Fifteen years ago, Siddhartha Chandurkar left Wipro as the head of the software product group to build technology that would help other businesses scale faster. That vision took shape in 2010 with the launch of ShepHertza Gurugram-based software company that began as a platform provider for developers.
“If a company wanted to build an application, all core services such as user management, rewards, achievements, and analytics could come from us. That way, businesses could focus on their product, while we took care of the backend,” Chandurkar says.
Over the years, ShepHertz expanded its suite of developer tools from App42 for analytics to an API Gateway, PaaS offerings, and DevOps automation. But the company’s real turning point came when it started focusing on AI.
ShepHertz rolled out its first commercial AI service—long before the current AI boom—in 2012. Seven years later, it built a facial recognition-based attendance system and several other AI-led products, which now account for most of its revenue.
“The market has completely shifted. Today, everything has an AI component, and that change has worked in our favour,” says Siddhartha, the CEO of ShepHertz.
Now, the startup works with well-known clients such as IndiGo, Kotak Securities, Spencer’s, Reliance, Tata, Hungama, and L&T Realty.
The pandemic shift
During the pandemic, remote work was the only option for many, and the shift became a crisis for BPOs, banks, and healthcare firms, managing highly sensitive data. Industries relied on strict clean-desk policies: no phones, no cameras, and no chance of data leaks.
ShepHertz responded with wAnywhere—an AI-powered platform that secures remote work environments. It uses facial recognition to ensure the right employee is at the desk, detects multiple or unknown people on screen, flags suspicious behaviour, and can block the system when needed. It also monitors productivity, websites visited, and hours worked.
“Many times, the employee doesn’t do fraud; roommates do. Young agents sitting together, managing sensitive banking details. wAnywhere detects these things and ensures compliance,” Chandurkar says.
Today, many of the top 10 BPOs in India use wAnywhere, according to the founder. It has become ShepHertz’s cash cow, establishing the company as a leader in AI-driven enterprise security.
The company now offers six products, including its two flagship platforms—wAnywhere and TalentAnywhere.ai.
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From work anywhere to talent anywhere
The success of wAnywhere led Chandurkar to think about the next challenge: hiring. If work had changed, how could job search and recruitment remain the same?
“When we looked at job portals, we realised they hadn’t changed in 20 years. They still look like classifieds. It’s like dating; there are good people and good jobs, but they don’t meet,” he says.
In 2024, that thought led to the launch of TalentAnywhere.ai, a job listing platform designed for the hybrid and remote-first era, which connects candidates and companies through AI-powered tools.
For recruiters, it offers resume shortlisting, AI avatars that conduct first-round interviews, and job description generation. For candidates, it provides AI-generated resumes tailored to different roles, mock interviews with avatars, skill gap analysis, and even negotiation bots to support salary discussions.
The platform isn’t limited to any one sector; its users range from IT services firms and startups to delivery companies, agencies, and gig platforms. On the candidate side, it caters to everyone—from software developers and sales professionals to delivery workers and marketers.
“If an engineer asks for Rs 6 lakh and is offered Rs 5.2 lakh, they may not know how to negotiate. Our bot will help them,” Chandurkar says.
The company builds many of its AI foundational models in-house. In some cases, like with TalentAnywhere, it also uses existing large language models such as GPT or Gemini, adding its own layers on top.
“Different solutions need different approaches,” Chandurkar says. “But our goal is always the same: to use AI in a way that creates real value for the customer.”
Growth and traction
In less than a year, more than 2,000 enterprises have registered on TalentAnywhere.ai. The user base has crossed 1,000 candidates, spanning software developers, sales professionals, delivery agents, gig workers, and marketers.
The company is also testing international markets, beginning with the Philippines, where BPO churn creates high demand for hiring platforms.
Chandurkar says ShepHertz’s approach is to focus on curation and not volume. “We can’t compete with incumbents who have crores of resumes. Our focus is on relevance and quality,” he says.
Business model and funding
ShepHertz follows a B2B2C model, where wAnywhere is a pure enterprise product, while TalentAnywhere serves both companies and candidates.
At present, TalentAnywhere is free to use, but the company plans to start charging enterprises later, based on the number of resumes, interviews, and AI tools they use. On the other hand, wAnywhere already follows a subscription model, with monthly plans ranging from $6 to $18 per user.
Over the years, ShepHertz has raised around $2 million from investors such as Blume Ventures, growX Ventures, Kae Capital, and India Quotient. However, it has largely grown through profits.
“This is our fifth year of profitability. Our DNA is to focus on cash flow, not valuation,” Chandurkar says.
ShepHertz has more than 100 employees, with headquarters in Gurugram and an office in Bengaluru.
However, 95% of its workforce is remote. “Some people work from Goa, some from the Himalayas. It doesn’t matter to us,” the founder adds.
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Challenges and competition
Chandurkar sees everyjob portal as a competitor, pointing to big incumbents like Naukri and newer platforms that focus on niche features. However, he believes ShepHertz is unique in offering an AI-first, end-to-end hiring solution.
“Some startups focus on interviews, some on analytics, but no one is bringing AI across the whole lifecycle like we are,” he says.
Scaling remains a challenge. “It’s not easy for a single-founder company. Elevating people into leadership and preparing for the next orbit has been difficult,” he adds. Building features before tools like ChatGPT matured also meant more in-house effort.
According to a report by Maximixe Market Research, the AI recruitment market was at about $661 million in 2023 and is set to cross $1.1 billion by 2030. The company aims to capture around 10% of this in the next three years.
What’s next?
ShepHertz’s focus is on TalentAnywhere’s roadmap, which includes adding career bots, tools that predict how a new hire might perform, and negotiation support for candidates. The company also sees big opportunities in Global Capability Centres (GCCs) as multinational firms are setting up large teams in India.
“AI will significantly impact India’s service industry. We want to align TalentAnywhere to support GCCs, because their focus is mass hiring,” Chandurkar says.
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