OYO to hire 300 tech talent over the next six months

File image of Oyo Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal

Softbank-backed hospitality firm OYO is planning to hire over 300 technology professionals including software development, engineering, product managers, designers, data scientists across entry-level to senior leadership roles.

The expanded design, product and engineering teams will be responsible to build long-term capabilities for OYO from scratch and update the current tech stack.

The travel technology player is set to introduce several innovations and commit to investments in technology, further optimising revenues for hotel owners, while improving user experience for customers.

OYO has a tech stack of over 50 products and 500  microservices, including its consumer and partner apps such as OYO, OYO OS, Co-OYO, as well as several applications led by artificial intelligence, machine learning and analytics such as a dynamic pricing app called tariff manager.

The hiring will play a critical role in accelerating OYO’s transformation to a global full-stack technology provider for small and mid-sized hotels and homes.

The company claims to be the third most downloaded travel app globally.

OYO has already begun onboarding over 50 mid-level tech talent and around 150 campus recruits from top universities across India. Additionally, around 100 offers will be rolled out in the upcoming placement season.

"At OYO, we believe in the philosophy to keep the ‘geek’ alive in our techies. We don’t put our talent in a box. Instead, we allow them to think big and think differently. We’ve been blessed to have a diverse pool of tech talent and believe that each new bright mind will bring gripping ideas to the table, ultimately leading towards our goal to build a tech-first global platform that truly sets the tone for the future of travel," said Ankit Mathuria, Chief Technology Officer, OYO.

"Over the past year and a half, we’ve been doubling down on our technology and pioneered several industry-first innovations to enhance customer experiences and maximise revenues for SMEs of hotels and homes. As an organisation that is deeply committed to solving problems with technology, inducting top tech talent is a key priority for us," said Dinesh Ramamurthi, Chief Human Resources Officer, OYO.

The company will be offering a combination of fixed pay, bonuses and stock options, for all, including freshers.

The development comes at a time when OYO is raising a strategic round from global IT firm Microsoft at a valuation of $9 billion. Moneycontrol reported about it last month.

OYO already has Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab and US-based hospitality firm Airbnb as strategic investors.

Before this, the homegrown firm announced closure of a debt financing round of $660 million from global institutional investors such as Fidelity Investments, Citadel Capital Management and Varde Partners with an aim to retire some of its existing debts and pump up its operations and product technology.

The company is also gearing up for an initial public offering and has shortlisted investment banks JP Morgan, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Citi. Moneycontrol first reported about the company's plans to go public.