the Delhi High Court (HC) in February that it did not train its AI chatbot using content from Indian media organisations, and it urged the HC to reject charges of infringement.
Google’s Gemini app now offers Scheduled Actions, a new productivity-focused feature. Users with subscriptions to Google AI Pro, Google AI Ultra, and specific Google Workspace business and school accounts can now access the service, which was launched on June 10.
The update, which was first revealed at Google’s I/O 2024 developer conference, significantly expands the AI-powered functionality of the app. Gemini users can automate specific actions at predetermined periods with Scheduled Actions.
Users may now plan activities once and have the AI assistant carry them out automatically, eliminating the need to ask Gemini to do repetitive chores over and over. As a result, Gemini becomes a more proactive personal assistant rather than a reactive chatbot.
The launch is in line with what CEO Sundar Pichai said at the May I/O annual developer conference. He emphasised how Google is using AI research to make its products smarter and more customised.
In a blog post, Pichai stated that Gemini is now building with nearly seven million developers, five times as many as the previous year. The announcement is one of several enhancements to Google’s AI products that were made public on May 20.
In order to facilitate integration across other platforms and improve reasoning capabilities, the company has concentrated on developing Gemini’s multimodal comprehension.
How it Can Make Users Life More Easy?
Tasks that users can set up include getting a daily feed of unread emails and calendar appointments every morning or coming up with five new blog themes every Monday. Both one-time and recurring scheduled events are supported by the feature.
On game days, sports fans can get match updates, and others can set up Gemini to email award show summaries the next morning. The Gemini app’s settings provide a specific section for setting and managing the Scheduled Actions.
According to Google, this configuration aims to keep users structured and informed while minimising repetitive interactions. Only premium customers are currently able to use the functionality.
This covers Google AI Pro and Ultra plan users as well as specific Google Workspace accounts for businesses and educational institutions. Whether the capability will eventually be available to all users has not been confirmed by Google.
Google Making Efforts to be Different in AI Segment
Google is obviously aiming to increase productivity via Scheduled Actions. Regular updates that are automated save users time and effort by eliminating the need for human prompts.
Additionally, it demonstrates Google’s intention to set its AI assistant apart from competitors by prioritising context-aware job performance, which extends beyond text production.
Separately, it has been claimed that Google is testing brief weather summaries, another AI-powered feature in its mobile search app.
These brief explanations of the likelihood of rain, wind speeds, and temperature trends are presented in between regular forecast parts. Only a few customers in the US are able to use the service at this time.
The government is allegedly considering a plan to reinstate the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions over INR 3,000 in an effort to relieve financial strain on banks and payment service providers.
As per various media reports, the action is intended to address the operational and infrastructure expenses associated with high-value digital payments.
In order to distinguish high-value payments from low-value ones, current debates propose a change from the current framework by tying MDR to transaction value as opposed to merchant turnover.
The zero-MDR framework that has been in effect since January 2020 may come to an end as a result of this modification.
According to a media report, larger transactions may soon be subject to a merchant charge, reverting the zero-MDR policy that has been in effect since January 2020, even if small-ticket UPI payments will probably continue to be free.
From Zero to Generating Revenue Though MDR
In India, UPI currently controls about 80% of all retail digital transactions. However, banks and payment providers have voiced worries about sustainability and escalating costs since the zero-MDR regime does not produce any money from high-value transactions.
Many people think that the lack of MDR has tempered interest in making additional investments in digital infrastructure.
According to a media article, the Payments Council of India has responded by recommending a 0.3% MDR on big merchants for UPI transactions in order to support the upkeep and expansion of the digital payments ecosystem.
RuPay Will Continue to Enjoy the Benefits
RuPay cards are mostly not included in the current MDR price system, which ranges from 0.9% to 2% for debit and credit card transactions. If the new MDR structure is put into place, RuPay credit cards might still be excluded.
For the time being, RuPay credit cards are anticipated to continue to be excluded from the Merchant Discount Rate. After speaking with important parties, including banks, fintech firms, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), government representatives said a final decision might be made in one to two months.
The report also stated that if the change were to be put into effect, it would signify a strategic pivot from encouraging broad use to guaranteeing the financial viability of India’s digital payment systems.
This is the most recent turn of events; earlier this year, the Payment Council of India had prompted the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reevaluate its Zero MDR policy on UPI transactions.
