Delhi NCR gaming startup Zupee lays off all staff, nears shutdown weeks after AI pivot

Zupee, the Delhi NCR-based gaming startup, has laid off its entire workforce and discontinued its gaming operations, according to sources. The final round of layoffs came in October, around the time the company publicly announced a pivot to AI.

The company has also shut down its astrology platform NeoAstro and its microdrama venture Zupee Studio as part of an October restructuring. Its proposed acquisition of microdrama startup Vertical TV fell through, and the reasons could not be independently ascertained.

Sources said the affected employees were given severance pay covering the period until January 2027. They said only three to four people remain, working with the founders.

The October layoffs followed two earlier rounds.

Zupee cut around 200 employees about 10 months before the October round, and nearly 170 before that. At its peak, it employed close to 500 people.

On October 16, Zupee said it was exiting gaming and would build AI-led ventures, drawing on its experience of serving over 200 Mn users to develop AI products for Indian consumers. It did not disclose what the new business would be.

Sources said the pivot was a veiled attempt to present an impending closure.

Founded in 2018 by Dilsher Singh Malhi and Siddhant Saurabh, Zupee built its business around mobile versions of traditional Indian games, including Ludo, Snakes and Ladders and Carrom.

It had raised over $120 Mn from investors including Z47, Orios Venture Partners, Nepean Capital, WestCap Group, Tomales Bay Capital and AJ Capital.

With its gaming business discontinued, questions remain about the startup’s remaining cash reserves, assets and outstanding liabilities.