A media outlet last week had predicted that the digital payments network will soon surpass the daily transaction volume of the multinational payments giant Visa, making it the world’s largest retail interbank payment settlement platform.
UPI had 644 million transactions as of June 1 and 650 million the following day. In FY24, Visa handled an average of 639 million transactions every day.
No MDR on UPI, Confirms Finance Ministry
The government reportedly plans to impose a merchant discount rate (MDR) on expensive UPI transactions, although the Union Finance Ministry denied this. The ministry described the reports as “false and baseless” in a statement. In a post on X, the ministry stated that rumours and assertions that the MDR will be billed for UPI transactions are wholly untrue, unfounded, and deceptive.
Ministry further stated that nation’s people are unnecessarily apprehensive, afraid, and suspicious as a result of such sensational and unfounded rumours. The government is still totally committed to encouraging digital payments through UPI, the message went on to say.
The reply follows reports from a few media publications that the government intends to support banks and payment solution providers by imposing MDR on transactions valued at INR 3,000 and above.
The government might allow lenders to impose MDR on transaction value rather than merchant turnover, according to the reports. The Payment Council of India had called on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year to reevaluate the Zero MDR rule for UPI transactions.
According to a media source, OpenAI intends to integrate Alphabet’s Google Cloud service to accommodate its expanding processing capacity requirements. This is an unexpected partnership between two well-known rivals in the artificial intelligence space.
As per the report, the agreement was concluded in May after being discussed for several months. It highlights how the enormous computing requirements for training and implementing AI models are changing the competitive landscape in the field and is OpenAI’s most recent attempt to expand its compute sources outside of its primary backer, Microsoft, including the well-known Stargate data centre project.
The report further claims that it is a victory for Google’s cloud division, which will provide more processing power to OpenAI’s current infrastructure for training and executing its AI models.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT Bigger Threat to Google Search
Additionally, Google executives recently stated that the AI competition may not be winner-take-all, indicating that OpenAI’s ChatGPT represents the most danger to Google’s hegemonic search business in years.
OpenAI has had to deal with the growing demand for computing capacity, or compute as it is known in the industry, for both training huge language models and executing inference, which entails processing data so that users may utilise these models, ever since ChatGPT made its debut in late 2022.
In light of the rapidly growing use of AI, OpenAI announced on 9 June that its annualised revenue run rate increased to $10 billion as of June, setting the business up to meet its full-year goal. Earlier this year, OpenAI inked billion-dollar contracts with CoreWeave for additional compute and joined forces with SoftBank and Oracle on the $500 billion Stargate infrastructure development.
As per another report published by a renowned media house, it is on schedule to complete the design of its first internal processor this year, which might lessen its reliance on outside hardware suppliers.
OpenAI Reducing Dependency on Microsoft
The collaboration with Google is the most recent of OpenAI’s various strategies to lessen its reliance on Microsoft, whose Azure cloud service was the sole supplier of data centre infrastructure for ChatGPT until January.
After months of discussions, Google and OpenAI were unable to finalise a contract because of OpenAI’s exclusivity with Microsoft. Additionally, Microsoft and OpenAI are negotiating changes to the terms of their multibillion-dollar investment, including Microsoft’s future ownership position in OpenAI.
The agreement for Google coincides with the tech giant’s efforts to make its proprietary technology, known as tensor processing units, or TPUs, more widely available to the public. Previously, these chips were only used internally.
As a result, Google was able to attract clients from big tech giant Apple as well as startups like Safe Superintelligence and Anthropic, two OpenAI rivals founded by former OpenAI executives.
The fact that Google has added OpenAI to its list of clients demonstrates how the internet behemoth has leveraged its proprietary AI hardware and software to boost the expansion of its cloud business.
Software Development, Digital Marketing, and Accounting emerge as top roles for AI interviews, leading companies like Google, Tesla & Swiggy most preferred by job-seekers
Adoption led by metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, with rising traction in Tier 2 hubs including Jaipur, Patna, and Lucknow
Apna’s AI-powered interview tool delivers realistic simulations tailored to your resume, with instant feedback and personalised cheatsheets to boost interview readiness.
Apna.co, India’s leading jobs platform, has launched AI Job Prep, a new AI-powered interview prep tool designed to close the preparation gap in the country’s job market. Over 7.6 lakh AI interviews have been completed on Apna’s platform, across 900+ cities, logging more than 39 lakh minutes of interviews, signalling a growing demand for smarter, tech-enabled ways of interview preparation. The tool offers realistic interview simulations, instant performance feedback, and personalised improvement tips to help candidates build interview confidence.
The product launch comes on the heels of Apna’s Interview Readiness Index 2025, which revealed a critical challenge: only 32% of Indian job seekers feel prepared for interviews, with confidence levels dropping even further among youth, freshers, and candidates from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. The report also highlighted the growing role of digital tools in boosting interview readiness, with users of digital or AI-powered platforms reporting higher confidence levels (38%) compared to just 24% among those who did not use such resources. Apna’s new AI interview tool aims to bridge this preparation gap by simulating real-world interview scenarios, evaluating candidate performance in real time, and providing actionable tips for improvement.
Widespread Adoption Across Roles, Regions, and Age Groups
Early data from Apna.co’s AI Job Prep tool reveals strong adoption across roles, regions, and demographics, indicating a nationwide shift in how candidates prepare for interviews. The tool currently offers AI interviews for over 25,000 job roles across 3,000 top companies, featuring questions tailored to specific companies and specific job profiles, including both behavioural and technical rounds. The AI personalises the interview based on your resume, just like how an actual interview occurs.
Among the most prepped roles were Software Development, Product Management, Data Analyst, Accounting, Digital Marketing and Sales. Tech roles accounted for 42% of total interviews, while 58% came from non-tech sectors such as retail, logistics, and BFSI, highlighting the tool’s relevance across diverse industries. Leading companies like Google, Tesla, Swiggy, Microsoft, Jio and Flipkart emerged as the most preferred choices among job seekers.
Adoption was highest in metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, accounting for 44% of total interviews. Meanwhile, non-metros such as Jaipur, Lucknow, and Patna showed strong and growing momentum, reflecting rising digital fluency beyond urban centres.
Gen Z (18–24 years) emerged as the most active user group, contributing 58% of total interviews. Millennials (25–30 years) followed at 27%, underscoring early-career professionals’ appetite for structured interview preparation. While male users accounted for 76% of total participation, female engagement stood at 24%, reflecting increasing interest in upskilling among women job seekers.
Nirmit Parikh, Founder & CEO, Apna.co, said: “AI Job Prep is our answer to the confidence gap that quietly stalls millions of careers. We’ve turned a nerve-racking interview into a safe, intelligent rehearsal—one that knows the company you’re aiming for, knows your profile, speaks your language, and improves with every exchange. Think of an actual interviewer looking at your profile for a particular role, taking your interview. When world-class preparation becomes a right instead of a privilege, talent stops holding its breath and starts realising its full potential. Because when someone feels truly prepared, they don’t just perform better — they unlock a belief in what they can become. And that’s when transformation begins. That’s when they become limitless.”
Karna Chokshi, COO, Apna.co, added on the product & tech capabilities: “AI Job Prep is powered by Apna’s Proprietary Agentic AI platform—a self-improving stack that fuses large-language reasoning, accent-adaptive speech tech, and a live graph of thousands of Indian employers. In seconds, it ingests a resume, maps it to the exact role and company, and orchestrates a back-and-forth dialogue with smart turn detection. The stack supports English, Hindi and Hinglish, via code-switching, and adjusts difficulty on the fly, ensuring every candidate from metro professional to Tier-3 fresher gets a personalised interview experience. The result is India’s most advanced AI interview prep engine: company-specific, role-specific, and believable enough to feel like the real thing—at a scale of tens of thousands of simultaneous sessions.”
AI Job Prep builds on Apna’s growing suite of AI-powered career tools — including personalised, job matching and smart employer filters — and reinforces the company’s mission to make employment more accessible, inclusive, and confidence-driven for every Indian. This launch marks another step in Apna’s journey to becoming an AI-first career platform that empowers every Indian to achieve their full potential.
About Apna.co
Founded in 2019, Apna.co is India’s leading jobs platform, dedicated to helping India’s rising workforce unlock unique professional networking and skilling opportunities. Spanning more than 40% of the country’s pincodes, apna is on a mission to enable livelihoods for billions in India. With more than 6 crore users across 900+ cities and trusted by more than 700,000 employers that trust the platform, India has a new destination to discover relevant opportunities, enabling jobs in over 200 categories across sectors.
